Daily Reports/Shift Logs

[Patrickmad]

I attempted a search of the forums but I couldn't find what I was looking for.

Recently I was looking at some of our shift logs, and they were very basic.

What's the best way to word basic entries like a routine patrol or checking in on certain areas.

[Condo Guard]

It depends on the client / boss - some have no problem with a succinct log, others want more detail. All I would say is be clear - on my site some areas we just visually check, in which case we say that, or indicate it as "all clear" (i.e. no one there). Other areas we check every doorknob, padlock, etc., in which case we say "all doors / windows checked secure." One guard calls his "hard checks," which means he tugged on all the doors, yanked on the padlocks, etc.

"All secure" is OK, but I always hated seeing that eight times in a row on a log - you tend to wonder whether everything really was secure. You can break it up by putting in specifics - "All exterior doors checked secure, all outside lights working..." or "All fifth floor offices locked, fire extinguishers checked, all OK."

Its a challenge on "simple" sites like a construction site where you're just doing a fire / intrusion watch, but when you think about all the stuff you're looking at, you can come up with enough detail to show the client you're working, without writing a novel.

[tanko]

In my opinion, you want a log to include the time, security officer, category of action (Mobile Patrol, Foot Patrol, Arrest, etc), summary information section and an action taken section. The way I look at it, you have to justify your job through documentation so the more detail the better unless your boss says otherwise. In my opinion you want to speak in common language, and not use industry language because those logs or reports may be show to people who have no security experience.

Reports are completely different than logs in my opinion because they can enter in court, or required by an insurance company - not to say shift logs cannot. With reports you don't want to write anything that could be misconstrued and used against you later. The simple who, what, when, where and sometimes why is sufficient.

[Nauticus]

I personally like detail. "All secure" doesn't work for me, because (and it actually protects the guard later on) if you state exactly what it is that is secure. I mean, specific doors. If they go and find something that was in the "area" that you secured, unsecure, then you have a lot of explaining to do.

I liked to outline every single thing I did over the course of the shift, and specifically what was secured, etc.

[jeff mcmaster]

I prefer to use "all ok" instead of all secure, because all secure is almost certifying that everything is perfect.

[FireEMSPolice]

I like detail as well. I dont have to put my name on each entry because my name and/or unit # is already on the top of the form, stating that its my activity alone. When I was on a campus securirty team, it would be something like this:

1400 - On duty until 2200 hours, relieved SO Smith.
1510 - On vehicle patrol
1540 - Discovered kitchen door to Building B unsecure. No staff present and nothing seems amiss upon further inspection. Door was secured
1725 - Cruiser # 3 refueled. 14.345 gallons/Mileage: 63123


You get the drift. Always be as detailed as possible, in your Daily Activity Reports and your Incident Reports . It will help you recall facts and other events later on. I cant tel you how many weeks have gone by and a Supervisor has pulled a DAR to ask me about something. Without the detail, I may have not remembered.

[HotelSecurity]

As Assistant Director but also covering the 40 hours a week of the regular Guard work I write my log as a guide so that a new employee could use it as a guide on how to do the shift. Eg:

- Locked the employee entrance at 23h00.
- Double locked the door to the gym at 23h10.
- All the Housekeeping keys except 1 was returned. I found the missing key in the Housekeeping office.
- Room 1412 complained of noise at 02h40. See report N-1204-27.
-Unlocked the Accounting office at 03h10 for the Night Cleaner.
- Delivered a towel to room 1017 at 03h30
Etc.

[tanko]

Here are some examples how I write my logs:

01/01/2012, 2315 Hours, Office Smith
Patrol - Vehicle
Summary - Initiated vehicle patrol.
Action - Conducted a visual inspection of the exterior and interior of the patrol vehicle. No obvious signs of damage. Starting mileage 12345.

