Resources
Post orders checklist.
Post orders are the written instructions an officer works from. Use this checklist to make sure yours cover the post, each shift, rounds, visitors, reports and who gets called.
Printable checklist
Why post orders need a checklist
Every officer on a post works from a written set of instructions, usually kept in a binder at the desk or on the shift phone. When those instructions are thin, the officer fills the gaps with guesses, and two officers on the same post end up running it two different ways.
This checklist covers the sections strong post orders share, whether the post is a residential lobby in Pacific Heights, an office tower in the Financial District or a construction gate in Mission Bay. Use it to review the orders you have today, or to gather your answers before coverage starts. When we take on a post, we write the orders together with you, and a filled-in sheet makes that conversation quick.
The post itself: location and hours
Begin with the basics an officer needs before anything else happens on shift.
- Exact post location, including where the officer stands or sits at different times of day
- Start and end time of each shift, and the days covered
- Uniform expectations, and whether the post is armed or unarmed
- Equipment at the post: radio, phone, keys, flashlight and the log
- Where breaks are taken, and which doors stay locked meanwhile
Write the hours the way the property really runs. If the lobby opens at 7 but the first contractors arrive at 6:15, the orders should say what the officer does at 6:15. Most lobby work suits unarmed officers; when a property calls for armed coverage, the orders say so on the first page.
Duties by shift
A day shift and an overnight shift on the same property are different jobs. Split the duties so each officer reads only what applies to their hours.
- Day: greeting tenants and guests, courier and delivery handling, contractor sign-in
- Evening: the lockup sequence, clearing common areas, late-tenant access
- Overnight: building rounds, garage checks, watching doors and alarm panels
- Weekends and holidays: changes to hours, access lists or locked areas
- One-off tasks: opening a gate for a booked delivery, walking a vendor to a mechanical room
Rounds, access and visitors
A round needs a route, not only a frequency. List the floors, stairwells, garage levels, doors and outdoor areas each round takes in, and how often the officer leaves the post to walk it. Shifting the timing from night to night keeps the pattern hard to read from the street.
- Round route and how often it runs
- Doors to be tried and confirmed locked on every pass
- Who may enter without signing in, and who must be announced first
- How couriers, food deliveries and rideshare drivers are handled
- After-hours contractor access, and the list it is checked against
- What the officer says to someone with no business on site
Reports, logs and emergency contacts
Decide up front what you want to read and when. A short report at the end of every shift, plus an incident report with photos whenever something happens, is a sensible default. Our officers log each round with the time, and the shift report lands in your inbox when the shift wraps.
- What goes in the daily log: rounds, times, doors found open, after-hours visitors
- When an incident report is required, and who receives it
- Who to phone in an emergency, ranked, with numbers that answer at night
- When the officer dials 911 directly for police, fire or medical help
- Building contacts for leaks, elevator trouble, power and alarms
Escalation and the shift handoff
Fuzzy orders do the most damage at the escalation step. Spell out what the officer handles alone, what needs a call to the manager and what goes straight to emergency services. A trespasser who leaves when asked is a log entry. One who refuses is a phone call. A fight or a fire is 911.
- Problems the officer settles on the spot
- Problems that need a call to the on-call manager, and until what hour
- Problems that go straight to emergency services
- Handoff routine: open items covered, keys and radios counted, log read
- How an officer new to the post is briefed before a first shift
The handoff takes a couple of minutes and saves hours of confusion. The outgoing officer talks through anything unfinished, the incoming officer counts keys and equipment, and both initial the log.
Keeping the orders current
Orders age faster than anyone expects. Tenants turn over, a new garage gate goes in, the on-call manager leaves for another job, and the pages sitting at the post never hear about any of it. Revise them each time the property shifts, and give them a full reread every few months, even in a calm stretch.
Starting from nothing? Book a free walkthrough and we’ll quote the post in writing, then work out the orders with you before the first shift. Hotels add pieces of their own, which our guide to hotel post orders and rounds covers. Terms are month to month, so adding hours or a second post later is easy.
A few useful answers
Common questions
Do you draft the orders, or do we?
Both sides do. You know the building and its people; we know what an officer needs on paper to run the post the same way every shift.
How detailed should our orders get?
Detailed enough that an officer who has never seen the building could run the post from them, yet short enough to skim when a shift begins. A plain lobby post fits in a few pages; a busy garage or campus takes more.
Where do the orders live once they are written?
Right at the post, where any officer on shift can grab them, plus a copy with the property manager. Put a date on each revision so nobody works from an old one.
Do the orders change for an armed post?
Yes. They state plainly that the post is armed and set out its escalation steps. Armed officers hold exposed-firearm permits along with their BSIS guard cards.
Can we print this checklist for a review meeting?
Yes. It downloads straight from this page as a printable sheet, ready to mark up with your team.