After nearly 30 years protecting warehouses, medical centers, shopping centers, and construction sites across Greater Los Angeles (PPO-12958, licensed since 1997), we've seen businesses throw money at security in ways that don't make them any safer. We've also seen businesses pinch pennies in ways that cost them far more in the long run. This guide covers both — the eight most common ways LA businesses waste money on security, and what to do instead.
Whether you're evaluating your first security contract or reviewing what you're already paying, these are the mistakes we see every month.
The 8 Spending Mistakes
- Paying for 24/7 Coverage When You Only Need Targeted Hours
- Hiring Armed Guards When Unarmed Would Be More Effective
- Choosing the Cheapest Provider and Paying for It in Turnover
- Not Having a Post Order (So You're Paying for a Warm Body, Not Security)
- Ignoring Technology That Multiplies One Guard's Effectiveness
- Signing Long Contracts Without a Trial Period
- Not Adjusting Coverage as Your Risk Profile Changes
- Treating Security as a Cost Center Instead of a Business Protector
1. Paying for 24/7 Coverage When You Only Need Targeted Hours
Round-the-clock security sounds responsible. It looks thorough on paper. And it's one of the easiest ways to blow your budget while buying coverage you'll never use.
Many businesses default to 24/7 when their actual vulnerability is something far more specific. A warehouse staffed during business hours may only face real risk from 6 PM to 6 AM. A construction site might only need weekend coverage. A shopping center's biggest exposure may be Thursday through Saturday nights, not at 3 AM on Tuesday. A medical office may not need anyone after 8 PM when the last patient leaves.
The difference is significant. If you're paying for 24 hours a day at $25 per hour, that's $600 per day, $18,000 per month. Right-sizing to the hours when you actually have risk — say, 10 PM to 6 AM five days a week and all day Saturday-Sunday — might be $8,000 to $10,000. That's not a discount. That's smart spending.
Here's how to do a real risk assessment: When are your employees not there? When is your inventory most vulnerable? When have incidents historically occurred? What time do delivery trucks show up? When are you closed? A good security provider will walk through this with you and recommend coverage that matches actual risk, not the generic "24/7" package. That conversation saves you thousands.
Flexible Coverage Options →
2. Hiring Armed Guards When Unarmed Would Be More Effective
Armed isn't always better. That's the part nobody wants to hear because armed feels safer, looks tougher, and sounds more serious. But the reality is that most LA facilities — especially medical centers, shopping centers, and office buildings — are actually better served by unarmed guards with strong communication and de-escalation skills.
When does armed genuinely make sense? A warehouse storing high-value electronic inventory in an area with organized theft. A pharmaceutical storage facility. A property with known threat environments or recent incidents. A remote construction site where response times are long and the risk is genuinely high. Those situations justify the cost and complexity of armed security.
For everyone else, unarmed works better. A guard greeting patients at a medical center doesn't need a firearm — they need to be professional, calm, and good at recognizing when someone's becoming aggressive. That's a skillset. A shopping center guard preventing retail theft doesn't need a gun — they need visibility, communication abilities, and the confidence to approach suspicious activity without escalation. Unarmed guards with quality training are more appropriate and more effective for those environments.
The cost difference is substantial. Armed guards cost 50-60% more per hour than unarmed. You also pay for additional licensing, more comprehensive training, and higher insurance premiums. The right answer depends on actual risk, not perception. If you're not sure, ask your provider to walk your property and recommend what's actually necessary. If they try to upsell you on armed when unarmed makes sense, they're optimizing their margin, not your security.
Armed Security Services → | Unarmed Security Guards →
3. Choosing the Cheapest Provider and Paying for It in Turnover
You get three quotes. One is $18 per hour. One is $24. One is $28. You pick the lowest. Six months later, you've had eight different guards. You're retraining constantly. Your property never develops consistent security because nobody's there long enough to learn it. That's the real cost of "cheap."
Low-bid security companies operate on volume and turnover. They hire minimally qualified people, pay them just above minimum wage, and expect 200-300% annual guard turnover. That's normal for them. It's a business model. Every time a new guard starts at your warehouse, your property is vulnerable during the learning curve. They don't know the layout. They don't know which delivery drivers are regular and which ones are suspicious. They don't know where the problem areas are. They don't know your routines or expectations. That costs you in security.
Consistency is security. A guard who's been at your property for six months knows it. They recognize when something's different. They've developed relationships with your staff. They understand the nuances. A guard in week two does not. The constant rotation at bargain-basement providers means you're perpetually training. That's not just inefficient — it's a vulnerability.
A provider paying $26-30 per hour can hire better people, retain them longer, invest in training, and provide real supervision. The difference between $20 and $28 per hour is often the difference between a body in a uniform and an actual security professional. For a small warehouse or retail location, that might be 10-15 hours per week. For an ongoing presence at a larger facility, the math gets clearer: cheap guards cost money in constant retraining and vulnerability. Better guards cost less in the long run.
Understanding Security Guard Costs →
4. Not Having a Post Order (So You're Paying for a Warm Body, Not Security)
Without clear instructions, guards default to sitting at a desk scrolling their phones. That's not security. That's just a person occupying space. A post order turns that hourly rate into actual protection.
A post order is a written document specific to your property. It says: Patrol the warehouse floor every 30 minutes. Check all exterior doors at each tour. Log entry and exit times for delivery drivers. If you find a door propped open, call this number immediately. Here's how to handle an aggressive visitor. Here's who to contact if the alarm goes off. It's detailed. It's documented. It's the difference between a guard who knows what they should be doing and one who's guessing.
