Security templates/Daily activity report

Security daily activity report (DAR) template

A daily activity report (DAR) is the security officer's record of one shift: when the shift started, every patrol, check, visitor and observation with a time, and what is open for the next shift. This free DAR template comes in Word and PDF with a filled-in sample from a night shift.

Free, no sign-up. Every file has the blank form first and a filled-in worked example at the end. Edit the Word file to add your logo, site details and wording.

What goes into a security DAR

A DAR answers the client's question "what did we pay for last night?" line by line. It needs shift details and the officer's licence number at the top, a timed activity log in the middle, and a summary of patrols, incidents and open issues at the end. Anything that needs more than one line goes into a separate incident report, referenced by number.

  1. Shift details
  2. Equipment received at start of shift
  3. Activity log
  4. Shift summary
  5. Notes for the next shift
  6. Sign-off
PartWhat to write
Shift detailsDate, site, post, start and end time, officer, licence or guard card number, and who relieved whom at what time. This closes the gap between two officers' records.
Equipment receivedRadio, keys, patrol device, post orders and last shift's log read. A tick here settles later arguments about missing keys.
Activity logOne line per activity with the 24-hour time and location. Patrols with checkpoint counts, doors found open, visitors, contractor sign-in and sign-out, hazards, client requests.
Shift summaryPatrols completed against patrols scheduled, missed checkpoints with the reason, incident report numbers. This is the part most clients read first.
Notes for the next shiftOnly what the incoming officer must act on. Everything else is already in the log.

Sample DAR entries

Good entries are short, timed and specific. From the worked example in the download (an office lobby post, night shift):

TimeActivity or observationLocationRef.
22:00On duty. Keys 12/12 counted. Radio check OK. Read log and 2 new client instructions.Lobby
23:05Patrol 1 complete, 14/14 checkpoints.
01:15Water on floor outside restroom 3B. Coned off, emailed facilities.Floor 3
02:30Patrol 2, 13/14 checkpoints. Roof door checkpoint not reached: door blocked by pallets.Roof accessIR-0221

Two habits make a DAR credible. Every missed checkpoint has a reason. And "all quiet" never appears without a time and a place: "Patrol 1 complete, 14/14 checkpoints" tells the client what was checked.

DAR or daily occurrence book: US and UK practice

A US DAR is usually written per officer per shift. A UK daily occurrence book is usually kept per site and shared by every officer on duty. The content overlaps, so agree with the client which of the two the contract uses.

In the UK, the SIA ACS workbook guide lists the daily occurrence book as an example item in assignment instructions. If your UK contract already runs a DOB, use our daily occurrence book template and add a per-officer shift report only if the client asks for one. In the US, the DAR format is set by the client contract and the post orders. Keep the officer's guard card or registration number on every page, so each entry can be tied to a licensed person.

Template preview

First page of the free Daily Activity Report (DAR) template
Page 1 of the blank template
Filled-in example of the Daily Activity Report (DAR) template
Worked example with fictional data
US LetterWord (.docx)PDF
A4Word (.docx)PDF

A DAR that writes itself

Most of a DAR is routine: shift start, patrols, checkpoints, sign-outs. In COREDINATE's guard tour system, those lines are written by the work itself. Each checkpoint scan, incident, completed form and shift start or end lands in the digital log with a timestamp. The officer only types what a scan cannot capture. Reports are generated as a PDF in one click and can be sent to the client automatically by a dispatch rule, and clients can be given their own portal access to selected data.

Frequently asked questions

What is a daily activity report in security?

A daily activity report (DAR) is the security officer's timed record of one shift. It lists patrols, checks, visitors, observations and incidents with times and locations, plus a summary and notes for the next shift.

What is the difference between a DAR and an incident report?

The DAR covers the whole shift with one line per activity. An incident report covers one event in detail. The DAR line for the event gives the incident report number.

Who reads the DAR?

The site supervisor checks it against the post orders, the client reads the summary and any incidents, and it can become evidence if police, an insurer or a regulator looks into an incident.

Is a DAR the same as a daily occurrence book?

They record the same kind of information. A DAR is usually one report per officer per shift, common in the US. A daily occurrence book is usually one running log per site, common in the UK.

Should the DAR be handwritten or typed?

Either works if entries are timed, in ink or locked after saving, and never erased. Digital DARs written on a phone during the shift have the advantage that each entry carries the time it was made.

See a DAR written by the patrol itself

Order a free test kit and run a shift with checkpoint scans and the digital log in COREDINATE's guard tour app for 14 days.

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