Health, Safety and Security

Security Guarding Operations and Supervision

A guarding contract is delivered by people working alone, at night, on low pay, at sites the supervisor visits occasionally, which makes supervision the whole service rather than an overhead on it. This course covers running it. Delegates work through post orders and why a vague instruction produces an officer who does nothing defensible when something happens. Deployment, shift patterns and the fatigue that degrades a night shift are addressed. Patrol methodology is covered, including randomisation, checkpoints and proof of presence systems, since a predictable patrol is an advertisement. Access and egress control at a gate follows, covering vehicle and pedestrian searching and the authority an officer actually has. Occurrence books, incident reporting and statements are covered as the record everything later depends on. Supervision is addressed directly: visits, spot checks, and the collusion that long unsupervised postings invite. Conduct, use of force and the limits of a private officer's powers are covered. The course closes on client relationships and on investigating a security failure at a site.