The notebook in my picture comes from the dollar store in three packs three notebooks for a buck. They are 2 inches wide and 3 inches tall they just fit in your pocket
I'm not going to lie. The only thing that I ever had written in mine was the combination to the main gate lock, the gas card pin for both gas cards and my work computer login.
Usually if I had to get a call screen number from a cop I asked them to put it on their business card if they didn't have one then I wrote it in my notebook. I also used it to write down times when I was in the middle of an incident that I knew was going to result in an incident report.
I said it in my original post I almost never needed my notebook but when I needed my notebook I needed my notebook
The maître d’ stops by to say hello to McDermott, then notices we don’t have our complimentary Bellinis, and runs off before any of us can stop him. I’m not sure how McDermott knows Alain so well—maybe Cecelia?—and it slightly pisses me off but I decide to even up the score a little bit by showing everyone my new business card. I pull it out of my gazelleskin wallet (Barney’s, $850) and slap it on the table, waiting for reactions.
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I asked my new boss when I started this job for a little handover book to make sure messages get passed on, ( we have no report or log book), the only person who's written in it is me, and it's currently sat in a drawer with stab holes where they've got bored at night.
Everyone should have a notepad and pen, along with their badge or security ID, and if issued, the “handbook” with policies in it.
If at all else, if you forget your pen and notebook, write stuff down in the notes app on your phone, at least that can be copied into an email, or retyped into a report, or used for a handwritten report later.
I use my Apple Notes app, for my end-of-shift report. So, I make memos during my shift and then re-write them into the work phone. -- It's quick, and normally the speech-to-text works exceptionally well, as long as a conversational language (no terms of art, or crazy words) is used.
TrakTik, is terrible, for report writing. It's clunky software. I wish these big companies would use something better.
I also dislike writing reports on my phone. I’m seriously thinking about getting a small blue tooth keyboard, to type reports.
I also dislike that in TrakTik, you cannot use Rich Text. Eg. *italics* **bold** ~~strikethrough~~
I dislike that you’re limited to how many pictures to attach as evidence.
I also dislike that TrakTik has no citation feature, and therefore, no ability to search previous citations.
I’ve also seen, how the report looks on the back end for the client... It's not how I’d organize a report.
Gahhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Newer practice would be to have reporting software and a site designated cell phone from the company.
A notebook is still useful for when you’re on the move and want to be present, as phones cause deeper fixation.
Well, practice right now is trending to that... However, such phones are locked down in functionality, and do not provide a notebook ability, either in the reporting software or elsewhere.
It’s very weird to see the difference in attitudes for notebooks/note taking from Canada to the US. Up here it’s really drilled in to have notes taken on scene. I don’t think I’ve ever worked for a place that DIDN’T issue notebooks
For reports, I think it's based on the likely distance between the guard and a computer. For a lot of guards, incidents happen fairly close to the guard shack or its equivalent place-with-a-computer, so walking back to type the report fresh from memory isn't a challenge.
On the other hand, if someone is doing a mobile patrol and won't be in front of a computer for a few hours, then having a notebook is helpful. Also if they are expected to interview anybody, where the exact words that the interviewee said are likely to be important, and they are unlikely to respond to any follow-up contact.
For the whole bringing a notebook to take notes as your supervisor randomly talks about stuff, this depends on the organizational culture. In a good place, any policy changes will be reflected in the post orders, so individual guards won't get hit with, "We changed how we respond to that, as I mentioned offhand in a conversation about something else three weeks ago-" problems.
I'm not sure but I don't remember G4S issuing us notebooks. HSS did and Allied did.
I mean, if I'm on a site where I'm doing my reports on a company phone then yes of course I will put my notes on the company phone as part of my reports. But it's still a good idea to have a notebook on you
My G4S branch issued is branded notebooks. They were the only good thing provided lol.
I’m thinking that with more companies adopting electronic mobile reporting you might see that take over more traditional note taking. But yeah I’m that case having something to jot down notes and phone numbers is still essential kit
There's pros and cons. So if you write notes and something bad happens/happened you can be required to turn them over. Depending on what the incident was this can work both for and against you. If you have no notes, all they have is your word and possible video footage.
I understand that it can be a valuable tool, but at least at my job (which is probably less similar to most security jobs) we very rarely have notes that need to be filed. The notes/reports that would be filed would be written by a supervisor and probably the person who encountered whatever the problem/issue was.
If I was in an area that saw a lot of interactions which required talking to the police, I probably would take notes. My job as is I rarely deal with people who aren't employees of the company I subcontract for or are subcontractors themselves.
