You're paying for a security guard at your warehouse, medical center, shopping center, or commercial building. But are you getting security — or are you getting a person sitting in a chair? Most property managers and facilities directors don't know what to expect from a guard because they've never been given a standard to measure against. This is that standard.
If your current guard isn't doing at least five of these seven things, it's time for a conversation — either with your provider or with a new one.
The Seven Guard Duties
- Completing Documented Patrol Routes (Not Just Sitting at the Front Desk)
- Writing Detailed Incident and Activity Reports After Every Shift
- Knowing Your Emergency Procedures Cold
- Controlling Access — Not Just Waving Everyone Through
- Maintaining a Professional Appearance and Demeanor at All Times
- Communicating Proactively — Not Just When Something Goes Wrong
- Knowing Your Property, Your People, and Your Routines
1. Completing Documented Patrol Routes (Not Just Sitting at the Front Desk)
The difference between a security guard and a security system is movement. A guard sitting at the front desk watching monitors is one thing. A guard actually walking your property — checking doors, inspecting grounds, being present in different areas — is another. Real security is active, not passive.
What patrol verification looks like is specific: Checkpoint scanning systems that require guards to check in at designated locations on a timed schedule. GPS tracking that shows exactly where the guard was and when. Timestamped patrol routes that create a record you can pull and review. For a property manager overseeing a warehouse complex or shopping center, you should be able to pull a report showing exactly where your guard walked and when. Not estimations. Not memory. Actual data.
Without this documentation, there's no proof your guard was even there. Something gets stolen at 2 AM. Was your guard patrolling? You don't know. Liability issue. Insurance question. No paper trail. With checkpoint verification and GPS data, you can answer those questions immediately. You have evidence of guard activity.
Here's how to ask your current provider: Request a sample patrol report from the last week. A real report shows specific times at specific locations. If they can't produce it, or if it's vague ("guard patrolled as scheduled"), that's not verification. That's a claim with no proof. A professional provider will have this data readily available because they're already tracking it.
Learn more about guard monitoring technology →
2. Writing Detailed Incident and Activity Reports After Every Shift
Your shift ends. What happened? If your guard can't tell you, you have a problem. A shift report should be written, not verbal. Timestamped, not approximate. Detailed, not vague. It should tell you who entered the property, what was observed, maintenance issues discovered, suspicious activity, deliveries received, any irregularities.
Why does this matter? Because when something goes wrong — and eventually something will — you need documentation. If a guard at your medical center didn't report a broken lock on the pharmacy entrance, and later there's a break-in, that missing report becomes evidence of negligence. If a warehouse guard didn't document that the back fence was damaged at the 11 PM patrol, and inventory goes missing that night, there's no record showing the fence was compromised. No paper trail. No insurance claim. No defense.
A good daily report is brief but specific. "1445 hrs: Checked east warehouse door, lock functioning. Observed trash accumulation by loading dock, notified facilities. 1530 hrs: Delivery truck arrived, driver credentials verified, unloaded 8 pallets." That's the level of detail you need. It shows presence, attention, and problem-solving. If your guard's report says "nothing unusual to report," that's lazy, not professional.
The companies that stand behind their guards are the ones with documentation. They're proving what happened. They're protecting both the client and themselves. No reports? That guard company is operating blind.
3. Knowing Your Emergency Procedures Cold
Active shooter. Fire alarm activation. Medical emergency. Power outage. Chemical spill. Workplace violence. Your guard should know how to respond to each one without thinking. Not by checking a binder. Not by calling someone. By having trained muscle memory for the most critical moments.
For a medical center, this is literally life-or-death. An active shooter scenario in a facility with hundreds of patients means your guard is either the first responder or the first obstacle. They need to know where patients shelter, which exits are clear, how to communicate with law enforcement, how to prevent the shooter from accessing vulnerable areas. No hesitation. No improvisation. Training and muscle memory.
For a warehouse storing hazardous materials, it's regulatory compliance. OSHA requires that anyone on site understands the chemical inventory and knows the response procedures. Your guard should know which materials are stored where, what hazards they present, and how to evacuate safely. If there's a spill, the fire department needs to know immediately. Your guard needs to communicate what's spilled. That requires knowledge, not guessing.
How to test your guard's preparedness: Stop by unannounced and ask them to walk you through the fire evacuation plan. Which exit routes are primary? Where do people assemble? Who's responsible for doing a headcount? If they have to look it up or ask someone, they're not prepared. A good guard can recite it. They've practiced it. They understand the why, not just the procedure.
