When you're a security guard who works for a company like A P I Security, your job doesn't end upon turning a detained suspect over to the local police. In many cases, should the victim of whatever crime occurred—such as shoplifting, trespassing, or assault—decide to press charges, you could find yourself being called to testify in court. The first time you do may make you feel a little uncomfortable, but there's nothing to worry about—and, as a security professional, this is part of your job. The more that you do it, the more you'll get familiar with the process. For your first time, though, here are some tips that you can use.

Review Your Notes

One of the many reasons that it's imperative for security officers to take meticulous notes after each incident is that they may come in handy when you need to testify in court. The last thing you want to do is be in a situation in which you can't remember certain details about the case. Before you go to court, take some time to meticulously go over your report notes. Take the mindset that you're studying for something that you have to deliver, much like preparing for an exam in school. The more that you review, the more familiarity that you'll have about the case. This is especially helpful if the event took place several months ago.

Talk to Experienced Peers

When you find out that you'll be testifying in court, seek out some of your security agency colleagues who have more years on the job than you. You'll find that a lot of them will have testified several times over their careers, so ask them to talk to you about the process and offer any advice that they may have picked up. The more that you talk about this job, the more comfortable you'll feel leading up to your day in court.

Don't Have an Agenda

As a security officer, you're on the side of justice and want to be an asset to law enforcement. This may make you want to be an expert witness who can really strengthen the case against the accused, but you should make sure that you don't have an agenda. It may be easy to want to exaggerate in order to ensure that your testimony helps find the accused guilty, but you don't want to fabricate anything. Stick to relaying the facts and let the attorneys battle it out to decide the outcome of the case.