The Security Officer Shift Activity Report

An issue that I have observed over my career in security is that of differing standards in writing up Daily Activity Reports or Shift Activity Reports. I have observed reports that lacked detail and written with such poor knowledge of the English language that they are difficult to read and fail to provide the detail required by service providers, clients and courts.

The Shift Security Activity Report (SAR) is critical to well-run security operations on any site. The SAR not only informs the security provider of activities, performance and security incidents that occur on a site but also allows the client to be able to review a document that accurately details the services that they are paying for and get a understanding of what is occurring on their site. The report is also important if required for any court case, where accuracy is critical to the successful defense or prosecution of any legal case.

For the most part, the client isn’t going to see the actual work security officers provide. They will not see the myriad of tasks security may perform during a shift, to keep their property secure. They may request to see the SAR to gain an overview of what is occurring on their site, and if it’s sloppy and incomplete, they’re going to assume the work you do is similarly poor. The more time security officers put into the report to make it accurate and factually comprehensive will have a flow on benefit of providing a positive reflection of your company and its employees, and goes a long way to enhancing how your customer views security officers and security provider services on their site.

This idea, that your SAR might someday be used in a court proceeding, is a good one to keep in mind. That’s why it’s so important to make note of all the small details, as well as the big incidents. You never know what might end up being important down the road.

The report, thus, becomes a permanent record of hours of work performed, any special instructions relayed to oncoming shifts and records matters that cannot be safely entrusted to memory. It becomes a full, accurate and unambiguous source of confirmation for evidence given in any court of the land, particularly in respect of conversations resulting from incidents or interactions between security and others and other material that may be relevant to legal proceedings.

Information in the report should be clear, brief and to the point except where conversations are being recorded verbatim. Use plain unambiguous English, limiting technical phraseology and slang to ensure that the report is understandable to the reader. Do not include personal opinions unless it is important to the report and based upon sound facts. 

Every observation that an officer makes should be accompanied by the time that the officer is making that observation. If you are using electronic daily activity reporting software, a time stamp will help demonstrate to your customers that officers are active throughout their shift. In addition, if the report turns out to have legal significance an accurate detailing of activities will be important.

Do not delete any comment or statement. If changes are necessary, draw a line through the original statement and initial it before correcting it, in writing or ensure that any electronic reporting tool accurately notes the changes for chain of evidence purposes.

During the course of a shift there are a number of things that officers can add to their activity reports. Officers should provide the Who, What, When, and Where for observations that they are making. Even on uneventful shifts the officer’s report can include things like:

• How long it took to complete a patrol 
• People that the officer sees or talks to 
• What the officer has observed looking out of the window 
• Things that the officer hears 

A common issue seen in many reports is the ‘cop out’ statement of ‘nothing to report’. this indicates laziness and can allow issues that were identified, not to be properly recorded. Instead of recording ‘nothing to report’ or ‘all is well,’ why not expand the statement such as, ‘A patrol was conducted of the perimeter fence, I checked the fence (and note any issues that you may have discovered or state that the fence-line was found to be in good repair etc), or, I checked the valuable assets on the property,’ and list them off with information on any issues found. Go through the detail of the activity that was completed. Not only does this extra detail show off your hard work to the client, it ensures that there are no discrepancies or inaccuracies in your report, and can protect you from liability.

Moreover, recording small incidents can be useful in terms of figuring out what important tasks you might be missing, or what processes can be carried out more effectively. If you don’t know what you’re doing in the first place, you can’t come with ways to improve. The SAR can assist in identifying gaps in tasks that may leave a site vulnerable.

The SAR is more than a tool for your Shift Supervisor, it is a permanent record for your company management, client and yourself. If you find yourself in court needing to remember activities and conversations that occurred in the past, you may regret not including complete details in your SAR. Whether your company has implemented digital reporting or is still using handwritten reports, if your officers understand how to write a daily activity report your reports will be professional, useful and reflect well upon the company. 

It is too important to neglect.

Certified Corporate Security Management Specialist course - Malaysia - Aug/Sep 2016

Ray Andersson and Mr Munies Pillai from Global E2C

The Course

L-R: Mr N. Nadaraja (Singapore), Capt Ismail Trapshah (Malaysia),
Mr R. Andersson (Australia), Brig Gen Apolinario Y Alobba Ret. (Philippines)

It was a pleasure to join 12 international professionals, successfully completing the Certified Corporate Security Management Specialist training and testing in Kuala Lumpur endorsed by the Chartered International Institute of Security and Crisis Management.

