The job has its risks but it also carries with it public respect and you know all the local business people even if they are not your clients, and you know the Police and other security staff, owners and so on.

We currently check 7 schools locally and that means that we know all the school principals, staff, cleaners and teachers. An important part of our job is the social side of talking with people, discussing security with principals and staff, making suggestions to ensure that the premises are secure and will stay that way.

I never patrol areas the same each night, it is always random so that the criminals cannot count on us arriving at a certain time. One a few occasions I have happily arrived while a burglary is in progress and the criminals scarper like rabbits when I arrive. When I inform the clients that I interrupted the burglary the clients are very pleased and thankful.

I remember once at a school children kept climbing up on the very high tarp (the shades they use to keep the students dry and the sun off the students in Summertime). One day I caught some teenagers and children playing on the top of the tarp. I told them to come down because those tarps can rip and a hole appear, and as they did climb down a teacher arrived on site. I explained to her that the children/teenagers climbed down a tree and my suggestion to her (to the school) was that the tree be cut down because a child may have a very serious accident if they fell down from that height.

About 4 days later that tree was cut down and no one has been seen on that tarp again.

On other occasions on clients premises I have found faulty locks, various security risks and so on, that the business owners and staff have not been aware of yet, and I write reports and if need be I contact them as we have the owners phone numbers and explain the situation and the recommendations I make.

One some occasions I have found business doors open that are not our clients buildings. I shut and lock the doors and then contact the business owners in my spare time letting them know that someone had left a door open and to be aware of this in the future. They are always very thankful.

When on a burgled site with the Police I walk around with them and make suggestions about how the break-in  was done. On one such case of a break-in the Police officers wondered out loud how the person got through a smashed door without getting cut and I suggested that it may have been that they prepared and brought a blanket to put over the smashed glass and climb safely over the blanket, suggestions like that to help with the investigation in progress.

On another occasion I stayed an hour with the woman owner (Her husband and son were away on holiday) of a local business to help her and the Police with the investigation. And then when the Police left (about 4 am) someone approached the woman through the smashed door and she was surprised, she was very frightened of being left on site with an open smashed doorway all by herself and it still being dark outside.

So even though I was exhausted from working all night I stayed until daylight to help her to clean up the shop (smashed glass and so on) and keep her company. I never got paid for that last hour or so, I just couldn’t leave her alone in such a situation.

Its this little extra I try to do for the clients because it helps ease their minds about the security that they have and they know that we back them up and support them if there is a need.

Its that sort of thing and those sorts of ideas that we make that make the clients happy with us as we are making a difference in safety and in security for the schools, businesses and so on.

As the years roll by your experience grows while your contact list grows and the local people who you know.

I remember a funny story where I kept seeing this guy driving trucks and walking in the dark back to an industrial area. I knew where he worked, and that he was important, but had no idea who he was and one day I asked him if he needed a lift because it was late and dark in the Wintertime and he relied yes.

When we got to where we were both going he introduced himself and he was one of our local millionaires, a client of ours as well. A very nice guy. I knew that he worked for our client as he was always in their trucks and business site, but I had no idea he was the owner. These are the sort of encounters where you build a strong relationship with the clients, and at a later date this same man gave me a tour of the site showing me around.

When we arrive at the clients buildings we must obey all the safety rules, wear the safety gear, and have had done the required courses for being on site. Some sites require safety boots, some beacons flashing, some Hi-Vis clothing, and these are things that we must be aware of during our shift and while on call.

During events such as the Covid Level 4 situation we were given special exemptions to travel and often the only vehicles on the road were milk tankers, Police, Security and the odd truck.