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What does a surveillance agent do?

Updated January 8, 2025
5 min read

A Surveillance Agent provides security services to thwart off theft, fraud, and other criminal activities. They are in charge of monitoring surveillance cameras to detect suspicious behaviors, patrolling areas, enforcing security protocols such as inspections and identification checks, responding to distress, and investigating incidents. They must also understand the company's security needs, identify vulnerable security areas, and develop strategies to strengthen the security in the establishment. Surveillance Agents must maintain an active communication line with managers and other agents for an efficient workflow.

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Surveillance agent responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real surveillance agent resumes:

  • Develop and manage SAS and SQL programs to monitor hepatitis surveillance data quality.
  • Monitor CCTV for suspicious activity and report it to security department for apprehension.
  • Trend product performance and track clinical /technical data per FDA and international regulatory requirements, and escalate as needed.
  • Hand-delivered federal and civil subpoenas.

Surveillance agent skills and personality traits

We calculated that 13% of Surveillance Agents are proficient in Incident Reports, CCTV, and Internal Controls. They’re also known for soft skills such as Good judgment, Observation skills, and Communication skills.

We break down the percentage of Surveillance Agents that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Incident Reports, 13%

    Assist shift supervisors and manager with layouts of the casino, making decisions of incident reports.

  • CCTV, 12%

    Protected the casino and its assets* Use of CCTV* Conduct compliance audits* Supervise staff ensuring all duties were complete

  • Internal Controls, 9%

    Conducted random testing/auditing of internal controls systems.

  • Zoom, 8%

    Observe daily operations of Racino with use of PTZ (Pan Tilt Zoom) controllers.

  • Patrol, 8%

    Patrolled interior of casino and provided external bike patrol.

  • Cash Handling, 6%

    Observe all cash handling in soft count; and all cash transactions in the Cage and on gaming tables.

Most surveillance agents use their skills in "incident reports," "cctv," and "internal controls" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential surveillance agent responsibilities here:

Observation skills. Many surveillance agent duties rely on observation skills. "security guards and surveillance officers must be alert and aware of their surroundings, and be able to quickly recognize anything out of the ordinary.," so a surveillance agent will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways surveillance agent responsibilities rely on observation skills: "typed observation reports and incident reports when necessary. "

Communication skills. This is an important skill for surveillance agents to perform their duties. For an example of how surveillance agent responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "security guards and surveillance officers must communicate effectively with others, even in stressful situations." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a surveillance agent: "live video surveillance monitoring agent, record keeping, law enforcement communications alarm activation. ".

Most common surveillance agent skills

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Compare different surveillance agents

Surveillance agent vs. Observer

An observer is responsible for supporting patients' conditions under the health personnel's supervision, ensuring that the medical operations comply with the institution's policies and procedures. Observers must have excellent communication and organization skills, responding to the patients' inquiries and concerns, and performing administrative tasks as required by the management. They also identify possible improvements for clients' safety and security and create reports, manage expenses, and report any complaints to the senior management for immediate resolution.

We looked at the average surveillance agent salary and compared it with the wages of an observer. Generally speaking, observers are paid $6,054 higher than surveillance agents per year.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, surveillance agent responsibilities require skills like "incident reports," "cctv," "internal controls," and "zoom." Meanwhile a typical observer has skills in areas such as "patients," "patient care," "patient safety," and "cpr." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

On average, observers reach higher levels of education than surveillance agents. Observers are 6.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 4.8% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Surveillance agent vs. Gaming investigator

Agents are individuals who are employed by their clients to represent them in various dealings. Agents are usually employed by people in the show business industry, such as actors, writers, or directors. They meet people who are interested in dealing with their clients. They listen to the plans and vision for the project and assess if the project fits their clients' interests or public image. In the case of agents whose clients are actors, they send their clients to auditions upon review of the project details. Agents are also responsible for negotiating terms on behalf of their clients, such as salary, royalties, and set benefits, among others. They also inform the project leaders of their clients' demands on set. Agents are expected to be business-savvy and good negotiators.

A career as a gaming investigator brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a surveillance agent. In fact, gaming investigators salary is $17,252 higher than the salary of surveillance agents per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Surveillance agents and gaming investigators both require similar skills like "cctv," "audio equipment," and "video equipment" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that surveillance agent responsibilities requires skills like "incident reports," "internal controls," "zoom," and "patrol." But a gaming investigator might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "law enforcement," "administrative hearings," "background investigations," and "criminal statutes."

Gaming investigators earn higher levels of education than surveillance agents in general. They're 11.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 4.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Surveillance agent vs. Casino enforcement agent

On average scale, casino enforcement agents bring in higher salaries than surveillance agents. In fact, they earn a $29,442 higher salary per year.Using the responsibilities included on surveillance agents and casino enforcement agents resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "casino guests," "casino policies," and "casino assets.rdquo;

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, surveillance agents are more likely to have skills like "incident reports," "cctv," "internal controls," and "zoom." But a casino enforcement agent is more likely to have skills like "customer satisfaction," "medicaid," "disciplinary actions," and "stackers."

Most casino enforcement agents achieve a similar degree level compared to surveillance agents. For example, they're 3.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Surveillance agent vs. Agent

Agents typically earn higher pay than surveillance agents. On average, agents earn a $5,376 higher salary per year.Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A surveillance agent uses "incident reports," "cctv," "internal controls," and "zoom." Agents are more likely to have duties that require skills in "insurance products," "customer service," "life insurance," and "hr. "In general, agents hold similar degree levels compared to surveillance agents. Agents are 1.7% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of surveillance agent

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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