The course, conducted by Global E2C was intensive and comprehensive, making one consider issues faced by security professionals at the strategic C-Suite level.  Some issues that are take-aways for me are:

The underlying multi-faceted threats to business in today’s environment brings challenges that security practitioners and professionals must be able to plan for in order to ensure the business remains resilient in the face of events that may impact on them.  I can fully appreciate the change of viewpoint that security managers must make now in changing from a mentality of guards, gates and guns to that of Man, Method and Machine (M³). 

Man: An organisation is only as strong as its people so a focus must be made on people, their skills sets and loyalty to the company or brand within any business. Method: Experience and competency are the key to designing and implementing effective processes and security solutions and Machine: Technology enhances the effectiveness and efficiency of Man, making it a critical enabler for any business.  In addition, by ensuring resources are available to support security and appropriate metrics are in place to measure processes and solutions, we have a holistic methodology for managing protective security in business today.

What has occurred over the years is that the business of security has shifted from purely risk mitigation to being a new source of competitive advantage.  Effective risk and crisis management along with protective security can provide a competitive advantage over businesses that do not have these in place. Security then is not about hoping (or wishful thinking that we see in many parts of government, business and society) as hope is not a strategy. The implementation of robust security mitigation strategies is never an accident. It is the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives.

Security practitioners have to think differently and gain a clear understanding of the internal and external strategic structures that can impact on the effectiveness of any strategy and ensure buy in by the C-suite. Understanding will provide clarity of vision and the way forward.

I thank my colleagues on course for their friendship and humour. Having attendees from Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia and the Philippines made it a true Asia Pacific event that enhanced the value of the course through looking at common issues through different cultural/country perspectives and made for great networking. 

Security and Crime Prevention in North Australia

North Australia, as the gateway to the South East Asia region and a major Defence footprint in Australia, has been identified as a potential key growth region that requires companies and government businesses in the region to focus more intently on the threats and risks involved in their business in an ever-changing security and crime landscape.

Evolving protective security governance rules for government agencies and increasing risk of violence from extremists continues to challenge many smaller government agencies both at Federal and State/Territory level. Many of these businesses do not have dedicated security professionals within their organisation to provide current strategic advice that can increase safety and security within the business unit. Peace and security is a fragile concept and we do not always have the necessary insight into what will occur next to destabilize our national security or the safety of society within it. Agencies or government contractors who ignore the threats expose themselves to vast risks.

Escalating levels of crime across the north is creating fear and uncertainty in citizens and business owners. Losses incurred through crime can potentially put small businesses ‘out of business’, creating a supply and employment vacuum. This has a direct impact on the economic stability of the north and its ability to promote a stable future for all citizens and businesses. The solution lies in a cooperative effort between government and private enterprise with its citizens as the major stakeholder.  Crime and national security threats cross over as we continue in this unstable international security environment.  Terrorism is a crime that effects not only nations but the citizens of that nation, who are often the victims. Theft and fraud may be linked to other activities, including organised crime, which may also be linked to extremist groups within Australia that have the objective of destabalizing our nation.

In this environment, government and business require credible and responsible advice to ensure that they do not overreact but can create an environment that mitigates identified threats based on sound risk analysis. 

Proactive risk mitigation and treatment is far better to manage than post incident crisis management. 

More information on the author is available at https://rayandersson.wixsite.com/raymond-andersson. 

Is your business security culture up to speed?

Security Awareness is a business enabler

"Security is everyone's business" is one of the most important messages when implementing a successful security program.  No one person is capable of protecting your business from the multitude of threats that exists today

I have seen government agencies and private businesses invest significant funding into access control systems for buildings, securing all entry points and providing every employee a badge.  This is a great step in the right direction, but is let down where agencies, managers and businesses fail to properly communicate and train their employees to reinforce the need for vigilance that supports the technology put in place to make workplaces safe and secure.  Due to this lack of training, an employee may be feeling friendly on their way into work and hold the door open for the unknown person behind them (Don’t laugh, I have personally observed this done in a range of government agencies and private businesses).  Later on that day, another employee in the receiving department is tired of the knocks at the delivery door so they just prop it open.  Fire doors are propped open to allow ease of access for smokers. An employee may have observed a customer leaving your store with stock without paying but does nothing to prevent its loss or alert management. Unfortunately, these are real, security breach, situations and only a couple of the many examples.

