When you work as an armed security guard in a residential area, the job description differs from past positions you may have held in retail security. Instead of watching for shoplifters and chasing them down, you'll be tasked with patrolling the neighborhood to ensure the safety of its residents. Whether you conduct these armed patrols on foot or on a golf cart, it's important to keep a watchful eye out for anything suspicious. You can then report the incident and investigate it or call for backup. Here are some suspicious things that you may encounter during these patrols.

Parked, Occupied Vehicles

It probably won't arouse your suspicions if you see a parked vehicle on the side of the road without anyone in it, but this may be a concern if the vehicle is occupied. Burglars may occasionally visit upscale neighborhoods and sit in their vehicle to monitor people's habits. This surveillance can reveal when a homeowner leaves for the day, thus indicating that the home is empty. If you see a parked and occupied vehicle, you may wish to write down the license plate and approach the vehicle to ask what the driver is doing.

Loitering

Loitering is something that the local residents likely don't want, and part of your mandate as a security officer could be to eliminate this issue. It's one thing if local residents or local teens are hanging out in a park, for example, but it's another issue altogether if people who aren't from the area are spending time in the neighborhood. In this situation, you may wish to observe the loitering action from afar to assess whether the people are actively committing any crimes. You may then wish to approach them and explain the no-loitering rule, which should hopefully be enough to send them on their way.

Open Doors Of Homes

When you patrol a residential area, you shouldn't just be looking for suspicious people. You should also have a watchful eye on the condition of the homes in the area. One such issue to watch for is a home with a door left open. Such an occurrence could be innocent, such as a homeowner forgetting to close the garage door after arriving home with a load of groceries, or a sign of a crime in progress. For example, someone may have broken into a home and left the front door ajar. Either way, approaching the home to confirm that the homeowner is safe, as well as reminding him or her to shut the door, is valuable.

To learn more about the duties expected of a security guard, contact a company like Intellex Security.