01/02/2012, 0008 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Patrol - Vehicle
Summary - Traffic stop.
Action - Conducted a traffic stop of a Green Ford Taurus, CA LIC# 123ABC, at the intersection of Smith and Jones St. for loitering. Both occupants of the vehicle were checked for wants and warrants. Both individuals came back valid, and clear for any wants or warrants. Both individuals were informed of law and facility policy, and given a verbal trespass warning. I resumed vehicle patrol at 0012 hours. See report #1234567890 for additional details.

01/02/2012, 0032 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Security Violation.
Summary - Broken lock found at Building 13 next to Smith and Jones St.
Action - I requested assistance from Sgt. Jones to conduct a building search. Sgt. Jones arrived at 0034 hours. Sgt. Jones and I cleared the building at 0038 hours. There were no obvious signs of damage or theft. I secured the door with a temporary lock and sent an email informing the facility director of the incident.

01/02/2012, 0103 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Patrol - Vehicle
Summary - Traffic stop at Jones St.
Action - Conducted a traffic stop of a Green Ford Taurus, CA LIC# 123ABC, at Jones St. due to a former trespass warning at 0008 hours. Individuals were questioned, and admitted to possessing stolen facility property in the vehicle trunk. Both individuals were arrested for theft. See report #1234567890 for additional details.

01/02/2012, 0115 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Prisoner Transport
Summary - En-route to corrections.
Action - Starting mileage #12358. Both individuals transported at the same time, in the same vehicle. While en-route to corrections, both individuals stated multiple times they, "would steal again." Ending mileage #12368. I resumed vehicle patrol at 0123 hours. See vehicle patrol camera video and audio evidence attached to report #1234567890 for additional details.

01/02/2012, 0135 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Call for service
Summary - Emergency department staff requested assistance for a combative patient on a two physician hold for psychiatric observation due to suicidal ideations.
Action - Arrived on scene with Sgt. Jones at 0137 hours. The individual in question was restrained using emergency department hard restraints. Sgt. Jones and I resumed patrol at 0145 hours. See report #1234567891 for additional details.

01/02/2012, 0155 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Administrative Duties
Summary - Building 14
Action - In office with Sgt. Jones for reports, and logging evidence.

01/02/2012, 0224 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Patrol - Walking
Summary - Started foot patrol of Building 12
Action - I conducted a foot around Building 12. I checked the north and south doors. Both doors were secured.

01/02/2012, 0226 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Patrol - Walking
Summary - Started foot patrol of the northeast section of the facility property.
Action - I conducted a foot from Building 1 to Building 14.

01/02/2012, 0227 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Building Check
Summary - Building 14
Action - I conducted a foot around Building 14. I checked the west and south doors. Both doors were secured.

01/02/2012, 0300 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Building Check
Summary - Building 28
Action - I conducted an interior foot patrol of the building. I checked all floors, and all doors. 5th floor doors 501 through 585 were secured. 4th floor floor doors 401 through 485 were secured. 3th floor floor doors 301 through 385 were secured. 2nd floor floor doors 201 through 285 were secured, except room 265. 1st floor floor doors 101 through 185 were secured. See additional journal entry for security violation details. I resumed foot patrol at 0330 hours.

01/02/2012, 0312 hours, Officer Smith
Category: Security Violation
Summary - Building 28, floor 2, door 265 was found unlocked.
Action - I requested assistance from Sgt. Jones to conduct a building search. Sgt. Jones arrived at 0315 hours. Sgt. Jones and I cleared the building at 0317 hours. There were no obvious signs of damage or theft. I secured the door by locking it from the inside. The office occupants were notified about the door being unlocked via email.

[HotelSecurity]

Here are some examples how I write my logs:

01/01/2012, 2315 Hours, Office Smith
Patrol - Vehicle
Summary - Initiated vehicle patrol.
Action - Conducted a visual inspection of the exterior and interior of the patrol vehicle. No obvious signs of damage. Starting mileage 12345.