It is critical to have a solid security program in place along with a strong security culture in your place of business.  When these two are hand in hand, the success of the program is dramatically enhanced.  A strong security culture is integrated into the day to day actions and decision making of each of your employees.  This security culture must start at the top in order for it to be enforced throughout the organization.  The security policies and procedures should be designed so that they will be adhered to by everyone that interacts with your business; executives, employees, contractors, vendors and visitors.

During business hours our people are our first line of defence in identifying what may be out of the ordinary. Technology is coming along but has not gained the human ability to make decisions based on gut feeling or knowing when something just is not quite right.  If your people are not trained and have regular awareness sessions to reinforce the criticality of their security awareness, your agency or business will be vulnerable to the many threats that exist today.

Security awareness is not a cost to business – it is a core part of business resilience. Make security awareness a business enabler in your agency or business today.

Local post office with external door
chocked open

Local post office full office access via
the chocked open door.

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Raymond Andersson receives Freedom of The City of London

Raymond Andersson, an international, national and corporate security professional, was honoured to receive the Freedom of the City of London, by redemption, as a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals, in November 2014.

A formal ceremony was held in the Chamberlain's Court at Guildhall, where Mr Andersson was extended the hand of fellowship by Clerk to the Chamberlain of the City of London, following an age old tradition believed to date back to 1237.

The tradition remains a distinctive part of London's history, as a privilege bestowed on valued members of the community, visiting dignitaries, and those who have achieved success, recognition or celebrity in their chosen field.

Noted contemporary recipients include Ulysses S. Grant (awarded on 15 June 1877), Florence Nightingale, Dame Judi Dench, Princess Diana, Bill Gates, Stephen Fry, Bob Geldof, Morgan Freeman and former Australian Prime Minister Robert Hawke.

Whilst no special privileges are associated with the honour in this day and age, it provides recognition of excellence in the profession or service that the recipient provides to society.
Mr Andersson was honoured to receive this recognition as an international security professional.

NT Government House Event - December 2016

It was a pleasure to be welcomed to Government House by The Administrator, His Honour, the Honourable John Hardy OAM and Mrs Marie Hardy for the Government House Foundation of the Northern Territory reception.

A diverse group of Territorians' enjoyed the ambiance of the heritage building, that has survived war and cyclones and hosted many of the Royal Family, for an evening event hosted by His Honour. 

An enjoyable evening was had by all.

Professionalism in Protective Security

In his essay on why professionalism is still relevant, Associate Professor George Beaton provided critical analysis of the relevance of professionalism in today’s society. Professor Beaton’s work is well respected and supports the work of Professions Australia.

Professions Australia is a national organisation of professional associations. It advances and promotes professionalism for the benefit of the community.

Professions Australia confers professional status on learned persons, through professional bodies that meet certain standards:

A profession, they say:

•  confers status within society,
•  organises itself into some sort of professional body,
• is learned—i.e., requires prolonged and specialised training and education,
• is altruistic (orientated towards service rather than profit),
•  offers autonomy within the job role,
• is informed by an ethical code of some kind,
• is non-commercial,
• has collective influence within society,
• is self-regulatory,
• is collegial, and
• is client-focused.

Professionals in the medical field, accountants and lawyers hold a special status within society as a result of being conferred with credentials indicating a special status within their own field and with society.  The security profession has, for many years, been developing and professionalising and has now reached a stage where individuals have the same opportunity to be recognised as professionals within the security industry and within society.

As part of professionalization, the Attorney-Generals’ Department supported the creation of the Australasian Security Professionals Council, which has morphed into Security Professionals Australasia.  This body is the peak body representing security professionals in Australia and New Zealand.

Practitioners operating as security professionals in Australia and New Zealand will need to meet the appropriate standards for membership to Security Professionals Australasia and Registration on the Australasian Security Professionals Register.

Professionals in the security industry must gain qualifications that confirm knowledge and skills in the science of security and management that reflect continuing self professional development.

What are professionals?

Professionals are altruistic and express their altruism through serving in networks of responsibility within their profession, often on a volunteer basis. A certain degree of altruism is expected in the true professional, a certain amount of selfless service.

