Matthew Smith

Security Operations Desk Blotter Handbook Matthew Smith

In the operations of the current security industry, attempts to maximize profits have replaced ethical priorities. Instead of seeking security personnel who exemplify high standards of performance, the industry leadership has sought the lowest standard of performance in order to undercut competitors with similarly low standards, creating a downward race toward a supposedly acceptable minimum. In the author's experience, the downward race has fallen significantly below an acceptable level, and the result is a web of unethical behavior from industry leadership which seeks to conceal performance failures.

In typical security operations, the requirement for a high quality written report in the aftermath of an emergency is presented to personnel which have received little or no training in writing reports. Current industry leadership does not hold personnel accountable to write high quality reports, and allows persons to continue in positions of responsibility even after proven inability to meet acceptable levels of performance in report writing. In a security operation which is lead in an ethical manner, the performance standard for written reports in emergency events will be built on a foundation of proven competence in writing routine reports. The acceptable standard for reports is clarity, accuracy, and completeness. When any type of emergency event occurs, and a high quality report is required, writing the report should be something the person has done before and does regularly. To remove this foundation, and to lower the expectations for routine reports, it to prepare personnel for failure.

It is the mission of Sixth Training Group to present an ethical alternative to the failures of the current security industry. To that end, the author has prepared a handbook of example entries which may illustrate best practices for written reporting across a wide range of routine and emergency events. The handbook is designed for use with printed copies of the Sixth Training Group Security Operations Desk Blotter, however, it may prove to be useful when used with any type of written report, shift log, or daily log.

During training, the handbook may serve as an aid for new personnel when writing reports following simulations and field exercises. It may also serve as a benchmark for instructors to evaluate performance in report writing. During actual security operations, the handbook may serve as a helpful guide to ensure that essential information is gathered and presented in an organized manner.