Security SOP: How to Write Security Standard Operating Procedures, with 12 Mall SOPs

This guide explains what a security SOP should contain and gives a reusable format for every procedure. It is for mall security managers, facility heads and operations teams who write, update or audit security procedures.

It then sets out twelve mall security SOPs in numbered steps to adapt to your mall's layout and local police advice.

What Is a Security SOP?

The test of a security SOP (standard operating procedure) is that every guard and supervisor handles the same situation the same way, on every shift.

Post orders and SOPs work together. A post order tells a guard what to do at one post, such as the entry gate. An SOP describes a process that cuts across posts, such as a lost child. Duties at each post are covered in our guide to security guard duties and responsibilities.

The 5 Components of a Security SOP

No Indian standard fixes the structure of a security SOP. These five components follow common practice and the structure in the US Environmental Protection Agency's widely used guidance on preparing SOPs (EPA QA/G-6).

Security SOP Format

Put every SOP on the same one or two page format so guards know where to look, with this header block at the top:

Guards use SOPs under pressure, so write short steps a new guard can follow without asking anyone.

Mall Security Standard Operating Procedures

These twelve SOPs cover the situations most malls face. Each gives the procedure section only; add the header block, scope and responsibility for your mall.

SOP 1: Shift handover

1. The incoming supervisor briefs the incoming guards before shift start.
2. Both supervisors walk through open incidents, after-hours work, expected deliveries and equipment faults.
3. Count and sign for keys, radios and metal detectors.
4. Relieve each guard at their post; no post is left empty during changeover.
5. Both supervisors sign the shift log and report any headcount shortfall to the agency and the Security Manager.

SOP 2: Access control and frisking at the security gate

1. Every visitor passes the door-frame metal detector; anyone who alarms is checked with a hand-held one.
2. Bags are X-rayed or checked by hand, in the owner's presence.
3. Women are frisked only by women guards in a screened enclosure.
4. Prohibited items are refused or sent to the cloakroom. A visitor who refuses screening is politely refused entry; no one is searched by force.
5. Report suspicious behaviour or an attempt to avoid screening to the control room immediately.

SOP 3: Vehicle and parking checks

1. Check each vehicle at entry as per the threat level: boot, underside and driver.
2. Keep fire tender access, ramps and emergency exits clear; tow or clamp only as per the mall's posted parking terms.
3. Patrol each level on schedule and report any vehicle left overnight to the night supervisor.

SOP 4: Material inward and outward at the loading bay

1. Accept deliveries only in approved hours, against a tenant's material movement request.
2. Check the gate pass against the goods: description, quantity, store and approving signatures.
3. Material going out needs an outward gate pass approved by the tenant and the mall; nothing leaves on a verbal instruction.
4. Record vehicle number, driver, items, times and gate pass number in the register.

SOP 5: Unattended baggage or suspicious object

1. Do not touch, move or open the object.
2. Ask people nearby whether it is theirs; if no owner appears, inform the control room by landline or from a distance, never by radio next to the object.
3. If no owner is found quickly or the object looks suspicious, the supervisor cordons a wide area and calls the police on 112.
4. The control room reviews CCTV; evacuate if the police or duty manager decide to (SOP 12), and record times and actions.

SOP 6: Lost child

1. The first staff member approached takes the child's name, age, clothing, photo and last known location.
2. The control room broadcasts the description to all posts, the exits are watched, and CCTV from the last known location is reviewed.
3. Guards and floor staff search assigned zones, including washrooms, staircases and parking.
4. Call the police on 112 at once if there is any sign the child was taken, and in any case if the child is not found within the time limit set in your SOP.
5. Keep a found child at the help desk with two staff members, hand them only to a verified parent or guardian, and record the case.

