Customer security guards are frequently referred to be the “eyes and ears” of the client. You have been employed to detect and report anything out of the ordinary at the spot you are protecting. It is critical that you acquire good observational skills. On patrol is an excellent location to train. In the security sector, you may learn a variety of skills that will make your work simpler.
These are talents like observation and memory.
All elements of your profession will get easier as your observation and memory abilities increase. This will be evident in how you handle problems, including how you perform patrols and produce written reports.
What exactly are abilities of observation?
Observation is a process that comprises the following steps:
1. Noticing – is the process of being aware of something using any of your five senses.
Have you ever glanced at a TV screen but not truly seen what was on it, or travelled from A to B but not remembered how you got there? Your brain was probably on “automatic pilot” and you were thinking about something else. Your senses were providing you with information, but you weren’t paying attention. As a Security Guard, you must be always aware of what is going on around you. This is a talent that can only be learned by experience and practice.
2. Interpretation – is the process of structuring information into something meaningful.
The second stage of the observing process is interpretation. It is not enough to just observe things with your senses. You must recall the scents, sights, sounds, and sensations you encountered while on patrol. Do they provide you hints about potential hazards, accidents, or crimes? You must evaluate everything you encounter to determine whether it poses a risk to the people and property you are defending. You must learn to trust your instincts and be wary of anything or anybody out of the norm. The classic adage “better safe than sorry” applies perfectly to Security Guards:
- Avoid jumping to assumptions about individuals; express what you smell, hear, see, or feel, but don’t assume you always know what’s causing it. People might appear inebriated even when they haven’t taken any drink. This might be due to a medical condition such as cerebral palsy or diabetes.
- 3. Recalling – is the ability to recall knowledge and retrieve it when needed.
The third stage of the observing process is recollection. Supervisors, clients, police, and even the courts may frequently require you to recall occurrences, faces, names, dates, and a variety of other details. It is critical to document all you see as quickly as possible. You may be able to recall events for a brief period of time, but memories fade fast. This is especially true if your mind becomes preoccupied with other matters. You may boost your memory by doing the following: (Recall CAR)
- Concentration – is the ability to focus on one thing while disregarding everything else. Examine one individual in a crowd intently and practice describing them while filtering out other people and sounds. Each time you patrol, concentrate on a new feeling.
- Association – something new with something previously stored in your memory. This may be practised with names. Consider someone you know with the similar name when you are introduced to someone whose name you need to remember.
- Repetition – The more you repeat something, the more likely you are to remember it. Use license plate numbers to perfect this skill.
A Final Caution:
Boredom might be your worst enemy when on patrol. This is especially true if you have spent a long period working at the same location. During your patrol, you may not listen and look as attentively as you should. You may avoid boredom by changing up your patrol routine. If at all feasible, conduct your patrol in reverse. For example, you may work from the top down, inside then outdoors, or odd floors first, then even floors. Pay great attention to the small things. Our brains strive to fit everything we see, hear, and experience into what we already know, which might distort the information we get. Things aren’t always as they appear.
Your Senses
Effective observation is based on your five senses (hear, smell, touch, sight, and taste). You will rely on these talents as a professional; the better you can use them, the better and more effective you can accomplish the job. The professional will become very competent at all elements of the work with training and experience, including:
- Being able to confidently state that he/she carried out his/her tour of duty in the greatest possible manner
- Being able to detect a bad situation and take necessary action before it escalates
- Being able to provide more accurate descriptions of people, locations, and objects, as well as detecting indicators of deception while interacting with others
It is dependent on your awareness to increase your ability to gather information through your senses. What can we do about our vision? There are a few things we should know about sight and perception that will help us better the information we receive from our eyes.
Visibility
The visibility of an object is determined by three factors:
1. DISTANCE to the observer:
A person with distinguishing traits may be identified in daylight by acquaintances or relatives up to 100 yards away, but a person unknown to the observer can only be recognized in daylight up to 30 yards away. A human, on the other hand, can hardly be identified beyond 10-12 yards under a full moon.
2. The SIZE of the object:
The SIZE of the thing: Because its characteristics are not unique, a huge object can be recognized from a distance. The greater the thing, the more away the viewer may be while still recognizing it.
