Glossary
Security Supervisor Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential security supervisor terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key security supervisor vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in security supervisor training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Access control
- Systems controlling entry.
- Badge audit
- Checking access credentials.
- CCTV
- Closed-circuit television cameras.
- Client site
- A location where a contract firm provides security.
- De-escalation
- Reducing tension in conflicts.
- Emergency action plan
- Procedures for emergencies.
- Escalation
- Moving issues to higher authority.
- Guard tour system
- Technology that tracks patrols.
- Incident report
- A record of an event.
- Lockdown
- Securing a building against a threat.
- Patrol
- Moving through areas to observe and deter.
- Post orders
- Written instructions for each security post.
- Risk assessment
- Evaluating threats and vulnerabilities.
- Shift handoff
- Passing information between shifts.
- Use of force
- Rules governing physical intervention.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Security Supervisor practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Security Supervisor training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.