Altruism includes the sharing of knowledge and the continued development of a body of knowledge in security science, management and operations.  Writing articles for professional magazines, contributing or writing books that will be reference material for future generations and public speaking on matters pertaining to the security field are examples of further altruistic contributions that professionals provide to the industry and community.   

In 1992, Lord Benson proclaimed that a profession, in order to be considered professional, must operate within certain ethical principles, most of which ultimately pertain to the public interest. In fact, he said that ethical standards in a profession “should be higher than those established by the general law” and “designed for the benefit of the public and not for the private advantage of the members” (Spada Limited, 2008, p. 38). State protection makes it incumbent upon the profession to act in the public interest.

Acting in the public interest is a distinguishing hallmark of a profession—perhaps the distinguishing hallmark, as noted in the first section of his essay. Lord Benson again: “Indeed, it is the duty to serve the public interest which distinguishes a profession from a representative body such as a trade union” (Spada Limited, 2008, p. 38).

Not only is it ethically desirable for professions to act in the public interest, but it is necessary for them to do this in order to remain viable. Professions are unlike other goods and services in that they operate on trust. Trust will come from complying with a code of ethics which are the essence of professionalism—or the “soul of professionalism.”

Security Professionals Australasia has adopted a Code of Ethics, developed by Ray Andersson, RSecP that provides standards of accepted professional behaviour that is enforced by the Security Registry, through potential withholding or cancellation of professional status if breaches of the Code are found to have occurred by an individual.  The Code is the essence of professionalism and breaches of the Code can bring the individual and the profession into disrepute, reducing trust.

The great majority of the public are forced to trust the professional because they do not have the same amount of knowledge as he or she does in the matter at hand.

When professionals prove themselves unworthy of trust, public approval of the profession goes down, and the prestige and presumably—over time—the profits of the profession go down with it. US research has indicated evidence that public trust of professionals is eroding.  Doctor and lawyer professional credibility has declined over the years and accountants and bankers rank lower than ‘entertainers’.

Professionalism is about the delivery of specialised knowledge in a way that balances the attendant power. That is why trust is the essence of professionalism and its most necessary component—that around which all the other hallmarks of professionalism revolve. The power that asymmetric knowledge gives one person over another must oblige the practitioner to act in the client’s best interests.

Because knowledge is power, true professionals adhere to ethics when dealing with clients in order to harness that power for the good.

It is in a profession’s interest to safeguard, regulate and husband their specialised knowledge through establishing training schools and obtaining exclusive licensure through the state. “Monopoly and credentialism are the key elements of professionalism’s economic privilege” (Freidson, 2001, p. 198).

It is likewise in the public’s interest that those who do not have the prerequisite knowledge in their field are not licensed to practise a profession. Ideally, the professions exist with society in this sort of symbiotic relationship.

In Australia we are well served with training organisations and tertiary institutions that provide education and training in the science and management of security. These institutions harness studies and research to compile a body of knowledge that can be passed onto future generations.

Professional associations hold conferences and publish papers, keeping members—and, these days, the public—abreast of developments in the relevant profession. These associations not only have a duty to safeguard and protect the specialised knowledge of the field and to certify its attainment; they also have an obligation to keep up with innovations. In recognition of this, Lord Benson cited continuing training and acquisition of new knowledge as one of the major criteria for professionalism (Spada Limited, 2008, p. 38). The professions actively interface with society in order to keep renewing themselves and remain indispensable.

If they are not open to assimilating the new knowledge gained by interface with society, professions may stifle truth and, in so doing, become a detriment to society.

Professionalism contributes to economic growth and social mobility. Professionalism is more crucial now than ever before to society’s economic, social and moral wellbeing. The impact of professionalism on society is both wide and deep. Its essence defines and directs many of society’s endeavours in an ever more interdependent, informed and complex world.

Professionals drive innovation and progress. The industry makes it happen.

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Bibliography

Geaton, G., 2010. Why professionalism is still relevant. Available at http://www.professions.com.au/

Freidson, E., 2001. Professionalism, The Third Logic: On the Practice of Knowledge. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Spada Limited, 2008. British Professions Today: The State of the Sector. Spada, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the Law Society and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) [online]. Available at: http://www.ukipg. org.uk/executive_group_resources/spada-britishprofessions- today.pdf [accessed 15 December 2009].

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