Security Guard Report Writing: Field Note to Finished Report

A security guard incident report answers six questions (the 5 W's and 1 H): who was involved, what happened, when it occurred and was discovered and reported, where it happened, why (only if known or stated), and how it unfolded. It then records what you did and whom you notified, in time order and past tense.

Three terms are used below. A field note is a short, timed entry in your notebook made at the scene. An incident report is the formal written account of one event; "report" is shorthand for it on this page. A daily report is the end-of-shift summary of everything that happened on your post. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists "Write reports on what they observed while on duty" among the duties of security guards and gambling surveillance officers, an occupation with 1,304,000 jobs in 2025. If you work cases as an investigator rather than standing a post, our guide to writing investigation reports that hold up covers that format.

Copy this template. Its detail prompts, and the apartment-complex field note in the next section, come from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Level II security officer training guide. Level II is Texas's training tier for non-commissioned security officers.

REPORT NUMBER:            DATE:
TIME OF INCIDENT:         TIME DISCOVERED:        TIME REPORTED:
TIME THIS REPORT WRITTEN:
POST / EXACT LOCATION:    (building, floor, entrance, reference points)
OFFICER NAME / ID:

WHO
  People involved: full names, correctly spelled, or a description:
    approximate age, height, weight, hair and eye color, clothing,
    distinguishing marks
  Vehicle: year, model, color, plate
  Witnesses: name, role, contact details as your employer allows

WHAT HAPPENED (time order, past tense, one fact per sentence)
  [time] ...
  [time] ...

WHY (only if known or stated, and attributed to the person who said it)

HOW (how you were notified; how the person entered or left; any gap in security)

WHAT I DID (each action, with time)

NOTIFIED (name, role, time: supervisor, police, EMS (emergency medical
services), client)

EVIDENCE (photos, camera footage, logs, objects, and where each is kept)

OUTCOME / FOLLOW-UP NEEDED
UNKNOWN: (anything you could not establish, labeled as unknown)

A field note is the short, timed entry you write at the scene, and it sets the ceiling on report quality, because the report is built from it. Record the time, who told you, what you observed and what you did before memory starts filling gaps.

Here is the apartment-complex case. A resident, Mary from apartment 8, tells the officer she saw "a really weird looking guy" by the swings. The officer asks the questions that turn "weird" into something usable: is he still here, what does he look like, what is he wearing, how old does he seem, what made him "weird"? The note reads:

6 PM Mary, #8 approached me advising of a "really weird looking guy" by the
swings. No longer there. Description - red short hair, right eye black.
Wearing red coat, blue jeans, white tennis shoes. Appeared to be in his late
40's, about 6 ft tall.

Look at what that note does. It names the source and the time. It turns "weird" into a description someone else could use. It also keeps the black eye as something Mary reported. You did not see it, and if the man were later found injured, your note shows you never came into contact with him. A description like this can become the missing piece in a police investigation weeks later.

Keep your shorthand in the notebook and expand it in the report. Do not write "see field notes" or "watch video" in a report: readers cannot be expected to follow your shorthand, and a camera can fail.

Replace each conclusion about a person with the behavior that led you to it, and attribute anything someone told you to the person who said it. State only facts, keep opinions out, and never fabricate or omit anything.

Use this swap table before you submit anything:

The reason is the reader. According to the Texas DPS guide, a formal report can end up with the client that hired the security company, at an administrative hearing, or read out loud as evidence in court. If you are ever questioned on yours, our guide to testifying in court covers what to say and how to use your notes. A report made of observable facts survives questioning. One built on adjectives gives a cross-examiner something to attack.

A finished incident report attributes each statement to its speaker, describes people by what could be seen, records every action you took with times, and says plainly what you did not do. This example is a vehicle parked in a fire lane; bracketed items are yours to fill in, and the same text can be entered in your daily report.

INCIDENT REPORT
Date: [date]   Post: [property name]   Officer: [name, ID]
Report number: [number]   Time written: [time]

At 9:40 PM, while on patrol, I saw a [color, year, make, model] with
[state] plate [plate number] parked in the marked fire lane outside the east
entrance of Building B. The engine was off and no one was inside.

At 9:44 PM a man walked from the building to the vehicle. He appeared to be
in his [decade] and about [height], wearing [clothing]. I asked whether the
vehicle was his. He said, "Yes, I was only dropping off a package." I told him
the lane was marked no parking and asked him to move it.

At 9:47 PM he drove the vehicle out of the lane. I did not issue a citation.
[Notified: name, role, time, or "no one."]

Unknown: the man's name. I did not ask for identification.

Three choices make this report hold up. The man's words are in quotation marks and attributed to him. The first paragraph records only what could be seen: the engine was off and no one was inside. The last lines say what you did not do and what you do not know.

Follow the format your employer sets; if it sets none, write in first person. The Texas DPS guide describes both: first person uses "I," and third person refers to people as he, she or they. Pick one and keep it throughout the report, because mixing them confuses the reader.

If you write in third person, you would refer to yourself as "the officer." That is where mistakes creep in when two officers are on the scene, since "the officer called the supervisor" does not say which one. "I called the supervisor" cannot be misread.

In California, a guard involved in a firearm discharge must file a written report within 7 days with both BSIS and the local police or sheriff, and a private patrol operator has 7 business days to report firearm discharges and certain physical altercations. These are the rules in force as of October 2026, from BSIS form 311-9:

California enacted SB 1203 on September 30, 2026. Its legislative digest states that from January 1, 2029 the fine on private patrol operators for failing to deliver these reports drops from $5,000 to $2,500 per violation, and the bill also changes what the reports must contain. Confirm current amounts and content requirements in the statutes before relying on the table.

The form asks for the date and time, the post address, whether police took a report (agency and report number), and whether there was a citation or arrest. The narrative must describe the circumstances leading to the use of force, name the suspect and witnesses with addresses, and list deaths, injuries and damage, plus the number of shots fired if a firearm was involved. The person involved signs it under penalty of perjury.

You cannot complete that form accurately from memory. Your field note is what lets you do it. Other states set their own reporting rules, so check your licensing board and your post orders (the written instructions for your site) before an incident, not after.

Run eight tests on every report before you hand it in. Each has a pass and a fail, and a single fail means you rewrite that part.

If you find an error after you have submitted, our recommendation is to tell your supervisor and add a supplemental report (a follow-up document that adds or corrects details without changing the original) instead of altering the original.

Report writing is taught inside state-approved guard training and in standalone courses. Texas covers field note capture and written reports in its Level II course. Our Georgia basic security officer course, $65 for 24 hours as of October 2026, includes a lesson on writing a professional security report and is approved by the Georgia Board of Private Detective and Security Agencies; the steps to a license are in our guide to the Georgia security guard license.

For report writing alone, take our 222. Report Writing - Security Officer course. It costs $80 as of October 2026 and takes 4 hours, self-paced. It has 34 lessons in 3 chapters, 4 assessments with 34 questions, and a final exam. It covers types and purposes of reports, the who, what, where, when, how and why elements, notes and key points, objectivity, supplemental reports, and critique and revision. You earn a certificate of completion. The course is approved in Georgia and North Carolina, and North Carolina accepts a total of 6 hours of online learning, so check your own state before you enroll; our guide to which online guard training meets state rules shows how.

Two companion courses are $80 each as of October 2026 and run 4 hours: 221. Note Taking - Security Officers and 223. Testifying - Security Officer. To ask which course fits your state, call (832) 922-1215 or (706) 268-2221, Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Eastern.