SOP 7: Shoplifting and apprehension support for tenants

1. Mall security supports the tenant's own loss-prevention staff: guards respond, observe and keep the situation calm, and never search anyone by force.
2. A private person may arrest someone only when a non-bailable and cognizable offence is committed in their presence, and must hand them to the police within six hours (Section 40 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023). The supervisor calls the police at once.
3. The person waits in a supervised, open area, with a woman staff member present if the person is a woman. No one is locked in a room.
4. The control room preserves CCTV footage and the supervisor files an incident report.

SOP 8: VIP visits, promotions and crowd events

1. Marketing informs security of every event or sale in advance, with expected crowd size.
2. Security sets capacity, barricading, routes and extra deployment, and informs the local police for large events.
3. During the event, the control room watches crowd density; the supervisor can pause entry or the event if crowding builds.
4. Keep fire exits and evacuation routes free of stages, standees and queues.

The National Disaster Management Authority's guide to managing crowds at events lists crowding at "limited period promotional events at malls" among the triggers of crowd disasters, so plan big promotions as events.

SOP 9: CCTV monitoring and footage requests

1. At shift start, check every camera is live and recording, and log faults for repair.
2. After any incident, export the relevant footage before the recorder overwrites it, and note the clip reference in the incident report.
3. Accept police requests in writing from the investigating officer; route shopper or tenant requests through the Security Manager and legal team. Never show footage informally.
4. Register every request, what was released, to whom and on whose approval.

SOP 10: Key control

1. Keep all common-area, plant room, roof and service door keys in a locked cabinet in the security room.
2. Issue keys only to authorised persons against signature, with time out and time in; master keys only on the duty manager's approval.
3. Count keys at every shift handover; report a missing key at once and assess the lock for change.

SOP 11: After-hours tenant work

1. No work starts after trading hours without an approved permit from the mall work permit process.
2. The night supervisor checks workers' IDs against the permit at the service entry.
3. Hot work needs its separate hot work permit, a fire watch and extinguishers on site.
4. Guards check the site on night rounds, and when work ends confirm it is safe and escort workers out.

SOP 12: Emergency evacuation

1. On a confirmed fire or evacuation order, guards take the evacuation posts and follow the roles set out in the mall's fire evacuation plan.
2. Meet the fire service at the gate and brief them on the location.
3. Stop re-entry until the fire service or duty manager gives the all clear.

Routes, warden roles, PA messages and drills belong in the full plan; see our guide to writing a fire evacuation plan.

What Are 5 Security Measures for a Shopping Mall?

Every SOP set should support these five measures:

1. Access control: screening at visitor gates, and controlled staff, vehicle and goods entry.
2. Surveillance: CCTV with a manned control room and working, recording cameras.
3. Patrolling: scheduled and verified rounds, ideally checked through a guard tour system.
4. Incident reporting and response: every incident recorded, escalated through a clear escalation matrix and closed.
5. Emergency preparedness: evacuation plans, trained wardens, and regular drills.

How to Keep Security SOPs Live

• Train on them: brief new guards before deployment, and repeat one SOP at each shift briefing.
• Drill them: run table-top walk-throughs with supervisors, and live mock drills for evacuation, unattended baggage and lost child. Record what went wrong.
• Audit them: check that practice matches the SOP: are gate passes checked, keys counted, footage requests registered.
• Revise them: update an SOP when the process changes or an incident or drill exposes a gap, and review the full set on a fixed cycle; the EPA guidance suggests every one to two years. Withdraw outdated versions from every post.

Running Security SOPs Day to Day with LazyMonkey

LazyMonkey Checklists turns the recurring parts of your SOPs, such as shift handover, camera checks, key counts and night rounds, into scheduled checklists started by a QR scan at the location. A failed item raises an issue that is escalated until resolved, and missed checklists alert the right people.

LazyMonkey Tenant Permits & Approvals handles after-hours work, material movement and contractor entry, so security sees what is approved and who is expected before anyone reaches the service gate.

Conclusion

Good security SOPs are short, numbered, owned and reviewed. Write each one on the same format, cover the twelve situations above first, and keep them live through briefings, drills and audits so practice and paper stay the same.

Frequently Asked Questions