For a medical center, the post order covers front-desk procedures, how to de-escalate an upset patient, what areas to monitor, and emergency contact chains. For a shopping center, it specifies parking lot patrol frequency, how to respond to shoplifting reports, tenant communication procedures, and incident documentation. For a warehouse, it details access control, patrol routes, high-value inventory monitoring, and after-hours procedures.
The best security companies build post orders with you. They walk your property. They ask questions. They document what actually needs to happen. They train the guard on it. That discipline transforms a guard from a cost to an investment. It's the difference between $25 an hour being an expense and $25 an hour being protection.
Learn about effective post orders →
5. Ignoring Technology That Multiplies One Guard's Effectiveness
You think you need two guards because your shopping center is 40,000 square feet. Then you add cameras with real-time monitoring, access control on critical doors, and GPS-verified patrol tracking. Suddenly one well-supported guard provides better coverage than two without tech. The wrong approach to technology spending is ignoring it. The right approach is using it strategically.
Technology doesn't replace guards. It amplifies them. A security camera at your warehouse loading dock lets one person stationed inside monitor what's happening outside. Access control on your medical center's pharmacy door means you know exactly who accessed it and when — no guard at that door needed if you have that system. GPS verification of patrol routes means a manager can confirm a guard actually walked the property at 3 AM instead of just trusting them. Alarm integration means the guard knows immediately when something's triggered instead of discovering it hours later.
For a property manager overseeing a shopping center or warehouse complex across multiple locations, the right tech setup lets you manage more with the same budget. One managed guard with modern monitoring provides coverage that might otherwise require two. That's not cutting corners on security — that's multiplying effectiveness.
When you're evaluating security providers, ask specifically about their technology. Do they offer GPS tracking? Real-time patrol verification? Digital incident reports with automatic timestamps? Video check-ins? Can you access a dashboard to see what's happening? The companies investing in this infrastructure are the ones serious about accountability and effectiveness.
Security Guard Monitoring Technology →
6. Signing Long Contracts Without a Trial Period
The discount for a 12-month commitment is tempting. "Lock in this rate for a year and save 15%." But that discount comes at the cost of flexibility. A 30-day trial period is worth more than a 15% price cut because it lets you evaluate the actual service on your actual property with actual guards.
Here's what happens: You sign a year contract. Month two, the assigned guard is calling in sick regularly. Month three, you realize they're not trained on your systems. Month four, you've called the provider six times and still nothing's changed. You're locked in. Breaking the contract early costs more than just paying for the remaining months. You're stuck. The provider knows you're stuck. There's no urgency to fix anything.
Insist on a trial period. 30 days minimum. Some providers will resist, especially if they're pushing the long-term discount angle. Ask why. A company confident in their service should welcome a trial. If they won't budge, ask what they're afraid you'll discover. You should run security contracts like pilot programs: Test it. Evaluate it honestly. Then decide if it's worth committing to longer term. The best providers will agree to this because they know the trial becomes a long-term relationship.
Questions Before Signing a Contract →
7. Not Adjusting Coverage as Your Risk Profile Changes
Your warehouse in December is nothing like your warehouse in June. Holiday inventory surge means you're stacked with merchandise that won't ship until January. That's high-value, high-theft risk. June is normal operations. You might need two guards in December and one in June. A construction site's needs change with every phase. Framing requires different monitoring than finish work. A shopping center's risk changes with retail season. Holiday retail means more foot traffic, more theft, more chaos. January is quiet.
Static contracts ignore reality. You're paying for December coverage in June, or you're under-covered in December because you locked in lower staffing rates. Flexible providers will scale coverage up and down with actual risk. That costs less than overstaffing year-round and protects you better than under-staffing in peak periods.
When you're evaluating providers, ask specifically about flexibility. Can coverage scale seasonally? What's the process for adjusting hours or adding guards for a peak period? Can they reduce coverage in slow months? A provider that won't discuss flexibility is optimizing their revenue, not your budget. Smart security spending means paying for what you need, when you need it.
8. Treating Security as a Cost Center Instead of a Business Protector
Security is on the P&L as a line item, so it feels like a cost to minimize. That's the frame that leads to all the mistakes above. But it's the wrong frame. Security isn't an expense. It's risk management that protects everything else on the P&L.
What does one break-in actually cost a warehouse? Not just the inventory stolen. You've got police response time. Incident investigation. Insurance claim processing. Cleanup and repairs. Lost operational time. Employee morale hit from the incident. Client relationships strained if it's a climate-controlled facility and the break-in compromised the space. It adds up fast — often $10,000-50,000 depending on the property and what was hit.
What does one patient safety incident cost a medical center? Litigation risk alone can be six figures. Regulatory scrutiny follows. Insurance premiums rise. Reputation damage in the community. Staff turnover increases because employees don't feel safe. None of that shows up in the security line item, but it flows from lack of proper security.
Smart security spending isn't about spending less — it's about spending right. The property manager who right-sizes coverage, invests in a quality provider with strong retention rates, and uses technology to multiply effectiveness ends up with better protection at lower total cost than the one who chases the cheapest hourly rate. That's not a cost — that's insurance.
Get Your Free Security Assessment →
The Bottom Line
Smart security spending isn't about spending less — it's about spending right. The property manager who right-sizes coverage, invests in a quality provider, and uses technology to multiply effectiveness ends up with better protection at a lower total cost than the one who chases the cheapest hourly rate.
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