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Manned Security Guarding

INTRODUCTION


This guidance is provided to enable Consultants to gain the information necessary to determine the suitability of manned guarding provisions where encountered on site. The guidance is not exhaustive but will provide adequate insight to enable a reasoned approach to the acceptance of guarding, either as a stand-alone solution or as part of an overall security programme.


Normal reporting requirements will only require brief details, but where it is a high-risk site, where there is a high theft EML or where there is a heavy reliance on the manned guarding, the report must fully explain the roles and responsibilities of the guard(s).

 

KEY CONSIDERATIONS


  • How many security guards are on site during opening hours, overnight, at weekends and during bank holidays?

  • Are the guards SIA (Security Industry Authority) approved?

  • Are the guards sub-contracted from an SIA approved security company or are they the company’s own staff?

  • Where are the guards located on the site? Is the location secure? Details of guard / gate houses should be provided.

  • What are the guard’s defined responsibilities?

    • Static, roaming patrols, etc.

    • Monitoring any CCTV.

    • Controlling vehicular access.

    • Controlling staff & visitor access.

    • Stock arriving at and leaving site.

    • Security searches of personnel and/or vehicles.

    • Locking and unlocking buildings.

    • Setting and unsetting any intruder alarms.

  • What contact do the guards have off-site out of business hours, e.g. phone calls to their head office? What are the procedures if this contact does not happen?

  • If the guards are their own employees what precautions are in place to safeguard their safety (lone working risk assessments, etc)?

  • What procedures are in place to deal with an incident out of hours? Do they investigate, call in to head office, call the police, etc.?

  • How would a guard deal with unexpected visitors to site, especially out of hours? Where guards are responsible for locking / unlocking buildings & setting and unsetting alarms has this been properly thought through? In a duress situation the guard may be forced to let intruders on site and made to deactivate all security.

  • If guards do need access to the buildings, i.e. deliveries, what precautions are in place to prevent them from deactivating alarms and unlocking buildings under duress? Consider monitored setting / unsetting of the alarm with the guard having to call the ARC or RMRC with a password if they do need to deactivate the alarm.

  • Can the guard(s) access all areas of the building or are they excluded from high risk areas?  Can the guard deactivate the entire alarm system or is it zoned?

  • What means of communication does the guard have? Telephone, mobile telephone, two-way radios, etc.

  • Is there any form of intruder alarm protection, in particular panic buttons (portable where patrols are undertaken), ‘man-down’ devices**? Where do these signal to and what is the signalling?

  • Where patrols of the site are undertaken, are they random or co-ordinated? Does the site have any form of clock-in points to ensure all areas of the site are inspected? Is the system interrogated to ensure the patrols are being properly carried out?

  • Where patrols are undertaken, are the guards checking fences, etc. for damage, rat runs, etc.?

  • If there is a single guard on site, then should the guard be leaving the security of their gatehouse / reception?

  • Where there are multiple guards across the site, are they able to monitor each other by CCTV?

  • How familiar are the guards with the site? 

  • Are there visits to the site by mobile patrols?**Man down devices - usually a form of pendant worn by the guard which will activate an alarm if the guard is knocked over or falls over.

 

The most reliable means of ensuring that a guarding contractor complies fully with SIA licensing rules and the current edition of BS 7499: Static site guarding and mobile patrol services - Code of practice, is to only appoint companies that are approved by one or other of the industry specific bodies accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), namely the Security Systems and Alarms Inspection Board (SSAIB) and the National Security Inspectorate (NSI).

 

FURTHER REFERENCE


Detailed guidance on all aspects of this subject are contained in the RISCAuthority Security Bulletin - Security Guarding Services

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