Security duties cover the protection of people, property and information at a site: controlling who comes in, watching what happens, recording it accurately and calling the right response when something goes wrong. In South Africa private security is a regulated industry, and the duties an individual may perform depend on their PSIRA registration and grade as well as on the site instructions.
This guide sets out core security duties and responsibilities, the shape of a shift, and how the work changes by site type. It sits in the Security Safety duties and responsibilities cluster, part of the wider job duties guide.
What Does Security Involve?
Security work is built on four activities: control access, patrol and observe, record what happens, and escalate correctly. Everything else is a variation on those, adjusted for the site.
The most misunderstood part of the job is authority. A security officer’s powers come from site policy, the conditions of entry that visitors accept, and the ordinary law. They are not police powers. Knowing where that boundary sits, and acting inside it, is a core duty rather than a technicality.
Key Security Duties and Responsibilities
- Controlling access and exit at gates, doors and restricted areas.
- Verifying identity, appointments and authorisation before allowing entry.
- Maintaining visitor, contractor and vehicle registers accurately and legibly.
- Patrolling to a set route and interval, and varying timing where instructed.
- Searching persons, bags or vehicles where site policy allows and consent has been given.
- Monitoring alarms, cameras and access control equipment.
- Recording all events and observations in the occurrence book as they happen.
- Compiling incident reports and preserving scenes until a response arrives.
- Escalating to the control room, supervisor, armed response or emergency services.
- Assisting with fire, evacuation and medical emergency procedures.
- Checking that gates, locks, fences and lighting are secure, and reporting faults.
- Maintaining registration, uniform standards and professional conduct on post.
Daily Tasks in Security
- Booking on: arrive in uniform, sign on, read the previous shift’s occurrence book and standing instructions.
- Post check: inspect radio, keys, registers, torch and the condition of the post itself.
- Through the shift: control access, complete patrols at the required intervals, monitor cameras, record entries as events occur.
- On an incident: make the area safe, escalate immediately, assist as instructed, then write a full report.
- Booking off: hand over keys and equipment, brief the incoming officer on anything outstanding, sign off.
Security Skills and Competencies
- Observation: noticing what has changed and what does not belong on a site you see every day.
- Written record keeping: factual, contemporaneous entries that hold up months later in a hearing or claim.
- De-escalation: firm, polite handling of people who do not want to be stopped or searched.
- Knowing the limits of the post: when to act, when to call, and what you may not do.
- Alertness: sustained attention through long, quiet and often night shifts.
- Integrity: the whole function depends on the record being trustworthy.
Security Duties by Workplace or Industry
Residential Estates and Complexes
Access control dominates: residents, visitors, contractors and deliveries each follow a different verification procedure. Duties include boom and gate operation, the visitor register, patrols of common areas and liaison with the estate manager or body corporate.
Retail and Shopping Centres
Duties centre on visible deterrence, supporting loss prevention, monitoring entrances and back-of-house areas, and assisting with incidents involving the public. Searches follow centre policy and the consent obtained at entry.
Industrial, Mining and Construction
Access control extends to inductions, permits and protective equipment checks. Vehicle and material searches at the gate are routine, and the officer works alongside the site’s own health and safety regime.
Corporate and Reception Posts
The post blends security with front-of-house: issuing access cards, verifying appointments, maintaining after-hours access logs and setting alarms. Presentation and manner carry unusual weight here.
Security Duties for a CV
State your PSIRA grade and the type of site first, then what you were accountable for. Use the duties for a CV guide for the method.
- Controlled access for a 400-unit residential estate, screening residents, visitors and contractors and maintaining the visitor register.
- Completed hourly patrols across a 12-hectare industrial site and recorded all findings in the occurrence book.
- Monitored 48 CCTV cameras and escalated 30 to 40 verified incidents a month to armed response.
- Maintained PSIRA Grade C registration and completed annual site-specific training.
Related Job Roles and Responsibilities
These guides cover the roles and next steps most closely related to this one.
- Security Guard duties and responsibilities
- Security Officer duties and responsibilities
- Police Officer duties and responsibilities
- Safety Officer duties and responsibilities
- Job description duties and responsibilities
Frequently Asked Questions About Security Duties
What are the duties of security?
Controlling access and exit, verifying identity and authorisation, maintaining registers, patrolling to a set route, monitoring alarms and cameras, recording events in the occurrence book, compiling incident reports, escalating correctly, and assisting with emergency procedures.
What is the difference between security duties and site instructions?
The duties describe the role in general. The site instructions are the operative document for a specific post: they set the patrol route, the access procedure, the escalation numbers and what may and may not be done there. Where the two differ, the site instructions govern.
Do you need PSIRA registration for security duties?
Yes. Private security officers in South Africa must be registered with PSIRA and hold the grade appropriate to the post. Keeping registration current is the individual’s own responsibility, and employers verify it.
Can security staff search or detain a person?
Searches are normally conducted with consent as a condition of entering the site, and only where policy provides for them. Security staff do not hold police powers. Anything beyond the site policy must follow the law, and the correct action is usually to secure the scene and call the appropriate response.
Duties vary by employer, site and grade. The site instructions, your standing orders and the applicable legislation take precedence over this general guide.
Last reviewed: 2 September 2026