3. The ILLUMINATION of the object:
The quantity of light that an item reflects to the viewer’s eye impacts how quickly the observer recognizes the thing. Sunlight allows the spectator to distinguish an object more easily than street lights. The angle of light is also important. When light is present, the observer can see significantly better. When the light is on the item and away from the observer, rather than toward the observer, the observer can see far better.
The observer must also keep in mind that the colour of lighting might alter the colour of the item in the observer’s sight.
Problems Related to Sight in Observation:
Night vision entails receiving light via the retina’s periphery at night. The issue is that looking straight at an item at night causes it to fade away because the picture reaches a “dead spot” in the eye. To avoid this, gaze slightly above, below, or to one side of the item, so that the picture does not hit the “dead spot” of the eye.
Location of the observer – The observer’s position in reference to the object might influence the observer’s perception of the thing. A sitting person frequently overestimates the height of someone standing close. Keep this in mind while writing descriptions.
This problem can also be solved in reverse. The height of a person seated near to a standing observer is difficult to assess.
Hearing
This is a useful tool for recognizing people, locations, events, and items, especially at night when vision is limited. You must be aware of the many sounds that are common in your employment. The following are some noises you should learn to identify and differentiate:
- ACTIVITY NOISES – animal calls, footsteps, glass breaking, etc.
- VOICES – volume, pitch, accents, intonation, etc.
- MOTORS – drills saws, foreign vehicles, domestic vehicles, etc.
- FIREARMS – pistols, rifles, shotguns, automobile backfires.
Smell
The professional Security Guard must be able to recognize potentially harmful odours in order to aid emergency personnel and reduce the degree of loss of life and property. You should be familiar with and able to recognize the following substances:
- Gasoline
- Natural gas
- Gas fumes that endanger health, such as chlorine gas
- Smoke: wood, electric or rubber
Keep in mind that some chemicals, such as Ether, might momentarily impair your sense of smell. The longer you are exposed to a smell, the less distinct it becomes.
Taste
- Taste and scent are inextricably linked. Our taste senses can only detect sweet, sour, salty, and bitter flavours.
- While on patrol, you should never rely on your sense of taste.
Your other senses will provide you with additional knowledge, and putting unfamiliar chemicals in your mouth might cause you to get extremely unwell.
Touch
This sense can provide you with critical knowledge that would be difficult to access otherwise. Touch can help you with your job in the following ways:
- Feeling for heat from an invisible fire via walls or glass. In a burglary, vibrations caused by sound, movement, or tools;
- Check the pulse or heartbeat of a crime or accident victim who is unconscious;
- When a probable incursion is discovered, the first instinct is to utilize one’s sense of touch to investigate doors and windows in the dark for evidence of forced entry. It is safer to use your flashlight than to risk damaging evidence like fingerprints and maybe harming yourself on the twisted metal, shattered glass, or sharp slivers.
- Check for warmth in tires, engines, or mufflers to discover whether a car has been operating recently.
- To distinguish between different sorts of fabric or paper
Memory
The act of recalling knowledge is referred to as memory. To be effective in the security profession, you must have this competence. You may have developed this sense to its pinnacle, but if you can’t recollect the information supplied to you for your notes and, subsequently, for your reports to your superiors, you’re not carrying out your obligations. Your memory skills, like your muscles, improve with usage. As a result, you should add memory tests into your daily routine. These memory tests do not have to be hard or time-consuming; they can be quite easy and performed at any time.
Here are some easy exercises to help you improve this skill:
- Examine a pedestrian who goes by you and mentally record his or her look during your patrols or even while out shopping, then double back and assess how close your mental record was to the person’s appearance. As you develop, reduce the amount of time you spend studying the individual and increase the time you spend going back to re-examine them.
- Use the same method on display cases in stores or other places where a variety of goods are shown.
- Examine images, lay them away, make notes of your observations, and then compare them. This may also be done with items in a box.
How to Improve your Senses
Sight
Check that your vision has been examined and is in good medical condition. (If you need glasses or contacts, make sure you wear them). Make a conscious effort to concentrate on what you see rather than simply gazing. Keep an eye on what you’re looking at. Pay attention to what you’re seeing. This cannot be overstated.
Hearing
Make sure your hearing is in good working order. Know and be able to discern between distinct sounds that are occasionally connected with crime and those that are normal for your employment location. Understand your limitations. Do not mention that you heard a specific sound unless you are very certain it is the sound you heard.
