PNP-SOSIA Security Officer Exam flashcards

35 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Citizen's Arrest

A power under common law and statute allowing a private person to arrest someone reasonably believed to have committed an indictable offence, when necessary to prevent escape or continuation.

Charter Section 10(b)

The right on detention or arrest to be informed promptly of the reason and to retain and instruct counsel without delay; a security officer acting under statute may trigger it.

False Imprisonment

Unlawful confinement of a person without lawful authority, including psychological detention; a civil tort and potentially a criminal offence if the confinement is unlawful and intentional.

Robbery Elements

Theft of property accompanied by violence or threats of violence against a person, or with a weapon; an indictable offence requiring both the taking and the use of threat or force.

Break and Enter

Entry into a place by breaking (actual or constructive) with intent to commit an indictable offence inside; the intent must exist at the moment of entry.

Possession of Stolen Property

Knowing possession or control of property obtained by crime, with intent to retain it; proximity alone is insufficient without knowledge and control.

Search Incident to Arrest

A warrantless search permitted after a lawful arrest, limited in scope to officer safety, evidence preservation, and preventing escape, and confined to the person and immediate area.

Plain View Doctrine

Permits seizure of items whose incriminating character is immediately apparent, where the officer is lawfully present and the discovery is inadvertent.

Chain of Custody

A documented record of every person who handled evidence, the time and date of each transfer, and its storage location, used to establish integrity in court.

Section 24(2) Exclusion

A Charter remedy allowing a court to exclude evidence obtained in violation of rights if admission would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

Reasonable Force Standard

Force must be objectively reasonable, necessary, and proportionate to the threat, judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer facing the same circumstances.

Use-of-Force Continuum

A graduated framework from presence and verbal direction through empty-hand control and intermediate weapons to lethal force, each level justified by the threat presented.

Positional Asphyxia

A life-threatening condition caused by restricted breathing when a person is restrained prone with weight on the back or neck; the subject must be moved to a recovery position.

Pre-Assault Indicators

Observable behaviours such as clenched fists, blading the body, target glancing, and verbal threats that suggest an imminent attack and warrant de-escalation or repositioning.

Defence in Depth

A layered physical security approach using perimeter, building envelope, interior zones, and asset-level controls so that one failure does not compromise the protected asset.

Anti-Passback

An access control rule preventing a credential from being used to enter twice without an intervening exit, reducing credential sharing and tailgating.

CPTED Principles

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design uses natural surveillance, natural access control, territorial reinforcement, and maintenance to reduce criminal opportunity.

Mantrap

An interlocking double-door entry that admits one person at a time, preventing tailgating into a high-security area.

X-ray Colour Coding

In security X-ray, organic materials typically appear orange, inorganic metals blue or black, and mixed materials green, aiding threat identification by density and composition.

Pat-Down Search Rules

A pat-down must be justified by lawful authority, conducted by a same-gender screener where practicable, witnessed, explained to the person, and limited to the outer clothing.

Explosive Trace Detection

A screening method using swabs and ion mobility spectrometry to detect trace explosive residues; positive results require confirmation and escalation under site protocol.

Fire Tetrahedron

The four elements needed for fire: fuel, oxygen, heat, and a chemical chain reaction; removing any one extinguishes the fire.

PASS Technique

Extinguisher use: Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the handle, Sweep side to side; only for small, contained fires with a clear escape route.

Adult CPR Ratio

30 chest compressions to 2 rescue breaths at 100-120 compressions per minute, with a compression depth of about 5-6 cm (2-2.4 inches).

RACE Fire Response

Remove people from danger, Alert by pulling the alarm or calling 911, Contain the fire by closing doors, and Evacuate or Extinguish only if safe.

Contemporaneous Notes

Notes made at or near the time of an incident; originals are discoverable, must be preserved, and should not be destroyed after a formal report is written.

Incident Report Content

A factual record answering who, what, when, where, why, and how, in chronological order, with names, times, locations, and badge numbers, avoiding opinion or speculation.

Digital Evidence Preservation

Preserve CCTV and access logs in native format with hash values, use working copies for review, and document every transfer in a chain-of-custody log.

Behavioural Stairway

A verbal escalation model progressing from anxiety through defensive, verbal aggression, and physical aggression to destruction; interventions should match the observed level.

Crowd Crush Risk

Compressive asphyxia risk rises sharply above roughly 4-5 persons per square metre; event planning must set capacity limits, exit widths, and crowd-flow controls.

De-escalation Techniques

Active listening, lowered voice volume and pitch, slow movements, safe distance, and offering choices within limits to reduce the intensity of a conflict.

Charter Application

The Charter governs government action; private security officers may be subject to it when performing public functions or acting under statutory authority.

Confidentiality Duty

Personal information must be collected, used, and disclosed only for the purpose collected unless consent or law permits otherwise; the duty survives the end of employment.

CCTV Identification Standard

To capture identification-quality images, camera placement and lighting should provide roughly 40-80 pixels per foot at the target, with defined coverage zones.

Radio Prowords

Standard procedural words such as "over," "out," and "roger" used with clear speech and the phonetic alphabet to maintain channel discipline and avoid misunderstanding.