Report Writing

Report writing is an important part of being a monitor. Reports document activities and make others aware of problems that a monitor encounters. In some situations, disciplinary action may be taken against members of the University community based upon a monitor’s report. Monitors who are asked to testify in court or at disciplinary boards will be allowed to refer to their report; therefore an accurate and detailed report will make the testimony easier.

Overview of Forms

Monitors use four different report forms on the job. There are other forms used by the Security Monitor Program, but they have to do with scheduling, training or other administrative functions and are discussed elsewhere. Security Monitors also use logs to record information. For information on these logs, refer to detail specific procedures. The four report forms are:

Shift Report (SR) — A Shift Report is used to document activities performed during every shift. They start at check-in and end with check-out. Shift Reports are used to track all activity and are used for payroll purposes. If a Shift Report is not turned in, a monitor may not get paid for that time.
Incident Report (IR) — Incident Reports are used to document situations outside of normal shift activity. These are events that stand alone as a separate experience from a routine patrol. Some examples include: helping a professor who has locked herself out of her office; reporting possible criminal activity to the police; or giving medical assistance to an individual.
Incident Report Additional Page (IRAP) — IRAPs are used when additional space is required to complete an Incident Report. If the standard Incident Report form does not give enough space to document an incident, a monitor should use as many IRAPs as necessary to get all the information down. An IRAP should only be used after a regular IR has been filled in completely.
Security Notification Card (SNC) — SNC’s are left whenever a monitor finds a space that is unsecured and unattended but should not be. These cards serve as a reminder to the occupant of that space to remember to lock their doors. It also serves as a time stamp to inform the occupant when the space was left unlocked.