Free Ontario Security Guard Practice Test

Answer: C. Identify yourself as a security guard and produce your licence

Guards must carry their licence at all times while working, including plain-clothes roles such as loss prevention and bodyguards, and must show it when a member of the public asks. A staff card is not a substitute for the licence.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 2 (PSISA)

Answer: A. Security guard

Licensed guards may not use "officer", "detective", "private detective", "police" or "law enforcement" when describing their work, because these suggest police authority guards do not have. "Security guard" is the correct title.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 2 (PSISA)

Answer: D. Act with honesty and integrity

The Code of Conduct requires guards to act with honesty and integrity, comply with all federal, provincial and municipal laws, treat people equally, and avoid profanity, abusive language and excessive force. Badges are not allowed as symbols of authority.

Check it: O. Reg. 363/07 (Code of Conduct)

Answer: B. Rank chevrons and a police-style forage cap

Uniforms must not resemble police uniforms, so rank chevrons, police-style forage caps and stripes down the trousers are not allowed. An identification tag and the word SECURITY or SECURITY GUARD are required parts of the uniform.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 2 (uniforms)

Answer: A. An Ontario training completion number from your basic training provider

The training completion number proves you finished the mandatory basic training, and you need it to book the test. You apply for the licence only after training and testing, so you cannot hold one beforehand as a new applicant.

Check it: Ontario.ca: Security guard and private investigator testing

Answer: D. On the holder's birthday, two birthdays after the day it is issued

The licence expiry is tied to your date of birth: it ends two birthdays after the issue date. You may renew up to 90 calendar days before that date, and the renewed licence runs for two years.

Check it: Ontario.ca: Security guard or private investigator licence (individuals)

Answer: B. Observe, deter, record and report

A guard's core role is to observe, deter, record and report. Guards do not lay charges, prosecute or issue fines, and arrests are an exception used only when the law allows, not a routine duty.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 3

Answer: C. So that someone watching the site cannot predict when the guard will pass

Predictable patrols let a would-be offender time their actions around the guard. Planning routes in advance, including alternates, and varying the timing keeps the deterrent effect of the patrol.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 3 (patrol)

Answer: A. Writing entries in chronological order and never tearing out pages

A notebook must be neat, chronological and never tampered with, so pages should never be removed. It should also be kept secure from the public and record facts, not opinions, or its credibility in court can be challenged.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 4 (notebooks)

Answer: D. 23:14 - male, approx. 30, red jacket, left loading dock door carrying a black duffel bag

Notes should record facts and observations, not opinions or assumptions, and should answer who, what, when, where, why and how. The timed, specific description is objective; the others are conclusions the guard cannot support.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 4

Answer: B. The guard's employer

The ministry study guide states that the notebook belongs to the employer. That is one reason entries must be legible, accurate and complete, and why the guard must keep it secure.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 4

Answer: C. A national system giving information about the dangers and safe handling of materials in the workplace

WHMIS is Canada's national hazard communication system for workplace materials. Guards should recognise WHMIS symbols, know where safety data sheets are kept and know the posted emergency numbers.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 5

Answer: D. Start the site's response plan, evacuate and restrict access, and contact the WHMIS team or emergency services

With a hazardous-material emergency, the guard initiates the response plan, keeps people away and calls the right responders. Cleaning up an unknown product without training or PPE puts the guard at risk, and delaying the report lets the hazard spread.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 5

Answer: A. Activate the fire alarm and contact the fire department

Site emergency procedures typically have the guard activate the alarm, call the fire department, assist with evacuation and direct emergency crews. Delaying or locking exits endangers lives.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 6

Answer: C. A stairwell exit blocked by stacked boxes

Blocked exits or corridors stop people from escaping a fire. The study guide also lists improperly stored flammables, damaged extinguishers and inoperative alarms as hazards to look for.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 6

Answer: B. Keep yourself safe, call police and observe from a safe distance

The guard's own safety comes first. Once a crime is confirmed, call police and observe from a safe place so you can give accurate information and protect the scene for responders.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 6

Answer: D. A provincial offence, dealt with under the Provincial Offences Act

The Trespass to Property Act is an Ontario statute, so a breach is a provincial offence processed under the Provincial Offences Act, much like a summary conviction offence. Criminal offences come from the federal Criminal Code.

