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Courtesy Officer Job Description
My Departmental schedule is:
The following activities
are required by a Courtesy Officer
1. Officers are required to have
authorization to work for the property from
their respective department.
2. Officers are required to patrol
(uniform or plain clothes) the property by
foot and vehicle to provide the greatest
visible presence on the property. (This
means they can’t just drive the perimeter of
the property.)
3. Officers are “on call”. (This
should be detailed as to how they are to be
contacted and what their response should
be).
4. Officers are required to be
patrolling the property X times per
hour/shift/day/week.
5.
During the officer’s patrol the following
specific areas will be checked each time to
determine if the area is secure:
a.
Pool area.
Detail hours and property rules.
b.
Laundry rooms
c.
Fitness Center
d.
Offices
e.
Maintenance
storage
f.
All gates.
Gates (drive through and pedestrian) should
be numbered.
g.
Lighting:
(Report any lighting needing
replacement/improvement.)
h.
Fencing (they
will have to observe the entire perimeter
fence)
i.
CCTV: (all that
can be observed is if they are pointing
where they are supposed to)
6.
Officers will complete a Daily Activity
Report (DAR) every day they work. This
report must be turned in daily to the office
by _______.
7. Any incident
that requires an arrest or involvement in an
investigation of a serious nature should be
reported by phone to XXXX.
8. Officers
should take every opportunity to introduce
themselves to our tenants. (This serves two
purposes: foremost it connects the officer
to the residents. Secondly it gives the
officer probable cause, in a nice way, to
approach people they do not know.)
9. Officers
should randomly walk through the parking
lots to observe the interior of vehicles.
Tenants should be reminded to not leave
valuables in their cars. This reminder can
be accomplished a number of ways: notice to
all tenants, emails, official reminder by
officer in the way of a “We noticed…We Care”
as a way to remind tenants to not leave
things in their cars.
10. Officer will
meet with patrol officers of the patrol
district of our property each month. (This
should be documented).
11. Officer will
attend all resident meetings.
12. Officer will
attend staff meetings as directed.
13. Vacation
schedule will be provided at least 2 weeks
in advance. (What do you do about
coverage?).
14. Officers will
complete a Monthly Activity Report and
submit to ________ the first day of each
month.
15. Courtesy
officers will analyze crime trends within
the property on an ongoing basis and submit
observations and recommendations to the
Property Manager. (This analysis involves
tracking the various crimes as to Day of
Week, Time of Day, and location within the
property. A plot of the property should be
used to mark the locations of burglaries,
car break ins, etc on a continuous basis.
This information can be shared with the
property’s Crime Watch and other residents.
Burglaries occur primarily during daytime
hours. Crimes against people are more
likely to occur at night.)
.
Signed_______________________________
Date____________________
Developing a Daily Activity Report
If any
security personnel are utilized, a DAR should be
in place. Guard companies should have their own
company version however a property may have
proprietary security guards or Courtesy
Officers. Regardless, there needs to be a
mechanism in place that documents their time and
activity.
Below are
three templates that are fairly common formats.
A spiral notebook would suffice as long as every
day is documented and there is a documented
supervisory/management review of each day.
Notebooks however, when lost, lose all
documentation.
The report’s
primary purpose is accountability. It is
virtually the only method one can ensure the
officer is properly performing their duties.
The report itself can as generic or detailed as
needed for the position. Three versions are
offered below.
Version I
This version
outlines some specific areas that are required
to be checked each time the officer patrols the
property. It is recommended that specific areas
to be checked (i.e. pool) be listed individually
to ensure consistency. The report can be
formatted any number of ways to capture the
information required. While checking the same
things each and every time may seem redundant,
the consistency of duties performed is vital to
managing security personnel. The time should be
shown as to when each area was checked.
Version II
This version
is fairly straightforward. The security person
documents the time they conduct any activity
(patrol, checking buildings, light checks).
This format is more likely to leave to chance
that critical functions could be overlooked
especially if a fill-in person is working.
Regardless, detail is important when completing
these reports. They will be critical in the
event of litigation or in assuring that the
person is doing as directed.
Version
III
This is a mix
of both formats.
Report Distribution
·
Daily Activity Reports: A copy is
maintained by the Courtesy Officer and a copy is
given to the Property Manager each day.
·
Serious Incidents: Whether there is a
separate document for serious incidents or they
are recorded within a Daily Activity Report a
copy should be forwarded to the District Manager
and Corporate Offices. Internal written policy
should be in place to establish the proper
protocol.
Monthly Activity Report: A copy is
maintained by the Courtesy Officer and
distributed to the Property Manager, District
Manager, and Corporate Offices.
DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT
Version I
Date:_______________
Officer:_______________________
|
Time |
Comments |
|
|
Pool area. (Detail hours and
property rules.)________
Laundry rooms_______
Fitness Center_______
Offices_______
Playground_____
Maintenance storage_______
All gates. Gates (drive through and
pedestrian)_______
CCTV_______ |
|
Lights
|
|
|
|
|
Fencing
|
|
|
|
|
Vehicles |
|
|
|
|
Windows |
|
|
|
|
Vacant Apartments |
|
|
|
|
|
DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT
Version II
Date:____/_______/_____
Officer_____________________________
Hours worked: ________ to
________
DAILY ACTIVITY REPORT
Version III
Date:_______________
Officer:_______________________
|
Time |
Comments |
|
|
Pool area.
(Detail hours and property
rules.)________
Laundry
rooms_______
Fitness
Center_______
Offices_______
Maintenance
storage_______
All gates. Gates
(drive through and
pedestrian)_______
Lights_______
Fencing_______
CCTV_______ |
|
1700 |
Met with management
in office and discussed any new
concerns or issues. |
|
1900 |
All areas secure.
One parking lot light out on SE
lot, directly in front of
apartment 118. |
|
1930 |
Patrolled Phase II
and all was secure. Observed no
unusual activity |
|
2130 |
I observed a vehicle
draft behind a tenant entering
gate 1. The car, a 2002 Escort,
was driving slowly through the
parking lot and did not park. I
stopped the driver and
identified myself. The driver,
John Doe, 1234 Main St, said he
was looking for a friend’s
apartment, #1122. The friend’s
name was Sally. I advised him
we did not have an apartment by
that number and he did not know
Sally’s last name. I advised
him to leave the premises.
2002 Ford Escort, Blue. TX
123XYZ |
|
2300 |
No unusual activity |
|
0100 |
Off duty |
|
When the
officer’s job description is structured and
there are certain activities that must be
completed each month, there should be a method
to document that those were successfully
completed. This report should be submitted by
the first day of each month.
Monthly
Activity Report
Sample
1.
Met with area
patrol officers. (Decide if this is to be
certain or all shifts).______________
2.
Participated
in community crime watch
meeting._______________.
3.
Distributed
reminders about property left in
vehicles.____________.
4.
Obtained
police incident reports for all serious crimes
on property__________.
5.
Reviewed area
crime statistics.______________________.
6.
Reviewed
Community bulletin boards to ensure crime
prevention tips are current_____.
Criminal
Activity (Based on their review of crime
statistics of the property)
Burglary______ Auto Theft______ Burglary
of vehicles_____ Criminal Mischief______
Robbery_____ Aggravated Assault______
Murder _____ Sexual Assault______
Other______
Recommendations:
_________________________________________________________
Submitted
by:_____________ Date______________
Reviewed
by:_____________ Date______________
Copy to
District Manager Date:__________ Copy to
Corporate Offices Date:________
Revised
Date:__________
Incident Reporting By Tenants
Tenants
should be encouraged on a regular basis to
report any crimes that they may have
experienced. Reports should be a formal
document that is maintained in a binder. A copy
should be placed in the tenant’s file. It is
not recommended that the only copy of the report
be kept in the tenant’s file. Check with your
legal department on the length of retention.
Reporting Methods
A template
can be placed on the property’s web site so the
tenant can print the document and fill out.
This however requires the tenant to hand deliver
the report to the office. This same template
can be developed to allow the tenant to fill out
the form and then electronically send the report
to the office. It should be recognized from the
beginning that this electronically transmitted
form will be used for many things other than the
intended purpose.
Many
properties require a tenant to create a written
report in person at the office to report a
crime. Tenants may also be required to produce
a copy of a police report as “verification” of
the crime. Placing burdensome requirements on
tenants defeats the purpose: you want the
information about crime that occurs on your
property. Certain crimes such as sexual assault
and murder will naturally prove to be
problematic with strict reporting requirements.
Information regardless of its source is vital to
crafting appropriate crime prevention measures.
Claiming no knowledge of crime unless “properly
reported” by a tenant will hold no water in a
litigation setting. Consider all reports of
crime from tenants as valid. It is not the
responsibility of the management to determine if
any or all of the information is
valid/accurate. Have the tenant provide the
case number assigned to it by the police
department. If it was not reported to the
police, notate as such on the report.
Management has equal access to police reports
through Open Records Requests. If the incident
is of such a nature to require a copy of that
report, it can be requested directly.
Providing Notice to Tenants
Criminal activity information should be provided
to all tenants. Notification should be prompt
and bilingual. Notices can be issued in a
number of ways but perhaps the most convenient
is at common locations such as mail boxes,
exercise rooms, pools, and laundry areas. A mix
of methods ensures the widest notification such
as the use of email and notices. Crime notices
should be maintained in a single file. Check
with your Legal Department regarding retention
policies. |
