How do security guards work with police?

Two different jobs

Police enforce the law; security officers protect a property on behalf of its owner. The two work together most days on Houston properties, and the relationship works best when each stays in its lane. The officer observes, deters, controls access, reports and calls; the police investigate, detain and arrest. Price Protection officers are trained to make the call early and to make it useful, because a clear, calm, well-informed call gets a faster and better response than a vague one.

What a good call contains

The address and the exact location on the property, which matters on a large community or a campus. What is happening, in plain words. A description of the people and vehicles involved, with a plate where possible. Whether anyone is hurt or armed. Where the officer is and what the officer is wearing. Which gate or entrance the patrol car should use and who will meet it. The officer stays on the line as long as the dispatcher wants and keeps the scene in view without approaching it.

The handoff

The officer meets the patrol officers at the entrance the call named, with keys, gate codes and the camera reference, points out the people and the place, gives a short account and then steps back. Police take over. The officer records the time police arrived, the names or unit numbers where given, the case number and what happened next, and the client receives the incident report the same day. Where police need footage, the property’s policy on export applies.

Who to call, and when

Post orders name the agency for the address, Houston Police in the city, a sheriff’s office or a constable outside it, and the smaller cities’ own departments where they apply, and they say which situations go to 911 and which to the non-emergency line. They also name the property’s own contacts, so the manager hears from the officer before hearing from a resident. The coordination with Houston police article covers the relationship in more detail.