Dedicated Security Patrols vs On-site security – Which Is Best For Your Needs?

So you’ve decided that
you need to ramp up the security on your business. It could be that
you’ve been the recent target of burglars or vandals. It could also
be that you’ve noticed that money or stock has gone missing over the
past few weeks and need to get to the bottom of it. Alternatively, it
might be that you simply need peace-of-mind protection during out of
business hours. Whatever the reason, you should realise that there
are varying types of security on offer. With this in mind, we’ve
taken two of the most popular to highlight the differences.

The cost

This is one of the
largest fundamental differences between on-site security and security
patrols. For example, an on-site security company who places a
permanent security guard at your location are likely to charge you
more for their time and services than a company offering a vehicle
drive-by service where the cost will be lower. Typically with mobile
security services, the security company will establish an agreed
amount of visits with the client per day and the costs are worked out
based on this. Inevitably this is going to work out cheaper because
rather than pay a security guard for patrolling a single location
full-time, the company providing drive-by security services can
spread that same cost over anything up to 30 clients at anyone time.

So what does this
mean for your business?

Well it depends upon
your requirements. If your business is in an area where there’s lots
of crime, a full time security guard might be preferable. They’re
on-site all the time, whether it’s during working hours, out of
hours, or both, and as such, will be seen as a pretty strong
deterrent for any opportunist looking to break-in or commit a crime.
Chances are that if it’s known that you have a permanent security
presence, there’s every probability that they’ll target softer
premises. Conversely if you have a business in an area where crime
is relatively low, then a mobile security company might be a better
and more cost-effective option.

Not all cut and
dried

Having said all that it
isn’t that straight forward because security companies will also
offer a variety of ‘add-on’ services connected to drive-by patrols.
These may include:

• A stop and search
  service where they physically enter your premises and check windows,
  doors, and lighting.

• A key holding
  service where they can act as internal as well as external security

• A CCTV and alarm
  monitoring service where they can monitor CCTV cameras from a nearby
  centralised

  location

As a result business
owners can tailor extra services to meet their need.s

In reality having
complete peace-of-mind isn’t about getting the cheapest price, but on
the other hand, it isn’t good business to be paying for services you
don’t need either. Therefore the best option is to assess your needs
and then choose a security company who will address them.