Patrolling, Surveillance, and Reporting
What the exam tests
Patrolling and reporting questions check whether you can deter, detect, and document. The exam looks for systematic patrol habits, correct CCTV monitoring, and incident reports that separate fact from opinion.
Core rules
- Purpose of patrol: deter wrongdoing, detect anomalies, and report. You are not there to punish.
- Vary routes and times. Predictable patrols invite intruders. Use fixed checkpoints where required, but randomise the gaps.
- Use your senses. Look for forced doors, fresh damage, unusual smells, alarms, and people where they should not be. Listen before entering.
- Checkpoint records must be honest. Never sign a checkpoint you did not physically visit.
- CCTV monitoring: watch for behaviour, not only faces; record camera, time, and action; do not zoom on private areas or record without authority.
- Report writing: use the factual sequence - who, what, when, where, how, and what you did. Quote words in quotation marks. Avoid 'obviously', 'probably', and conclusions.
- Preserve evidence: do not touch, move, or clean items unless life safety requires it. Note who accessed the scene.
Worked example
On patrol at 03:40 you find a stockroom door open and a window pane broken. You do not enter alone. You note the time, secure the corridor, radio for backup, and check from a safe position whether anyone is inside. You call the supervisor and police as ordered, photograph the scene if permitted, and write: 'Door ajar approximately 10 cm; glass on floor inside; no persons seen.' You do not write 'break-in by ex-employee'.
Traps
Speculation in reports, missing times, signing checkpoints without visiting, altering the scene, and confronting an intruder alone.