If you are considering hiring private security to safeguard your business, residential property, or construction site, one of the first choices you’ll need to make is between armed or unarmed security guards. Cost is certainly a consideration – since armed guards undergo more training, their rates scale accordingly. More important, though, is the overall level of security your job site requires.
Our team at The Guard Alliance has decades of experience in the private security industry. In that time, we’ve learned that across most of the country, in most situations, unarmed guards can be an effective tool for deterring crime and safeguarding critical assets. Unfortunately, specific industries, regions, and property types are more vulnerable to life-threatening security risks. A construction site in a neighborhood with high rates of violent crime or a cash-based business in a remote location, to name just a couple of examples, would greatly benefit from an armed security professional on site.
Armed guards enhance job site security by safeguarding personnel and property. They ensure fast, on-site response to emergent security threats—which is especially vital in places far from emergency services. Most of all, armed security guards actively deter would-be criminals from disturbing your construction site, retail store, or industrial property.
Here are the top three advantages of hiring armed security guards to protect your organization:
1. Enhanced Job Site Security
Many job sites pose tempting targets for troublemakers. An open-air construction site, for example, may have valuable tools and materials in exposed locations. Thieves often raid construction sites under cover of dark, but may also attempt to seize valuables by force, leading to violent outcomes. Cash-based businesses are also uniquely vulnerable to armed robbery in the United States, and emergency response times may not provide an effective deterrent.
An armed security guard conspicuously positioned at your job site effectively enhances security and lowers the risk of crime. Armed security professionals have the training and experience to predict threats before they occur – controlling access points and limiting threat exposure when they arrive on site. Having an exposed firearm communicates clearly to all would-be troublemakers, “Not here.”
If your workplace is especially vulnerable to violent crime due to its location, industry, or level of access, consider hiring armed security guards to safeguard your personnel and property. If you have a large job site, armed guards can also patrol in marked vehicles to enhance security on a larger scale.
2. Efficient Incident Resolution
When it comes to protecting your personnel and property, the ability to respond quickly to emergent threats is everything. Job sites in rural or remote areas may face unique security risks since troublemakers will know that emergency response times may not be fast enough to prevent wrongdoing. Likewise, high-crime areas in major cities may experience a similarly slow response from police. Your team will undoubtedly have greater peace of mind, morale, and productivity if protected by a well-trained, professionally dressed, armed security guard.
Security guards are also experts in documentation. If an incident occurs, they will record everything and are prepared to provide witness accounts to authorities. Any investigation from police or insurance companies will proceed much faster, and benefit from impartial accounts from your on-site security provider.
Your operation depends on the safety of everyone on-site, both in terms of team members’ actual physical safety and their perceived level of risk. If folks feel unsafe at your construction site, office space, or warehouse, morale and productivity can suffer greatly. Armed security guards reassure everyone on site that wrongdoers are effectively deterred and dealt with swiftly should the worst occur.
3. Effective Crime Deterrence
The mere presence of a security guard is often enough to deter criminals from causing trouble. In some cases, criminals are more brazen and may not be intimidated by a security guard without a firearm. Armed security guards are the ultimate deterrent—even hardened criminals will avoid confrontations with security personnel trained in the use of firearms.
The nature of your job site often determines the appropriate level of security required. For example, a single guard covering a sprawling, open-air construction project may not be a sufficient deterrent. Criminals may simply target parts of the job site beyond the guard’s view. Larger job sites that require armed guards should also consider deploying multiple guards for 24/7 coverage or armed guards in patrol vehicles to deter criminals at all access points.
Most importantly, if you believe criminals operating near your job site are likely to be armed themselves, then armed security guards will be the only effective deterrent. The safety of your staff, customers, and everyone else on site is paramount. If your job site has credible, life-threatening security risks, you should immediately look into armed guard deployments to deter wrongdoing and protect your team.
Contact The Guard Alliance
Based on our years of experience in the industry, we’ve found that unarmed guards are an incredibly effective tool in deterring crime at most places of business. Wrongdoers target vulnerable locations, and deploying a security guard is often enough to make them look elsewhere. In some cases, however, security risks and threats of violence are much higher. In these instances, deploying armed security guards to protect your people, property, and the public is essential.
The Guard Alliance proudly deploys the most experienced armed security personnel to communities across the USA. World-class training ensures our armed guards can effectively de-escalate situations when possible and respond with appropriate force when necessary. If you require security services to protect your construction site, medical facility, or any place of business, contact The Guard Alliance today to review your options.