Physical security review
Perimeter, entry points, lighting, CCTV coverage and vulnerable areas assessed on site against how intruders actually operate.
Security Audits
Advanced Overwatch carries out independent security audits for organisations across Northern Ireland.
An independent, structured review of your security: buildings, systems, procedures and the people who operate them, with a prioritised action plan in plain English. Available at any location: across Northern Ireland and further afield, with remote delivery where the work allows.
Thousands of premises secured since 2017
What this service covers
A whole-picture review, not a sales survey for one product.
- Buildings
- Systems
- Procedures
- People
Systems & procedures audit
Alarms, access control, monitoring arrangements, keyholding and staff procedures reviewed against current good practice.
Prioritised action plan
Findings ranked by risk with honest, costed recommendations, whether or not the fixes involve us.
Who needs an independent security audit
An audit is worth the money when a decision depends on knowing where you actually stand. The common triggers: an insurer or broker asking questions after a claim; a tender or framework requiring evidence of security arrangements; a break in that exposed something nobody had thought about; an acquisition that brings unfamiliar sites into the estate; a multi site operator whose branches have each been sold something different over the years; or a new facilities or risk manager inheriting an estate with no documentation.
It also suits organisations that suspect they are paying for the wrong things. Security spending tends to accumulate one quote at a time, and after a few years the alarm, the cameras, the access control and the monitoring contract rarely form a coherent whole.
The audit is deliberately independent of any sale. We report on what is worth keeping, including equipment we did not supply and would not have chosen, and we say where the right answer is a procedure change that costs nothing.
How an audit is carried out
01
Scoping. A security audit opens by agreeing what is in scope, which sites and systems are covered, whether procedures and staff practice are included, and who the report is written for.
02
Documents first. Drawings, service records, alarm history, access records, key registers, incident logs and policies are reviewed before anybody visits.
03
On site. Perimeter, approaches, lighting, entry points, camera coverage and blind spots, alarm coverage and grading, access control, key and code management, cash and stock handling, and how the building is actually opened and closed on an ordinary day.
04
People. We talk to the staff who use the systems, because the gap between the written procedure and daily practice is usually where the risk lives.
05
Report. Findings ranked by risk with a prioritised action plan, written so a board or an insurer can read it without a translator.
06
Follow up. We will quote for the fixes if you want us to, and we are happy for somebody else to carry them out.
Standards, questions to ask and what happens next
An audit has no single legal trigger, but several duties feed into it. Where cameras or access records are in scope, UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply and the Information Commissioner’s Office guidance on CCTV and video surveillance sets the expectations. Where staff safety is in scope, the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance on violence at work is the reference. Where crime prevention design is in scope, the police backed Secured by Design standards are a recognised benchmark. Recorded crime figures for Northern Ireland are published through NISRA, so a risk picture can be built on published data rather than on impressions.
Worth asking any auditor: are they selling the remedies; will findings be ranked by risk rather than simply listed; will procedures and staff practice be covered as well as equipment; who is allowed to see the report; and will they revisit to check the actions were actually closed.
Security audits, your questions
What does a security audit cover?
Everything that affects your security posture: the physical site, the systems protecting it, the procedures around them and how staff use them day to day.
How is this different from a free site survey?
A survey scopes a specific installation. An audit is an independent whole-site review with a documented action plan, suitable for boards, insurers and multi-site operators.
Do you audit systems other companies installed?
Yes. The audit is independent: we assess what is there on merit and say plainly what is worth keeping.
Can you audit multiple sites or remote locations?
Yes. Audits are delivered at any location across Northern Ireland and further afield, with consistent reporting across a whole estate.
What do I receive at the end?
A written report with findings ranked by risk, a prioritised action plan and clear recommendations you can act on immediately.
How long does a security audit take?
It depends on the number of sites, the number of systems and whether procedures are in scope. A single site with one alarm and a camera system is a short visit and a short report. An estate with several buildings, access control and a monitoring contract takes longer. We agree the scope and the timescale in writing before starting.
Will the audit tell us to replace everything?
No. A useful audit tells you what to keep, what to adjust and what to replace, in that order, and it separates the items that reduce real risk from the items that are simply old. We report on equipment we did not supply on its merits, and some of our findings cost nothing to fix.
Can you audit sites outside Northern Ireland?
Yes. Audits are delivered at any location and further afield, with consistent reporting across an estate so sites can be compared against each other. Part of the work, including document review and reporting, can be delivered remotely.
Ready to get started?
Book a security audit with Advanced Overwatch. We will review your site independently and give you a plan ranked by real risk.
What happens next: book a security audit. We will agree the scope with you, review your site independently and give you a fixed quote after a free survey.
Related pages
- Professional security services
- Security policy development
- CCTV compliance services
Why choose Advanced Overwatch
Established in 2017, we design, install and maintain security systems. Advanced Overwatch is SSAIB certificated (NIRE127) specifically for Intruder Alarm Systems, Visual Surveillance Systems (VSS) and Access Control Systems. We operate our own 24-hour CCTV Monitoring Control Room. Intruder alarm monitoring is provided through our monitoring partner’s NSI Gold certified Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC).