How do I record a security incident and report it to the client?
Short answer
- Write the entry as soon as you can: date, time, place, people, what happened and what the officer did. State facts, not opinion.
- If force or an arrest was used, record why it was reasonable and necessary.
- If an officer is injured at work, or someone not at work goes to hospital, check whether RIDDOR requires a report.
- Send the report to the client as the contract requires. 4guards sends nothing automatically.
- Keep only the personal data you need.
What the law says
- RIDDOR 2013: the responsible person must report a specified injury to a worker, for example a fracture other than to a finger, thumb or toe. A report must be received within 10 days. More than seven consecutive days off routine work after an injury must be reported within 15 days.
- RIDDOR also covers a person not at work taken to hospital from the site. An employer reports for its employees; for others, the person in control of the premises does.
- HSE: a RIDDOR accident includes acts of non-consensual violence to people at work. A security guard's broken arm in a private area is its example of a reportable incident.
- Record reportable incidents, and injuries that keep a person off routine work for more than three consecutive days. Keep each entry for at least three years.
- England and Wales, PACE section 24A: a person other than a constable may arrest someone committing or suspected of committing an indictable offence. Arrest must be necessary, for example to prevent injury or damage. It must not be reasonably practicable for a constable to act instead.
- In England and Wales, force must be reasonable in the circumstances (Criminal Law Act 1967, section 3(1)). Under section 76 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, disproportionate force is not reasonable.
- UK GDPR Article 5: keep personal data to what is necessary, for no longer than necessary, and be able to demonstrate compliance.
Official sources consulted on :
- RIDDOR 2013, regulation 3 – Responsible person, legislation.gov.uk
- RIDDOR 2013, regulation 4 – Non-fatal injuries to workers, legislation.gov.uk
- RIDDOR 2013, regulation 5 – Non-fatal injuries to non-workers, legislation.gov.uk
- RIDDOR 2013, regulation 12 – Recording and record-keeping, legislation.gov.uk
- RIDDOR – When do I need to report an incident?, HSE
- RIDDOR explained, HSE
- RIDDOR – examples of reportable incidents, HSE
- Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, section 24A – Arrest without warrant: other persons, legislation.gov.uk
- Criminal Law Act 1967, section 3 – Use of force in making arrest, etc., legislation.gov.uk
- Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, section 76 – Reasonable force for purposes of self-defence etc., legislation.gov.uk
- UK GDPR, Article 5 – Principles relating to processing of personal data, legislation.gov.uk
Practical examples
- A burglar alarm sounds at a warehouse at 02:10. Record category, severity and a timed description such as “police called 02:15”, then close the incident when resolved.
- An officer holds a suspect until police arrive. The entry gives the offence suspected, why arrest was necessary and the force used.
- An aggressor breaks an officer's arm on a private site. That is a specified injury, so the report must be received within 10 days.
Common mistakes
- Writing the report days later from memory.
- Stating suspicion as fact.
- Recording that force was used but not why.
- Logging bystanders' names and number plates that the purpose does not need.
- Expecting photo upload or automatic notice to the client, or treating the journal as tamper-proof.
How 4guards helps
- From the Start plan you record incidents with category, severity, description and status. You maintain the escalation status, close or reopen incidents and see statistics and history per site.
- Photos are kept only as a file reference (name, storage key, size). There is no uploader and no image display.
- In the dispatch journal the text of an entry is not edited, and a follow-up is recorded as a resolution. Administrators, managers and owners can still delete entries.
- Nothing goes automatically to the client, the HSE or the police. The separate 4notify app (SMS, WhatsApp, e-mail) is included from the Plus plan; 4guards does not call it.