01/02/2012, 0008 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Patrol - Vehicle
Summary - Traffic stop.
Action - Conducted a traffic stop of a Green Ford Taurus, CA LIC# 123ABC, at the intersection of Smith and Jones St. for loitering. Both occupants of the vehicle were checked for wants and warrants. Both individuals came back valid, and clear for any wants or warrants. Both individuals were informed of law and facility policy, and given a verbal trespass warning. I resumed vehicle patrol at 0012 hours. See report #1234567890 for additional details.

01/02/2012, 0032 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Security Violation.
Summary - Broken lock found at Building 13 next to Smith and Jones St.
Action - I requested assistance from Sgt. Jones to conduct a building search. Sgt. Jones arrived at 0034 hours. Sgt. Jones and I cleared the building at 0038 hours. There were no obvious signs of damage or theft. I secured the door with a temporary lock and sent an email informing the facility director of the incident.

01/02/2012, 0103 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Patrol - Vehicle
Summary - Traffic stop at Jones St.
Action - Conducted a traffic stop of a Green Ford Taurus, CA LIC# 123ABC, at Jones St. due to a former trespass warning at 0008 hours. Individuals were questioned, and admitted to possessing stolen facility property in the vehicle trunk. Both individuals were arrested for theft. See report #1234567890 for additional details.

01/02/2012, 0115 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Prisoner Transport
Summary - En-route to corrections.
Action - Starting mileage #12358. Both individuals transported at the same time, in the same vehicle. While en-route to corrections, both individuals stated multiple times they, "would steal again." Ending mileage #12368. I resumed vehicle patrol at 0123 hours. See vehicle patrol camera video and audio evidence attached to report #1234567890 for additional details.

01/02/2012, 0135 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Call for service
Summary - Emergency department staff requested assistance for a combative patient on a two physician hold for psychiatric observation due to suicidal ideations.
Action - Arrived on scene with Sgt. Jones at 0137 hours. The individual in question was restrained using emergency department hard restraints. Sgt. Jones and I resumed patrol at 0145 hours. See report #1234567891 for additional details.

01/02/2012, 0155 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Administrative Duties
Summary - Building 14
Action - In office with Sgt. Jones for reports, and logging evidence.

01/02/2012, 0224 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Patrol - Walking
Summary - Started foot patrol of Building 12
Action - I conducted a foot around Building 12. I checked the north and south doors. Both doors were secured.

01/02/2012, 0226 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Patrol - Walking
Summary - Started foot patrol of the northeast section of the facility property.
Action - I conducted a foot from Building 1 to Building 14.

01/02/2012, 0227 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Building Check
Summary - Building 14
Action - I conducted a foot around Building 14. I checked the west and south doors. Both doors were secured.

01/02/2012, 0300 Hours, Office Smith
Category: Building Check
Summary - Building 28
Action - I conducted an interior foot patrol of the building. I checked all floors, and all doors. 5th floor doors 501 through 585 were secured. 4th floor floor doors 401 through 485 were secured. 3th floor floor doors 301 through 385 were secured. 2nd floor floor doors 201 through 285 were secured, except room 265. 1st floor floor doors 101 through 185 were secured. See additional journal entry for security violation details. I resumed foot patrol at 0330 hours.

01/02/2012, 0312 hours, Officer Smith
Category: Security Violation
Summary - Building 28, floor 2, door 265 was found unlocked.
Action - I requested assistance from Sgt. Jones to conduct a building search. Sgt. Jones arrived at 0315 hours. Sgt. Jones and I cleared the building at 0317 hours. There were no obvious signs of damage or theft. I secured the door by locking it from the inside. The office occupants were notified about the door being unlocked via email.

In our logbook we briefly record what we did. If it is an incident a seperate special report is written for each incident. Copies are sent to other department involved. Eg a Noise Complaint report needs to be sent to the Front Desk manager so in the morning when the guest who complains checks out & complains again the front desk staff is aware. This report does not need to be sent to the Director of Maintenance.

[Nauticus]

I prefer to use "all ok" instead of all secure, because all secure is almost certifying that everything is perfect.

My problem with this is what is "all"? If literally everything in that area is not secure, I could terminate you for falsifying reports.