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Why random checks at the gate
Random selection takes discretion out of the check. The question ‘why me?’ then has an answer: because it came up. Without it, the security officer chooses alone and is open to accusations of bias, and often avoids choosing and checks nobody.
Random inspection also keeps a predictable level of checking without stopping everyone, and it leaves a record: how many checks there were, on whom and with what result, which is data that discretionary checks never produce.
Deterrence only works if the draw cannot be predicted. Checks that happen ‘always in the afternoon’ or ‘always on outside carriers’ stop being random and stop deterring anyone.
How to set up random inspection: percentage, scope and exemptions
The inspection percentage depends on traffic volume and on how many checks you can handle. Too low and it does not deter; too high and it chokes the gate’s throughput. There is no universal figure, and a figure given without knowing the site is guesswork.
Scope is the choice between all vehicles and departing vehicles only. Exits are checked more often, because that is where a check has a material point.
Exemptions usually cover emergency service vehicles, special transport and regular suppliers. Each one weakens the mechanism, so it should have a justification set down in writing. You also need to agree in advance what security does once a vehicle has been selected, because without a defined set of actions every officer will do something different.
Random inspection in TraxSystem
In TraxSystem a random inspection rule has a single probability, and its scope can be narrowed to selected passages, companies or people. An exemption from inspection is set explicitly, with an exemption mode, rather than by entering 0%.
Exemptions need watching. Only a deliberately small group of people should be able to grant them, because otherwise after a year you find that half the traffic is exempt and the mechanism no longer works.
In the TraxSystem price list, random inspection is a separate Random inspection module, and extending it to people passing through turnstiles also requires the People access control module. The pricing configurator will show the module price for your base package.
What random inspection does not do
The system will not stop a vehicle: it selects it for inspection, and security does the stopping and checking. Nor does it define what the check consists of, because that follows from your procedures.
Checks on vehicles and people have a legal framework. What security may check, especially where employees are concerned, follows from your workplace rules, contracts and the applicable regulations, so take that question to a lawyer.
Questions and answers
Can the security officer see why a vehicle was selected?
Yes. They can see that the selection came from random inspection, so they can tell the driver ‘it came up at random’ without taking the decision on themselves.
Can different percentages be set for different gates?
Yes, because a setting on an individual passage refines the general value.
Does random inspection cover employees?
It can. Checking employees is a sensitive area: it needs a basis in your workplace rules and usually agreement with employee representatives, so this is settled before inspections are switched on.
Is the result of the check recorded?
Yes, together with who carried it out and when.
See also: Controlling vehicle dwell time on site · Guard tour checkpoints: patrol records you don’t have to take on trust