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Business park at night under lights in South San Francisco

Guide

Patrol or a guard: which does your site need?

It comes down to one question: is anyone on your site after hours?

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How they differ.

A posted guard is on your site for the full shift: checking in drivers, walking rounds, handling whatever comes up. Mobile patrol is a marked car showing up at random times to check doors, gates and the yard, then moving to the next stop.

Guards give you constant coverage. Patrol gives you regular, unpredictable checks for a lot less.

When to post a guard.

If anything happens on your site overnight (trucks arriving, crews working, guests checking in), you need a person there. Patrol can’t check in a driver at 2 a.m.

A guard is also the call after a break-in or when the inventory is worth a lot. Nothing beats constant presence.

When patrol does the job.

A lot of SSF properties are dead quiet overnight: offices, smaller warehouses, Grand Avenue storefronts. No one to check in, so a full shift is money you don’t need to spend.

Patrol handles these. Marked cars, random timing, doors and gates checked, every stop logged. Number of stops depends on budget and the site, and you can tune it once the logs come in.

Running both.

Plenty of SSF sites split it: a guard on the gate during day and swing shifts, patrol overnight. Or a guard at the main building and patrol stops at two satellite warehouses.

Add camera monitoring and you’ve got cameras on the whole site all night, with patrol sent when something moves.

Making the call.

Answer three things: Is anyone on site at night? Has something already happened? How big is the site? Then book a free walkthrough and we’ll price both in a written proposal. Terms are month to month if you want to switch later.

A few useful answers

Quick answers.

Is patrol always cheaper?

Almost always, since you pay per visit rather than per shift.

Can we switch later?

Yes. Month-to-month terms.

Services

Services this guide covers

01 / Patrol

Mobile patrol

Marked patrol cars, random timing, every stop logged.

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02 / On-site

Security guard services

Officers on post at your lobby, gate or dock, logging every round.

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Let’s secure your South San Francisco property.

Get a quoteCall (650) 547-3074