What Kind Of Businesses Need Armed Security Guard Services?

With increasing instances of violent crime, almost any business can benefit from armed security guard services. Besides the surface benefits of protecting your business and its assets, the presence of armed guards puts clients at ease and demonstrates a company’s dedication to risk management. Armed security guards, thanks to their visibility, are some of the best deterrents against thieves, vandals, and more violent criminals. If a problem does arise, armed security guards even have the power to detain a suspect until local police arrive to make an arrest.

While one can never be too secure, for some businesses, hiring armed security guards is not a choice, but a mandatory part of protecting its assets. These are the businesses that need to think seriously about bringing in guards to help combat threats to their security.

Schools

With the recent rash of school shootings, having armed guards has now become a priority for academic institutions. While high schools and universities may be more popular targets for these horrific terrorist attacks, Sandy Hook proves that even elementary schools are at risk.  More mildly, the presence of armed guards can help deter bullying between schoolmates.

Armed guards are also vital to maintaining calm during politically charged protests and demonstrations at college campuses and keeping controversial and unpopular guest speakers safe during their visits. With the MeToo movement exposing more and more cases of sexual assault, including those on university campuses, academic institutions are also turning to private security guards to help curb inappropriate or violent sexual behavior.

While there is some controversy as to whether schoolchildren, especially those young enough to be in elementary school, should be around visibly armed guards, or undercover armed guards, the fact remains that these guards may be the one thing that stands between the safety of these kids and another national tragedy.

Construction Sites

Construction sites are full of ideal candidates for theft: specialized, expensive pieces of equipment that are too large to securely lock up and must be left unattended when the construction crew clocks out. Armed security guards can keep your machines safe when everyone else has gone home.

Construction sites are also prime targets for vandalism. Whether out of protest for new building developments or just because freshly constructed walls make for attractive graffiti backdrops, these sites are vulnerable to tampering. Armed security guards are a must to protect these properties from those who would do them harm.

Large Retailers

It should come as no surprise that shoplifting is one of the most common types of theft. For the most part, all it requires is some small sleight of hand and the right opportunity, making it easy for even the pettiest of thieves to get away with. Armed guards can be your eyes on the ground, keeping watch over your stock and freeing up your sales associates to do what they’re meant to do—sell.

Large retail centers have also increasingly become targets for violent crime. With so many people in an enclosed space, places like malls and department stores offer shooters an easy way to do a lot of damage in a small amount of time. The shooting at a Walmart Supercenter in El Paso just two weeks ago proves how necessary armed guards are to protecting shoppers and staff at these retail locations.

Healthcare Providers

Hospitals are some of the busiest institutions in the United States. Every day, hundreds of people go in and out of their doors, most of them strangers to hospital staff.  With such a high volume to keep track of, hospitals provide ample opportunity for criminals to do real damage.

Armed guards at a hospital can help keep watch over the revolving door of visitors and patients and track any suspicious behaviors. They can also make sure that valuable hospital stock—whether it be expensive machinery or prescription drugs that have high prices on the street—stay exactly where they should be.

Banks

Making sure your bank or financial institution is protected with armed guards should be a no-brainer. If you depend on local police to promptly respond to incidents at locations holding vast sums of money, you’re just asking to be attacked. Private armed guards are an absolute necessity for protecting the assets of both your own company and its clients when you’re in the business of keeping, saving, and exchanging money.

And for Everyone Else…

Hiring armed security guards is a more crucial decision for some industries than others, but everyone can benefit from ensuring that their assets are protected. No matter who you are or what your business does, a team of armed guards can deter crime, monitor your property and staff, and protect your valuables from a broad range of security threats.

At GISS, our armed security guards are solely made up of active or retired police and federal agents. For more information on what security measures would be best for your company, give us a call at 718-547-8411 or fill out our contact form to speak to a GISS International representative and receive a free on-site inspection and estimate for our services.