Investigations

[HotelSecurity]

As part of your duties, how much investigating after an incident do you do?

In hotels we do a lot. From interviewing the victim, to auditing the electronic locks to questioning suspects.

[Mall Director]

In actuallity.. Quite a bit, to the point we have 2 selected officers that attended some of our local DOJ training blocks on Investigations, and are our departments designated Investigators.

We handle alot of different areas involving:
- Merchant crimes
- Visitor crimes
- Requests by our local PD for initial and follow ups on property, either to persue action or close out actions
- DHS concerns (shopping centers are getting as tight as Airports with as interested as DHS is in them).
- Vandalism/Graffiti
- Auto break ins
And about everything in between. As a matter of fact, a merchant called me this evening to handle an internal theft issue. One of our certified officers responded, and by the time everything was all finished (3 hours, 2 PD units later) three clerks fessed up to taking over $500 in a vault.

I wish I had more man hours to resource a stronger facet for this area, because balancing hours after a call in for this, is very difficult.

[Guest]

We in patrol do not do a lot. We conduct the preliminary investigation and then the report goes to one of our two detectives. They take the case from there.

Occasionally, the detectives will ask for patrol's help on a major case. Our help usually consists of conducting canvass interviews. This happened a few months ago when a house was being burglarized, the resident came home in the middle of the burglary, so the burglars punched and kicked the resident (female) in order to escape. I ended up spending two hours interviewing all her neighbors to determine if any of them heard and/or saw anything, and of course none of them did.

[EMTGuard]

I never investigate anything. I'm just a warm body.

[Defensive tactics]

When I did loss prevention (I am moving into a new company) we were obviously in charge of investigation/arrest/follow through with police among other things. As a Security officer you are expected to make appropriate notes both on summary (misdeminour) inditable (felony) and dual offences and everything in between (suspicous persons, trespassers, loitering, arrests) the whole idea is to get a thorough backround for the police.

stay safe
Ben

[Mr. Security]

Occasionally, we receive a request to review the CCTV files for more information on an incident. That's about it. Even if illegal substances are found on site (yet to happen) we need the client’s permission to involve the police. Bomb and other threats are investigated by the police, which is fine by me since I'm not looking for a bomb at my hourly rate.

[N. A. Corbier]

I always found that interesting. You have a legal duty to report a criminal offense to the police, but many clients (e.g. Hilton in their Security Policy and Procedures Manual) state that they perfer security over police because the contract security force "has no requirement to report criminal incidents to the police."

I know up here in WI, there's actually a seperate law stating all security persons must report any crime. Normal citizens need only report violent offenses and only when safe to do so.

[Mr. Security]

I always found that interesting. You have a legal duty to report a criminal offense to the police, but many clients (e.g. Hilton in their Security Policy and Procedures Manual) state that they perfer security over police because the contract security force "has no requirement to report criminal incidents to the police."

I know up here in WI, there's actually a seperate law stating all security persons must report any crime. Normal citizens need only report violent offenses and only when safe to do so.

Basically, the client is taking advantage of a legal loophole that allows them to keep negative press from being tied in with their company name. Now if an assault, etc. takes place, that's a whole different matter. The company would be obligated legally to report the incident to protect their interests, criminally and civilly.

[HotelSecurity]

Occasionally, we receive a request to review the CCTV files for more information on an incident. That's about it. Even if illegal substances are found on site (yet to happen) we need the client’s permission to involve the police. Bomb and other threats are investigated by the police, which is fine by me since I'm not looking for a bomb at my hourly rate.

In Montreal the police will NOT search for a bomb INSIDE your property. They will search the outside. It is up to you to do the inside. If you find something, then they send the bomb squad. Their reasoning is because people working inside a place can spot things that don't belong a lot easier than a Police Officer who doesn't know the place.

[Mr. Security]

In Montreal the police will NOT search for a bomb INSIDE your property. They will search the outside. It is up to you to do the inside. If you find something, then they send the bomb squad. Their reasoning is because people working inside a place can spot things that don't belong a lot easier than a Police Officer who doesn't know the place.

There is a certain logic behind that. In fact, some companies state in the post/site orders that the guard should assist if requested to by the police. Such a request is against policy where I work. The benefit to being familiar with the site can quickly turn into a liability, especially if specific training is not provided regarding the dos and don’ts when a suspicious item is actually located.

I prefer training in the form of methods to keep the caller on the line and possibly answering questions that will assist in determining the threat level, narrow the search, and identify the motive to help in locating the perpetrator after the danger has passed.

[LavianoTS386]

^ Is bomb searching covered in your state outline?

(It is in NY)

[Mr. Security]

^ Is bomb searching covered in your state outline?

(It is in NY)

It is in the curriculum that is covered in the 8-hour course to get a guard card. The training is very basic i.e., don't touch the item, evacuate the area, report item w/ landline phone, open door/window in a direction where the force of the blast can escape and cause the least amount of structural damage or harm to anyone nearby. All theory and book knowledge. No hands on training is mandated.

[HotelSecurity]

In-House = No license = No courses required

[N. A. Corbier]

Our bomb searching was less about opening windows and more how to grid a building and conduct a search. Low, mid, high, etc.

[Mr. Security]

Our bomb searching was less about opening windows and more how to grid a building and conduct a search. Low, mid, high, etc.

Bomb Search 101: New guy gets to search. The rest of us will observe and report from a safe distance. "Yep, Officer, I guess he found it...."
R.I.P.