4 Security Guard Tips From An Experienced Patrol Officer

Starting out as an officer standing post in the snow, rain and mud, I know what it’s like out there. I’ve learned all about the little problems that can make officers miserable. I had some “old timers” help me out when I first started, so now I want to pass on some of that advice to younger officers today. Here are 4 tips that I’ve learned in my more than 32 years in the field.

Want to go further? Learn the 4 key traits that define a successful security officer, from communication skills to integrity on every shift.

1) Staying Awake

For me, it’s always been hard to stay awake on the graveyard shift. Your body’s on a weird schedule, it’s late, and often there’s not much to do besides make your rounds. So how do you stay awake when your eyelids start to droop and your head starts bobbing down to your chest? There are some common sense tips you can follow like eating right, getting a good sleep schedule, and exercising, but sometimes even all that doesn’t work.

One tip I’ve used hundreds of times is to take just a pinch of coffee grounds and put it between your cheek and lower gum, like chewing tobacco. The caffeine will get into your system about 5 to 10 minutes faster than if you drink a cup of coffee. If you’re not used to drinking coffee or caffeine, it might be nasty and bitter, but it works.

More ways to stay alert on the graveyard shift

Caffeine helps, but it works best as part of a plan. Officers who stay sharp all night usually combine several habits:

• Protect your sleep. Sleep in a dark, cool, quiet room and keep a consistent schedule, even on your days off.
• Time your caffeine. Use it early in the shift and skip it in the last few hours so you can sleep when you get home.
• Eat light and often. Small meals and plenty of water keep your energy steadier than one heavy meal at midnight.
• Keep moving. Stretch between rounds and treat every patrol as a chance to walk. These ways security officers can stay fit on duty work at almost any post.
• Take your breaks. Rest periods exist for a reason, and in many places they are required. Our guide to security guard break laws explains the basics.
• Speak up when it matters. If you are too tired to patrol safely, tell your supervisor. A drowsy officer is a safety risk, not a toughness test.

2) Dealing With Frozen Locks

If you live in a cold weather state and encounter ice, snow, and bitter cold during your patrols, what do you do if you come across a frozen lock? It can be extremely frustrating when you are outside, your fingers and hands are numb, and the lock is frozen shut.

You should always carry a lighter or matches and a piece of newspaper with you on patrol. Just stuff a bit of newspaper in the lock, light it, and the snow or ice should melt away pretty quickly.

Safety note: An open flame near a door, building or stored materials can start a fire, damage the lock and may break site rules. Before reaching for a lighter, try a commercial lock de-icer or a chemical hand warmer held against the lock, follow your post orders, and report the frozen lock so maintenance can fix it.

Build a cold-weather patrol kit

• Warm, flexible gloves. Choose a pair that works with your phone so you can scan checkpoints without taking them off.
• Hand warmers and lock de-icer. Both fit in a jacket pocket and solve most frozen-lock problems.
• A flashlight with spare batteries. Cold drains batteries faster than you expect.
• A charged phone and a power bank. Your device is your radio, your report form and your safety line.
• Traction and layers. Ice cleats and moisture-wicking layers keep you upright and comfortable for the whole round.

3) Checking Doors

Do you know how to properly check a door when you’re on patrol? Just remember the three words: feel, push, and pull.

When you approach a door, put your palm on it. Feel for any unusual heat. If the door is hotter than the rest of the facility, that could be a sign of a fire on the other side. Know what’s on the other side of the door and how warm it should be so you can quickly feel if something’s wrong.

Secondly, push and pull the door as you turn the knob, even if you know which way the door is supposed to open. Sometimes, a new door will be installed that opens in the opposite direction from the original. Or maybe you’re just tired and forgot which way it opens. Everyone has a brainfart now and then. No matter what, using the push/pull method will ensure that the door is properly secured.

Feel, push, pull at a glance

Step	What to do	What it tells you
Feel	Place your palm flat on the door before touching the handle	Unusual heat can signal a fire on the other side
Push	Push firmly while turning the knob	Confirms the door is latched, whichever way it opens
Pull	Pull firmly while turning the knob	Catches doors that were rehung or open the opposite way
Record	Scan the checkpoint and note anything unusual	Creates a time-stamped record that the door was checked

With the TrackTik security guard tour system, each door on your round can be a checkpoint you scan by NFC, QR code, barcode or GPS, with questions, forms or alerts attached. The TrackTik guard tour app also alerts supervisors to missed checkpoints, so a skipped door never goes unnoticed.

4) Be Paranoid

This last tip may make your supervisors cringe, but it is time proven and well worth any possible headaches it causes. Be paranoid, or as some call it hyper vigilant, while on duty. That doesn’t mean panic every time something goes bump in the warehouse at 0200, or be so scared that you freeze up on patrol. It just means that you don’t overlook any potential threat.

Don’t let unusual noises or incidents go un-investigated, unreported, or ignored while you are on duty. If you hear noises at 0300, or 1500 for that matter, that shouldn’t be there, you need to investigate to ensure the safety and security of the facility.

Thieves can get into your facility and sound like rats or construction work. If you check it out, the worst-case scenario is that it is just a rat and you lose a little time. The best case scenario is that you stop a crime and save your client thousands of dollars. This is especially true if you work in a warehouse that houses high value material or products.

Several businesses have been robbed blind because the burglaries have come in through an unprotected wall or roof, and neighboring businesses and employees just thought it was construction. If in any doubt, call the police or your supervisor.

How to investigate safely

Vigilance only helps if you get home safe. When something seems wrong, work through it in order:

1. Stop and observe. Note what you see and hear, where it is coming from and the time.
2. Report before you approach. Tell your supervisor or dispatch where you are and what you are checking. With TrackTik security guard dispatch, operations can see officer status and location and send the closest available officer to back you up.
3. Follow your post orders. Never enter an unsafe area alone. If you see signs of a break-in in progress, step back and call the police.
4. Document everything. Photos, times and details turn a hunch into evidence. TrackTik incident reporting lets you file from your mobile device while the details are fresh.

Building this kind of awareness takes practice. These tips on cultivating situational awareness among security officers are a strong next step for your whole team.

Bonus: Keep Learning

These secrets might seem a little bit kooky to some people, but learning from those with experience can save you some big headaches in the field. Ask any experienced security officers that you work with for their advice, and don’t be afraid to come up with your own tips and tricks based on your experiences.

Supervisors can turn that experience into a program. Here are the keys to a successful and engaging security officer training program.

How TrackTik Supports Officers on Every Patrol

• Guided tours. Step-by-step task guidance and checkpoint scans keep every round on track.
• Optimized routes. TrackTik Mobile Patrol builds efficient patrol routes with enough unpredictability to stay reliable, and shows progress in real time.
• Faster, cleaner reports. ReportPro AI turns rough field notes into polished incident reports.
• Lone-worker safety. TrackTik Guard Management helps keep lone workers safe, with alerts if a device is dropped and push-to-talk from any device.

Want to see it on your own sites? Book a TrackTik demo.