What Equipment Should I Include in a Security Patrol Vehicle?

What Equipment Should I Include in a Security Patrol Vehicle?

When we covered how to make money on your mobile patrols, it raised a common follow-up question: what security guard equipment should I include in my mobile patrol vehicle? We’ve put together a comprehensive checklist of must-have gear for your next patrol route, starting with a quick summary and then covering each category in detail.

Security patrol vehicle checklist at a glance

Category	Essentials	Why it matters
Documents	Post book or digital post orders, client contacts, route details, equipment inspection checklist	Officers know every site, and gear doesn’t go missing
Emergency gear	Medical kit, weather gear, emergency blanket, flares and cones, reflective vests, fire extinguisher, water	Officers can handle injuries, crashes and severe weather
Maintenance	Tire kit, jumper cables, tire sealant, oil and fluids, small toolbox	A breakdown doesn’t end the route
Communication	Hands-free headset, charger, mounted phone or GPS, company or personal phone	Officers stay reachable for dispatch and clients
On-site gear	Light bar or floodlights, flashlight, batteries, hard hats, restraints or sprays where permitted	Officers can do the job when they arrive
Useful extras	Work gloves, dog treats, trash bags, hand sanitizer, snacks	Small problems get solved on the spot

Documents

There are two key documents that need to be in every security patrol car. First, make sure the car contains the post book and client documentation, with important information about properties, contacts, and patrol routes. Alternatively, you can have all this information available digitally in a robust security guard patrol system.

Next, there should be an equipment inspection checklist detailing everything that needs to stay in the car, so officers can’t have any excuses for “accidentally” taking something with them.

Emergency gear

With enough patrol cars spending enough hours in the field, eventually someone’s going to run into an emergency situation. Maybe it’ll be an injury, or a car crash, or inclement weather; whatever the case, you need to be prepared. Some useful emergency tools to have on hand are:

• Medical kit (a standard first aid kit is fine)
• Inclement weather gear
• Emergency blanket
• Road flares & traffic cones
• Reflective vests
• Fire extinguisher
• Water
• Ice chest (if in a desert area)

Maintenance

Put a good maintenance program in place, find a reliable mechanic and use a thorough inspection checklist. You need to know that officers are putting oil in the car and checking the tires.

Regular inspections are key to preventing serious maintenance issues with patrol vehicles (see our guide to calculating patrol vehicle life-cycle cost for more on that topic). Even with a good inspection checklist, though, sometimes breakdowns will happen, and you need to be prepared, so make sure you have:

• Tire maintenance equipment
• Jumper cables
• Can of tire sealant
• Oil and transmission fluid
• Simple detailing equipment
• Small utility tool box
• Air fresheners

Communication equipment

You always want your officers in the field to be accessible, whether to get instructions from you, take calls from customers/residents, or coordinate with other patrols. To make sure they’re always reachable, ensure that they have:

• Hands-free headset for calls while driving, where local law allows
• Phone charger
• Mounted GPS
• Company phone (or their own mobile device)

Operations and on-site gear

All that other stuff is there to take care of your officers and your patrol car. That’s all critical, as you can’t have a mobile patrol without an officer and a car. Still, you also want to make sure they’ve got all the security gear needed to do the job properly when they arrive at the location.

These include obvious items, such as:

• Light bar(s) or floodlights
• Flashlight
• Batteries
• Zip ties or handcuffs, where permitted and trained
• Pepper spray, where permitted and trained
• Hardhats (for construction sites)

But there’s also some less obvious things. For instance, we’ve found it very useful to have:

• Work gloves
• Dog treats
• Trash bags
• Hand sanitizer
• Candy or snacks

Those last two items especially come in handy when you have to deal with trespassers and repeat loiterers.

With all these items in hand, your officers should be prepared for anything they might encounter on a mobile patrol. You’ve still got to have the proper training and processes in place, but starting with the right equipment sets you up for success.

Technology that turns a patrol car into a mobile office

Physical gear keeps officers safe and prepared. The software on their phone or tablet is what makes each run efficient, accountable and easy to prove to clients.

• Optimized routes. TrackTik mobile patrol builds the fastest patrol tour routes, with enough unpredictability to stay reliable, and shows patrol progress in real time.
• Closest-guard dispatch. TrackTik security guard dispatch assigns the nearest available officer, with real-time personnel status, location, ETA and SLA timers on every call.
• Equipment accountability. TrackTik asset tracking documents who checked out keys, devices and equipment, when and where, and alerts you when an item isn’t returned on time.
• Proof at every stop. Checkpoints are recorded by QR code, NFC tag or geolocation, and officers file media-rich incident reports directly from the field.
• Customer-ready reporting. Patrol data turns into detailed reports your clients can trust.

Build a pre-shift vehicle inspection routine

A checklist only works if officers use it every shift. This routine takes about ten minutes and prevents most of the problems that end routes early.

1. Check out assigned equipment. Log keys, devices and vehicle gear to the officer starting the shift.
2. Walk around the vehicle. Check tires, lights, fluids and any new damage, and photograph anything unusual.
3. Confirm the kits are complete. Use the inspection checklist to verify documents, emergency gear, maintenance supplies and on-site equipment.
4. Test communication. Make sure the phone is charged, the mount is secure and the patrol app is logged in and working.
5. Review the route. Check today’s run sheet, site notes and any special client instructions before leaving.
6. Close out at shift end. Return equipment, report any shortages or damage and leave the vehicle ready for the next officer.

Keep your patrol vehicles profitable

Equipment is only one part of a profitable mobile patrol. Route design, fleet costs and launch planning matter just as much. Learn the 5 essential steps to optimizing a security patrol route, and if you’re expanding, review the keys to success when launching a mobile patrol.

Equip your mobile patrol with TrackTik

The right gear prepares officers for anything on the road. The right platform proves every stop they make. Book a TrackTik demo to see how route optimization, dispatch and asset tracking work together for your mobile patrols.