4. Controlling Access — Not Just Waving Everyone Through
Access control isn't just having a guard at the door. It's verifying credentials. It's logging visitors. It's challenging unfamiliar faces professionally. It's managing delivery drivers at the loading dock. It's understanding the difference between a regular contractor and a stranger. For a warehouse or medical facility, the guard is the gatekeeper between the public and your assets. That's a critical role, and it requires judgment, not just a uniform.
A greeter waves people in and smiles. A security professional asks for identification, verifies it against an approved list, documents the entry, and escorts the visitor if necessary. They notice patterns. That delivery driver who comes every Tuesday at 2 PM — the guard knows them, knows what they're picking up, knows it's routine. A different vehicle from the same company shows up? Guard verifies credentials, confirms the order, watches the transaction. That's access control.
The difference is the difference between liability and security. If someone unauthorized gets into your warehouse and walks out with high-value electronics, and your guard didn't verify they had credentials, that's on your guard. If someone accesses your medical center's pharmacy and your guard wasn't tracking who entered that area, that's a security failure. Access control means knowing who's on your property and why.
Warehouse Security → | Medical Center Security →
5. Maintaining a Professional Appearance and Demeanor at All Times
Uniform clean and pressed. No personal phone use during duty hours. Standing or alert posture during peak hours. This isn't about being rigid. It's about being professional. Your guard represents your property 24 hours a day, even when they're just standing there doing nothing.
At a shopping center, your guard is the first face customers and retailers see. If that person is slouching at a desk scrolling through their phone, what message does that send? That security doesn't matter. That this facility isn't taken seriously. If the guard is alert, uniform crisp, and engaged, that sends a different message: We care about security here. We're paying attention. You're safe.
At a medical center, that guard represents the facility's professionalism. Patients and families are stressed. They're looking for calm, competence, and order. A slovenly guard doesn't inspire confidence. A professional one does. Same for a warehouse. Clients walk through. They see your guard. They form judgments about how seriously you run the operation.
Your guard is your brand ambassador whether you realize it or not. They're the human element of your security. They're what people see. How they present themselves — their attitude, their appearance, their professionalism — reflects on your entire operation. A mediocre security company hires guards and sends them out. A good company ensures they understand that representation matters.
Shopping Center Security →
6. Communicating Proactively — Not Just When Something Goes Wrong
A good guard flags potential issues before they become incidents. Broken lock on the warehouse fence discovered at dusk? Guard reports it immediately, doesn't wait for the next shift briefing. Suspicious vehicle that keeps circling the shopping center parking lot? Guard notes the pattern and reports it, doesn't wait until something actually gets stolen. Lighting outage in the stairwell? Guard tells someone right away so it gets fixed, doesn't assume facilities already knows.
Proactive communication separates a professional guard from a warm body. A warm body reacts. A professional anticipates. They're thinking about your property. They're looking for problems before they become big. They're not waiting for something to happen and then calling 911. They're preventing the situation from escalating.
If you only hear from your guard when something bad happens, you're missing half the value. You're getting reactionary security, not preventive security. A good provider trains their guards to communicate proactively because that's how you prevent incidents. That's how you catch problems early. That's how you protect your property instead of just documenting what went wrong after the fact.
7. Knowing Your Property, Your People, and Your Routines
After two weeks, your guard should know the regular delivery drivers at the warehouse by name. They should understand the shift change schedule at the medical center. They should know the problem areas in the shopping center — where shoplifters are most active, where equipment keeps getting vandalized, where lighting is inadequate. Site familiarity is security knowledge.
If after a month your guard is still asking where the restroom is, that's not a guard problem. That's a training and retention issue. It means your guard company isn't investing enough time in onboarding. They're plugging people in and hoping for the best. Professional companies do better. They have a structured onboarding process. They pair new guards with experienced ones for the first week. They create familiarity because they understand that a guard who knows your property is a guard who can actually protect it.
Companies with high turnover can never achieve this. If you're cycling through guards every 2-3 months, you're always training. You're always dealing with learning curves. Your guard company's retention rate is a direct indicator of security quality. If they keep their guards for 6-12 months on the same account, site familiarity builds. Knowledge compounds. Security improves. If they're replacing guards quarterly, you're starting over constantly.
Security Hiring Guide for Los Angeles →
Score Your Current Provider
Give your current security provider a score: How many of these seven does your guard actually do? Be honest. Count only what's consistently happening, not what should be happening.
If the answer is four or fewer: The problem isn't the individual guard. It's the company behind them. Training, supervision, accountability, and retention all start at the top. A security company that can't consistently deliver on these seven basics isn't equipped to protect your property. If you're looking for a provider that treats these as the minimum standard, Scaife Protection (PPO-12958) has been doing exactly that since 1997.
If the answer is five or more: You have a solid provider. Keep them and make sure to communicate what's working so they know to maintain the standards.
See other red flags of a bad security company →
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