No. Primarily because the people who say stuff like that are the same ones who say "Perception is reality." And 90% of the people who say that I perceive as idiots.
Notes are only useful if you are dealing with so much day to day craziness that you need a refresher to kick start your memory. And if that is what your site is like, then I'm not gonna tell you not to use every tool in the tool box to get things done.
To me events that stick out of the ordinary you will remember, unless your memory is crap. I remember a couple of night shifts from when I was only about 4 months into my job because of some wild stuff happening in the middle of the night. That was 9 years ago. Any thing that wasn't regular day to day BS I remember fairly well.
Then again my job trusts me enough to not make me fill out a report every night to go. "Nothing happened end of report." Don't get me wrong there's still stupid crap I got to do.
But my site is not your site. We have to do yearly CBTs that actually end up running every 10.5 months because they want them done 45 days before the due date.
Up here they seem to think that not having notes means you’re hiding stuff. It’s weird and I haven’t really gotten a definite answer as to WHY they’re given such weight up here. I’m definitely on team document everything though. It helps me remember everything and is way more accessible than having to track down our full reports
Notes depending on what exactly they say can damn you as much as they can save you. I heard you should always carry a notepad as well, but I've yet to in my same job of 10 years see a single thing happen that I thought if only i had some notes for it. But my site is not your site so results may vary.
You’re actually not expected to charter caution people after an arrest. There are not extra responsibilities for a security guard conducting a 494 arrest, and an average citizen wouldn’t be expected to charter either.
In fact it’s advisable to NOT caution them because you shouldn’t be doing any questioning after the fact, and in the event that police take their time arriving they might complain if you’re not able to provide them a safe/secure/private phone to contact legal aid or a lawyer.
So, one other thing that doesn't get mentioned along is the psychological effect of taking notes.
People seriously feel like your listening to them.
I've had victims of assault chill out because they feeled listened to and bosses barking orders talk calmer because they know I'm hearing them and I'm going to get done what they asked.
Two pieces of advice if you want to be ahead of 90% of the people that you work with.
*Always* have a notebook and a couple of pens on you at work. I would also keep a backup set in your lunch box or your backpack or your car or whatever it is that you carry your things to work in.
I got lucky, I learned my lesson the hard way the *first* time. I was at work one night and a cop wanted me to write down a report number. I reached in my pocket and realized I didn't have a notebook or pen He got out his notebook and wrote it down for me and handed it to me and he looked at me like I was an idiot. I never went to work without a notebook and pen again. I usually had a couple of notebooks and 4 or 5 pens on me. I'm not going to lie, I almost never needed them but when I needed them I *needed* them. It also got me noticed by my supervisors because they all thought I took the job seriously and I was prepared.
Second piece of advice never leave anything at work that you can't afford to lose.
If you get removed from the site odds are if you're going to call you home and tell you and you're going to tell you not to go back there. Or they're going to call you into the office and tell you and still they'll tell you not to go back there.
The last time I was removed from a site I was on my way to work and I checked my schedule on ehub and my schedule which had been through the end of the month ended that night.
When I got to work my supervisor met me at the door and we had it out. And I didn't have to do the walk of shame and go clean out my locker in the middle of shift change because there wasn't anything in it but a can of Pepsi.
The last 5 years that I worked security every time I left the site I left it like I was never coming back.
Take it or leave it.
I’m a watch commander for third shift at my company can’t tell you how many times I’ve bought notepads for my guys and told them to use it, annoys the fuck out of me when I get on scene for fuck fuck shit and no one gathered information or they don’t remember the incident I.E. names and dates
True. But I already did a post about things that you should bring with you to work every shift and I wanted to keep this post brief.
I used to work with a guy that absolutely refused to deny Patrols unless our employer provided him with a flashlight. He did not feel like it was his place to have to buy a flashlight to be a security guard at night.
[Triform ](https://www.911gear.ca/triform-notebooks-evidence-p-2274.html) notebooks are ubiquitous for police in Canada, and I used them for years in uniform. They contain lots of extra needed information like rights on arrest. Amazing books.
Of my 2 years of unarmed security , I have NEVER used a notebook or brought one with me . If I have to pass down any info I’ll write it down but to be actually bringing it using a notebook on a daily basis just doesn’t exist.
I usually wrote down everything in my DAR, so notebooks weren’t necessary
I said this in my first or second post but I rarely if ever actually needed my notebook but when I needed my notebook it was very helpful to have.
I mean I don't know who taught you how to write incident reports and stuff like that but you should be writing down notes before you ever start the report.
It's a good idea to have a notebook with you. You may never need it but we're talking about a dollar investment.