Smell
Recognize whether this feeling is impaired due to a cold or another sinus ailment. Avoid having this happen to you. Know and be able to detect the numerous risk odours at your location.
Touch
Covering this sensation with other materials will obstruct it. Know when and how to use it, for example, to feel warmth on doors and walls in the event of a fire.
As you can see, the abilities presented in this session will be useful in all facets of your profession. The more you practice on these abilities, the more your colleagues and superiors will see progress in all facets of your job. Always be conscious of the senses you are employing at any given time, and make an effort to use them to their utmost potential. Consider which of your senses will provide you with the most and greatest information at all times, and then memorize that knowledge.
| DIM LIGHT OR DARKNESS | |
| Problem | Possible Solution |
| Objects blend in with the background. | Shift your attention a little to the side of the object. It will be easier to see than if you look at the object directly. Crouch down so that the object is silhouetted against the sky. |
| Slow moving objects and objects close to the ground are hard to see.For example, someone who is crouched down close to a building. | Look above and below the object to try to see a contrast |
| You are blinded when you move from a light area to a dark area | Shut your eyes for a few seconds to allow them to adjust. If you are moving from a dark area into a lighted area and then back into a dark area, you can shut one eye while you are in the lighted area. You will then be able to see better out of this eye in the next dark area. |
| COLOUR DISTORTION | |
| Problem | Possible Solution |
| Colours do not seem the same to everyone. | When you interview witnesses, keep in mind that they may be colour blind. |
| Colours may not look the same under different types of light. Certain types of light can distort colours. | Know what kind of lighting is inside and outside your building and how it may affect the colours that you see (for example, when describing a car). |
Things to watch for when observing people:
FACE
Forehead
- Shape: high, low, wide, narrow
Skin
- smooth, deeply wrinkled, lightly wrinkled
Markings
- Moles, scars
Ears
- Large, small, flat against head, sticking out
Cheeks
- Shape: sunken, filled out
- Wrinkles: shape, deep or light
Cheek bones
- High, low, wide, narrow
Facial hair
- Moustache, beard, sideburns
Hair
- Type: straight, loose curls, tight curls, waves
- Style: long, short, parted, neatly combed
Mouth
- Corners: turned up, turned down, level
- Upper lip: thin, medium, full
- Lower lip: thin, medium, full
Eyebrows
- Arched, straight, down slant, up slant, irregular
Eye Shapes
- Round, oval, up slant, down slant
Eyelids
- Wide open, partly closed
Nose
- Shape: flat, wide, long, etc.
- Nostrils: narrow, flared, wide
Neck
- Front: double chin, large Adam’s apple, etc.
- Sides: hanging jowls
Chin
- Shape: round, oval, pointed, square
- Other features: small, double, dimpled, cleft
FULL BODY
Jewelry
- Watch, ring, bracelet, nose ring, earrings, tie clip
Gender
- Male or female
Age
- Estimate
Height
- Compared to your own height,
Weight
- Estimate
Build
- overweight, slim, muscular
OTHER
Unusual make-up, clothing too large or too small, odd colours, patches, etc.
Glasses
- Size, shape, colour
Shirt
- Style, colour, sleeves, collar
Extras
- Belt, chains, scarf
Skin
- Colour, pimples, pock marks, acne, clean shaven, tattoos
Pants
- Colour, style (skinny jeans, shorts), cuffs
Socks
- Colour, pattern, length
Shoes
- Colour, style (laces, buckles, slip-ons, sandals)
Other clothing
- Hat, coat, sweater, tie, dress, boots, etc.
General appearance
- Neat, sloppy, clean, dirty, etc.
Things to watch for when observing objects, property, and vehicles
Object and property description:
Car description: When describing a vehicle, pay attention to every aspect. While many owners have the same car make and model, there are additional little differences that distinguish one vehicle from another of the same class, make, or model.
- Colour, Year, Make, & Model
- License plate number
- Location of the vehicle
- Identifying damage or markings
- Motor vehicle registration information
- Headlight panels
- Decals and racing stripes
- Mufflers
- Stereo systems
- Security alarms
- Window tinting
- Any items left on the seat or dashboard
