When to Call the Police at Work vs Escalating to Management: A UK Office Security Guide
It’s 11pm on a Friday. Reception is almost empty when a man you don’t recognise pushes through a side door, insisting he’s “just grabbing something” from the third floor. Do you ring your manager, or is this when to call the police at work? Every security officer meets a version of this moment eventually, and the decision made in the next ten seconds says more about their training than almost anything else that shift.
There’s no single switch that makes this call for you. But there is a clear framework for security incident escalation that removes most of the guesswork, and it starts with rating the incident before deciding who to call.
Interestingly, GOV.UK already publishes formal guidance on when to call the police, but only for schools and colleges. Nothing equivalent exists for offices, even though facilities managers face this exact judgement call every week. This guide closes that gap.
Rate the incident first: Green, Amber, Red
Retail and business crime bodies such as the National Business Crime Centre already use colour-coded severity ratings to help employers judge when to call the police at work. Offices can borrow the same logic.
Green — Handle it and log it
Policy breaches with no danger involved: a visitor who wandered into a restricted area, a contractor who didn’t sign in properly, raised voices in a meeting room, a fire door left propped open. Note it in the incident log, mention it at handover, and move on. No manager call needed.
Amber — Notify management now, escalate further only if it develops
Behaviour that’s unusual or concerning but not yet criminal or dangerous: someone loitering near the building repeatedly, an argument that looks like it could turn physical, an employee who appears to be under the influence, an unattended bag with no obvious threat indicators. Tell your line manager immediately, document exactly what you observed, and keep monitoring. If it develops, move straight to Red.
Red — Call 999 immediately. Don't wait for permission
Any immediate danger to life: violence in progress, weapons, a credible threat, a medical emergency, a fire, or anything carrying a terrorism indicator. This is the one category where you never wait for a manager’s go-ahead. Call, then notify management. Every second spent seeking authorisation in a Red scenario is a second the police don’t have.
This kind of rapid, proportionate assessment is exactly what proper SIA licensing is built around. The SIA Security Guard Course is designed specifically for officers working in retail, offices, and warehouses, and treats incident grading as a core, testable skill, not something picked up by trial and error.
When it's a management issue, not a police matter
Most of what a security officer deals with day to day sits in Green or low Amber, and calling the police here usually does more harm than good. Typical examples:
- A staff member repeatedly breaching access control procedure
- A visitor becoming irritated at reception over a wait
- Reports of low-level tension between colleagues
- Deliveries arriving without the correct paperwork
- A contractor overstaying their booked access slot
These need a manager, not a 999 call. Getting when to call the police at work wrong, too early over a paperwork mix-up or a personality clash, damages trust in your team’s judgement and makes people less likely to flag the next real incident. The SIA Door Supervisor course puts real weight on exactly this kind of proportionate response, alongside conflict management and the legal boundaries of using force.
When to call the police at work directly
Some situations bypass management altogether:
- Violence, or a credible threat of violence
- Weapons on site
- Theft or burglary in progress, if one has already happened, see our guide on how to respond to a security breach in a commercial building
- Anything carrying a terrorism indicator
- A vulnerable person in immediate danger
For genuine emergencies, that’s 999, an officer should never feel they need to justify the call first, since assessing risk is the job. If a crime has already happened and nobody’s in danger right now, 101 is the right number instead. Knowing that distinction in the moment is what separates a trained officer from an untrained one.
Document it properly, whichever way it goes
Whichever way the decision on when to call the police at work goes, the write-up matters just as much. A vague, rushed report is hard to act on and even harder to defend later if the incident is challenged or investigated. A solid report records, in this order: what was directly observed, exact times, everyone involved, and the action taken.
This is a genuine skill, not just admin, and it’s rarely taught properly on the job. Our Incident Report Writing for Security Officers online course covers exactly this in a short, CPD-certified format built for officers who need reports that hold up.
Keep the moment calm before you decide
How an officer handles the first sixty seconds shapes everything that follows. Raising your voice, crowding someone, or reacting visibly rattled tends to push an Amber situation toward Red before it needs to go there. Staying calm and using neutral, non-confrontational language buys the time needed to assess properly, and that time is often the entire difference between the right call and the fast one.
Every second spent seeking authorisation in a genuine emergency is a second the police don’t have.
This is the whole premise behind our Conflict Management Awareness online course: practical de-escalation built for real workplace situations, not theory.
Build this into your office's security policy
If this isn’t written down yet, it’s worth fixing before the next incident, not after it:
- Define your own Green / Amber / Red criteria in language everyone actually understands
- Name who has authority to call 999 without waiting for sign-off, and make sure it’s more than one person
- Keep an escalation contact list, facilities manager, HR, building management, out-of-hours security, somewhere every officer can find in a hurry
- Debrief after every Amber or Red incident: what worked, what didn’t, what training gap it exposed
Give your team the training to make this call correctly
Knowing when to call the police at work isn’t instinct, it’s training. Whether you need officers newly licensed through our SIA Door Supervisor or Security Guard courses, or want to sharpen an existing team with our online Incident Report Writing and Conflict Management courses, London Security College can help.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I call the police before telling my manager?
Only in a Red scenario. If there’s immediate danger to life, call 999 first and inform management straight after. Never delay an emergency call to seek permission.
What's the difference between 999 and 101 for a workplace incident?
999 is for emergencies with a danger to life or a crime happening right now. 101 is for reporting a crime that’s already happened where nobody is currently in danger, such as a break-in discovered the next morning.