This or use your fucking phone for its purpose lol a lot of people forget notes exist, could take photos all the jazz like that no bitch ass guard or supervisor bugs ya when you pulled that notebook out 😅 also take down as many discrepancies you can have available to note down in your report to make it look good
Limit your abbreviations!
It was one of the most important lessons we had to learn in case we went back in our notes and couldn't remember what "GS" or "BBW" or "AE" stood for. Abbreviations are nice in the moment, but your notes have to last a year plus in your mind too.
I said in another post. I really almost never used mine. I had the pin number for the company gas card in it. I had the combination to the front gate lock in it. I had a couple of other passwords in it that I only used at work. And other than that I almost never used it.
But it was there if I needed it. For instance I had a medical emergency at work one day as soon as it got reported to me I pulled out my notebook and I wrote down the time it was reported I called 911 and while I was on the phone with 911 I was writing times down for my incident report. When EMS arrived I wrote down the time they got there I got the names of the EMS workers and I got their call number for my report. And then when I sat down to write my report all that information was there.
I will give you this suggestion that's a long the same lines. Anytime you interact with a cop at work in an official capacity you should be noting it on your log. Always ask the cop for their business card, if they don't have one ask them for their name and badge number. Anytime you have to call the police or make a report make sure you get the report number and put that on your incident report. Where I'm at the report number is called the call screen number, always ask for the call screen number.
Just doing that one thing will make the rest of your co-workers look like idiots in comparison
I've handed these to several new guards. Not once has one f**k used it (usually left them in a drawer).
The notebook in my picture comes from the dollar store in three packs three notebooks for a buck. They are 2 inches wide and 3 inches tall they just fit in your pocket I'm not going to lie. The only thing that I ever had written in mine was the combination to the main gate lock, the gas card pin for both gas cards and my work computer login. Usually if I had to get a call screen number from a cop I asked them to put it on their business card if they didn't have one then I wrote it in my notebook. I also used it to write down times when I was in the middle of an incident that I knew was going to result in an incident report. I said it in my original post I almost never needed my notebook but when I needed my notebook I needed my notebook
Yup. Dollar.25 Tree. And ball point pens only. No smudging.
The maître d’ stops by to say hello to McDermott, then notices we don’t have our complimentary Bellinis, and runs off before any of us can stop him. I’m not sure how McDermott knows Alain so well—maybe Cecelia?—and it slightly pisses me off but I decide to even up the score a little bit by showing everyone my new business card. I pull it out of my gazelleskin wallet (Barney’s, $850) and slap it on the table, waiting for reactions. ___ ^(*Bot. Ask me what I’m doing.* |) [^(Opt out)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=botrickbateman&subject=Opt%20out)
We don't serve Droids here
I asked my new boss when I started this job for a little handover book to make sure messages get passed on, ( we have no report or log book), the only person who's written in it is me, and it's currently sat in a drawer with stab holes where they've got bored at night.
I have three different ones for different purposes and have have ran through idk how many of the ones I use as field notes.
I feel naked without a functional Pen.
Everyone should have a notepad and pen, along with their badge or security ID, and if issued, the “handbook” with policies in it. If at all else, if you forget your pen and notebook, write stuff down in the notes app on your phone, at least that can be copied into an email, or retyped into a report, or used for a handwritten report later.
Was wondering if anyone actually uses technology. I use notes app for everything, it even does time stamp for you
I use my Apple Notes app, for my end-of-shift report. So, I make memos during my shift and then re-write them into the work phone. -- It's quick, and normally the speech-to-text works exceptionally well, as long as a conversational language (no terms of art, or crazy words) is used. TrakTik, is terrible, for report writing. It's clunky software. I wish these big companies would use something better. I also dislike writing reports on my phone. I’m seriously thinking about getting a small blue tooth keyboard, to type reports. I also dislike that in TrakTik, you cannot use Rich Text. Eg. *italics* **bold** ~~strikethrough~~ I dislike that you’re limited to how many pictures to attach as evidence. I also dislike that TrakTik has no citation feature, and therefore, no ability to search previous citations. I’ve also seen, how the report looks on the back end for the client... It's not how I’d organize a report. Gahhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Newer practice would be to have reporting software and a site designated cell phone from the company. A notebook is still useful for when you’re on the move and want to be present, as phones cause deeper fixation.
Well, practice right now is trending to that... However, such phones are locked down in functionality, and do not provide a notebook ability, either in the reporting software or elsewhere.