Check it: Trespass to Property Act s. 2

Answer: A. Limit the number of people who handle it and document every transfer

Evidence should be treated as if it will be used at trial: collect, secure, preserve, identify, ensure continuity and log it. Every extra handler and every undocumented transfer weakens its value in court.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 7

Answer: C. Yes, anyone may arrest without a warrant a person they find committing an indictable offence

Section 494(1)(a) lets any person arrest without warrant someone they find committing an indictable offence, wherever it happens. Robbery is indictable. The guard then has to deliver the person to a peace officer forthwith.

Check it: Criminal Code s. 494(1)

Answer: B. Within a reasonable time after the offence, if you believe on reasonable grounds it is not feasible for a peace officer to make the arrest

Section 494(2) lets the owner or lawful possessor of property, or a person they authorize, arrest someone found committing a criminal offence on or in relation to that property at the time, or within a reasonable period afterwards if a peace officer cannot feasibly make the arrest.

Check it: Criminal Code s. 494(2)

Answer: D. Deliver them to a peace officer forthwith

Section 494(3) requires anyone other than a peace officer who arrests without warrant to deliver the person to a peace officer forthwith. Guards cannot negotiate releases or hold people while the client decides.

Check it: Criminal Code s. 494(3)

Answer: A. Walking along the public sidewalk next to the property

Under subsection 2(1), the offence covers entering where entry is prohibited, doing a prohibited activity on the premises, and failing to leave when directed. A public sidewalk is not the occupier's premises, so the Act does not apply there.

Check it: Trespass to Property Act s. 2(1)

Answer: C. Orally, in writing, or by signs or markings

Notice can be given verbally, in writing, or by posted signs or markings. An occupier, or a guard authorized by the occupier, can give that notice directly.

Check it: Trespass to Property Act (notice); Study Guide Section 8

Answer: B. Because the listener cannot see the guard's body language

Face to face, posture, gestures and eye contact carry part of the message. On the phone those cues are missing, so the guard's tone, volume and pace must do that work to keep the message clear and professional.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 9

Answer: D. Calmly and courteously explain the pass rule in brief, clear terms and check they understand

Guards should be brief, explicit and concise, make sure they are understood and avoid antagonism. Courtesy and professionalism build rapport and help defuse tense situations; shouting or sarcasm escalates them.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 9

Answer: A. Decline, because the Code of Conduct and the Ontario Human Rights Code require treating all persons equally without discrimination

Guards must treat everyone equally and without discrimination under both the Code of Conduct regulation and the Ontario Human Rights Code. A client instruction cannot override those legal duties.

Check it: O. Reg. 363/07 (Code of Conduct); Ontario Human Rights Code

Answer: C. Recognise their own biases so those biases do not affect how they treat people

Everyone has biases; the professional skill is recognising them and keeping them from affecting decisions. Guards should also be aware that miscommunication can happen between people from different backgrounds.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 10

Answer: B. The guard is criminally responsible for any excess of force

Section 25 allows as much force as necessary when acting on reasonable grounds, but section 26 makes anyone who uses force criminally responsible for any excess. A lawful arrest does not excuse unnecessary force.

Check it: Criminal Code s. 26

Answer: D. Holding the person face down with weight on their chest or back

Positional asphyxia and excited delirium can cause sudden death during restraint. Restrained people should never be held face down or with pressure on the chest, and a delirious person should not be agitated further.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 11

Answer: A. The guard assesses the subject's behaviour and chooses a response that matches it

The model is situational: the response should match the subject's behaviour and the circumstances. Hard physical force, for example, would not be appropriate for a cooperative subject, and force beyond what is necessary is a criminal liability.

Check it: Ontario Security Guard Study Guide, Section 11