A security assessment checklist you can walk yourself.

Why do your own walk first

Nobody knows a property’s weak spots better than the person whose phone rings when something goes wrong. Before you compare officers, patrol visits or camera monitoring, give the site an unhurried walk with this list in hand. You will come to any security conversation with notes on what actually worries you, instead of a vague feeling that the place is exposed.

Treat it as a planning walk. It isn’t a compliance audit and it doesn’t score the property against any standard. Its only purpose is to show where coverage would do the most good, so the plan that follows matches how the site is really used.

Go around twice if you can. Daylight is best for spotting cut wire, bent gate hinges and doors that don’t latch. After dark is when the lighting gaps and the hiding spots reveal themselves. The printable version below is a plain download with room for notes beside every line.

Doors, entrances and who gets in

Count every way into the building, not just the doors on the floor plan. Roll-up doors, roof hatches, the electrical room and the emergency exit that never gets used all belong on the list.

• Each entrance numbered on your sketch
• Exterior doors tested: do they shut and lock without an extra push?
• Signs of propping, such as wedges, tape over a latch or a rock by the frame
• Who holds keys, fobs and gate codes, and when that list was last cleaned up
• Fobs and codes for people who have left, and for past vendors, deactivated
• Where visitors and drivers check in, and who greets them
• Whether the lobby or front desk is staffed during open hours

If you can’t say who holds the keys, write that down too. It is one of the most useful findings a walk turns up.

After-hours activity and past incidents

History is the best predictor you have. Gather what you already know before the walk, then compare it with what you find on the ground.

• Break-ins, theft and vandalism in recent memory, with rough dates
• Alarm activations: which zones, what time of night and how often
• Signs that people spend time on the property after closing: litter, bedding, graffiti, cut locks
• Who belongs on site after hours, such as cleaners, vendors or an early shift
• The quiet windows: weekends, holidays and the gap between shifts
• Trouble reported at neighboring properties

Talk to whoever opens and closes. The person who unlocks at dawn usually knows which gate is always found open and which corner collects trash from overnight visitors.

Turning your notes into a plan

Once the walk is finished, sort what you found into three piles: fixes you can handle yourself, like lights, locks and trimming; problems that call for a person on site; and areas that need attention only at certain hours. That third pile is usually where security coverage pays for itself.

Bring the completed checklist to a free walkthrough with us. We will cover the same ground, add what we notice, and put a written quote together that matches your findings, whether that means an officer at the gate, patrol visits overnight or live cameras. Because terms run month to month, coverage can scale back as the problems on your list get fixed.