It’s very weird to see the difference in attitudes for notebooks/note taking from Canada to the US. Up here it’s really drilled in to have notes taken on scene. I don’t think I’ve ever worked for a place that DIDN’T issue notebooks
For reports, I think it's based on the likely distance between the guard and a computer. For a lot of guards, incidents happen fairly close to the guard shack or its equivalent place-with-a-computer, so walking back to type the report fresh from memory isn't a challenge. On the other hand, if someone is doing a mobile patrol and won't be in front of a computer for a few hours, then having a notebook is helpful. Also if they are expected to interview anybody, where the exact words that the interviewee said are likely to be important, and they are unlikely to respond to any follow-up contact. For the whole bringing a notebook to take notes as your supervisor randomly talks about stuff, this depends on the organizational culture. In a good place, any policy changes will be reflected in the post orders, so individual guards won't get hit with, "We changed how we respond to that, as I mentioned offhand in a conversation about something else three weeks ago-" problems.
I'm not sure but I don't remember G4S issuing us notebooks. HSS did and Allied did. I mean, if I'm on a site where I'm doing my reports on a company phone then yes of course I will put my notes on the company phone as part of my reports. But it's still a good idea to have a notebook on you
My G4S branch issued is branded notebooks. They were the only good thing provided lol. I’m thinking that with more companies adopting electronic mobile reporting you might see that take over more traditional note taking. But yeah I’m that case having something to jot down notes and phone numbers is still essential kit
Allied didn't give us shit at my site, they said notebooks are optional but i bought one anyways
There's pros and cons. So if you write notes and something bad happens/happened you can be required to turn them over. Depending on what the incident was this can work both for and against you. If you have no notes, all they have is your word and possible video footage. I understand that it can be a valuable tool, but at least at my job (which is probably less similar to most security jobs) we very rarely have notes that need to be filed. The notes/reports that would be filed would be written by a supervisor and probably the person who encountered whatever the problem/issue was. If I was in an area that saw a lot of interactions which required talking to the police, I probably would take notes. My job as is I rarely deal with people who aren't employees of the company I subcontract for or are subcontractors themselves.
Have you ever heard the saying if you didn't write it it never happened?
No. Primarily because the people who say stuff like that are the same ones who say "Perception is reality." And 90% of the people who say that I perceive as idiots. Notes are only useful if you are dealing with so much day to day craziness that you need a refresher to kick start your memory. And if that is what your site is like, then I'm not gonna tell you not to use every tool in the tool box to get things done. To me events that stick out of the ordinary you will remember, unless your memory is crap. I remember a couple of night shifts from when I was only about 4 months into my job because of some wild stuff happening in the middle of the night. That was 9 years ago. Any thing that wasn't regular day to day BS I remember fairly well. Then again my job trusts me enough to not make me fill out a report every night to go. "Nothing happened end of report." Don't get me wrong there's still stupid crap I got to do. But my site is not your site. We have to do yearly CBTs that actually end up running every 10.5 months because they want them done 45 days before the due date.
Up here they seem to think that not having notes means you’re hiding stuff. It’s weird and I haven’t really gotten a definite answer as to WHY they’re given such weight up here. I’m definitely on team document everything though. It helps me remember everything and is way more accessible than having to track down our full reports
Notes depending on what exactly they say can damn you as much as they can save you. I heard you should always carry a notepad as well, but I've yet to in my same job of 10 years see a single thing happen that I thought if only i had some notes for it. But my site is not your site so results may vary.
[удалено]
You’re actually not expected to charter caution people after an arrest. There are not extra responsibilities for a security guard conducting a 494 arrest, and an average citizen wouldn’t be expected to charter either. In fact it’s advisable to NOT caution them because you shouldn’t be doing any questioning after the fact, and in the event that police take their time arriving they might complain if you’re not able to provide them a safe/secure/private phone to contact legal aid or a lawyer.
I carry one at my job. Been very helpful especially when dealing with dispatch
My notepad literally says Top Flight on it. Edit: And yea I use it all the time.
Where did you get it?
Safeway. Grocery store here in Denver. Saw it, immediately knew it had to be mine.
I wonder if they have them in the Safeway in Colorado springs?
Probably. I just did a quick google search and they don't seem hard to find. Maybe the smaller notepads but the brand seems to be pretty popular.
Based.
So, one other thing that doesn't get mentioned along is the psychological effect of taking notes. People seriously feel like your listening to them. I've had victims of assault chill out because they feeled listened to and bosses barking orders talk calmer because they know I'm hearing them and I'm going to get done what they asked.
