Security Coverage Planning Worksheet

How to use this worksheet

Answer the questions in order, honestly, in a sentence or two each. By the end you will have a description of the coverage you are asking for, or a clear statement of what you do not yet know, which is the thing a walk-through resolves. Price Protection’s proposals are built from the same questions; bringing the answers to the first call shortens everything after it.

1. What is happening

Question	Your answer
What prompted this? (an incident, a pattern, a complaint, an insurer, a board)
What has been happening, in general terms? (theft, trespass, disturbances, damage, loitering, access problems, a fire system outage)
Where on the property does it happen?
When does it happen? (days, hours)
Who reports it? (residents, tenants, staff, police, cameras)
What has been tried? (lighting, gates, cameras, towing, off-duty officers, a previous company)

2. The property

Question	Your answer
Type and size
Access points and how they are controlled now
Hours the property is occupied, and the hours it is emptiest
Amenities or areas with rules that need enforcing
Cameras, alarms and access systems in place
Staff on site and their hours
Vacant units, buildings or areas

3. The window

Question	Your answer
The hours coverage would make the most difference
Days of the week that matter most
Seasons or dates that matter (holidays, move-in, events, hurricane season)
Temporary need with an end date, or ongoing?
Could the window change after the first month’s reports?

4. The post

Question	Your answer
A fixed position (gate, lobby, entrance), a patrol (foot or vehicle), or both?
What the officer should be doing hour by hour
Rules and closings the officer should enforce
Access decisions the officer should make (visitors, contractors, deliveries)
Whether one officer can cover it, or two are needed at peak
Whether a marked vehicle is wanted for visibility

5. Armed or unarmed

Question	Your answer
What are you worried about that an unarmed presence would not address?
Has there been violence or a threat at the property?
Would an armed officer change how residents, tenants or guests feel about the property?
Your preference, and why

6. Reporting and contact

Question	Your answer
Who reads the daily report, and by what time?
Who is the after-hours contact for the officer?
What should the officer call you about at night, and what can wait for the report?
How often do you want a review meeting?
Any requirements from an owner, board, lender or insurer?

7. What you are asking for

Write it in three or four sentences, from the answers above: the post, the hours, armed or unarmed, and what the officer is there to do. If a sentence is missing, that is the question for the walk-through.

Notes on filling it in

Section 1 matters most and is the most often skipped: a proposal for a property whose problem is package theft on weekday afternoons looks nothing like one for a property with weekend trespass at the pool. Section 3 is where budgets are decided; coverage in the hours that matter outperforms thin coverage around the clock, and the coverage window article goes through the choice. Section 5 is a question of concern, not of image; the armed or unarmed answer explains how the company advises. When the worksheet is done, the RFP template turns it into a document for bidders, or a call to dispatch turns it into a walk-through.