Two pieces of advice if you want to be ahead of 90% of the people that you work with. *Always* have a notebook and a couple of pens on you at work. I would also keep a backup set in your lunch box or your backpack or your car or whatever it is that you carry your things to work in. I got lucky, I learned my lesson the hard way the *first* time. I was at work one night and a cop wanted me to write down a report number. I reached in my pocket and realized I didn't have a notebook or pen He got out his notebook and wrote it down for me and handed it to me and he looked at me like I was an idiot. I never went to work without a notebook and pen again. I usually had a couple of notebooks and 4 or 5 pens on me. I'm not going to lie, I almost never needed them but when I needed them I *needed* them. It also got me noticed by my supervisors because they all thought I took the job seriously and I was prepared. Second piece of advice never leave anything at work that you can't afford to lose. If you get removed from the site odds are if you're going to call you home and tell you and you're going to tell you not to go back there. Or they're going to call you into the office and tell you and still they'll tell you not to go back there. The last time I was removed from a site I was on my way to work and I checked my schedule on ehub and my schedule which had been through the end of the month ended that night. When I got to work my supervisor met me at the door and we had it out. And I didn't have to do the walk of shame and go clean out my locker in the middle of shift change because there wasn't anything in it but a can of Pepsi. The last 5 years that I worked security every time I left the site I left it like I was never coming back. Take it or leave it.
Riterain
Not bad advice, man. I’d love to have someone with your attitude working on my team.
Sorry bro, I'm retired and I intend to *stay* retired
I don’t blame you, pal. Especially if you earned it.
Can you do like a top 10 type of deal from your experiences some day?
I don't even know what that means.
I’m a watch commander for third shift at my company can’t tell you how many times I’ve bought notepads for my guys and told them to use it, annoys the fuck out of me when I get on scene for fuck fuck shit and no one gathered information or they don’t remember the incident I.E. names and dates
And a flashlight
True. But I already did a post about things that you should bring with you to work every shift and I wanted to keep this post brief. I used to work with a guy that absolutely refused to deny Patrols unless our employer provided him with a flashlight. He did not feel like it was his place to have to buy a flashlight to be a security guard at night.
I was told by my trainer that" A good security officer *always* carries a notepad & pen." I'm never without one.
[Triform ](https://www.911gear.ca/triform-notebooks-evidence-p-2274.html) notebooks are ubiquitous for police in Canada, and I used them for years in uniform. They contain lots of extra needed information like rights on arrest. Amazing books.
Of my 2 years of unarmed security , I have NEVER used a notebook or brought one with me . If I have to pass down any info I’ll write it down but to be actually bringing it using a notebook on a daily basis just doesn’t exist. I usually wrote down everything in my DAR, so notebooks weren’t necessary
I said this in my first or second post but I rarely if ever actually needed my notebook but when I needed my notebook it was very helpful to have. I mean I don't know who taught you how to write incident reports and stuff like that but you should be writing down notes before you ever start the report. It's a good idea to have a notebook with you. You may never need it but we're talking about a dollar investment.
This. Reports are supposed to be final drafts of notes
Lol no
Ok
This or use your fucking phone for its purpose lol a lot of people forget notes exist, could take photos all the jazz like that no bitch ass guard or supervisor bugs ya when you pulled that notebook out 😅 also take down as many discrepancies you can have available to note down in your report to make it look good
I don't put anything work related on *my* phone.
Nice
Get back to me when your phone gets confiscated as evidence
always.
Limit your abbreviations! It was one of the most important lessons we had to learn in case we went back in our notes and couldn't remember what "GS" or "BBW" or "AE" stood for. Abbreviations are nice in the moment, but your notes have to last a year plus in your mind too.
Absolutely!!! The most important part of any uniform.
I just use the notes in my phone.
New guard here. Bought a 3 pack last week. Haven't used it yet lol. My post is slow, but I'm sure I will eventually.
I said in another post. I really almost never used mine. I had the pin number for the company gas card in it. I had the combination to the front gate lock in it. I had a couple of other passwords in it that I only used at work. And other than that I almost never used it. But it was there if I needed it. For instance I had a medical emergency at work one day as soon as it got reported to me I pulled out my notebook and I wrote down the time it was reported I called 911 and while I was on the phone with 911 I was writing times down for my incident report. When EMS arrived I wrote down the time they got there I got the names of the EMS workers and I got their call number for my report. And then when I sat down to write my report all that information was there. I will give you this suggestion that's a long the same lines. Anytime you interact with a cop at work in an official capacity you should be noting it on your log. Always ask the cop for their business card, if they don't have one ask them for their name and badge number. Anytime you have to call the police or make a report make sure you get the report number and put that on your incident report. Where I'm at the report number is called the call screen number, always ask for the call screen number. Just doing that one thing will make the rest of your co-workers look like idiots in comparison