What Are the Different Types of Security Guards?

Security guards serve a basic purpose, but the skills they need to perform their job are anything but simple.

All guards are trained to deter crime and look for suspicious activity. However, different guards are better equipped for certain situations than others. The goal is to find a guard who’s undergone additional training to learn how to defend the type of property you’re hiring them to protect.

From restaurant and shopping center guards to neighborhood security officers, here’s a rundown of what to look for when hiring different types of security guards for various security needs.

Event Security Guards

For large-scale gatherings, event security is essential to keep guests, organizers, vendors, and staff safe. Professional event security guards:

• Conduct a risk assessment audit prior to the event
• Create a situational awareness platform
• Implement crowd control measures
• Put safety, evacuation, and emergency procedure protocols in place
• Monitor access points and provide access control
• Communicate with local law enforcement or local traffic authorities regarding traffic and parking

The bigger the event, the more guards you’ll need and the more security measures you’ll want to put in place. Whether you’re organizing a corporate event, a sporting event, or arts and entertainment events, be sure to hire a top-rated security company with experience in handling your particular type of event.

Concert Security Guards

Concert security guards have specific experience in managing crowds, which can get quite large depending on the performer and the venue. They also:

• Maintain access control
• Protect audiences, staff, performers, and VIPs
• Improve emergency response times in cases of fire, medical, or weather-related emergencies

People spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on tickets to see their favorite performers in concert. Concert organizers owe it to the artist, venue, and ticket holders to provide strong security that keeps everyone safe.

Restaurant Security Guards

To ensure the safety of your guests, staff, and business, restaurant owners and managers should hire restaurant security guards to:

• Prevent theft of cash, alcohol, and the personal property of customers and employees
• Improve access control and crowd control
• Provide customer service
• Improve emergency response times

With bartenders and waitstaff busy serving customers, restaurants can be vulnerable to theft and security threats. Restaurants may not seem like high-value targets, but they are.

Nightclub Security Guards

Greater risks arise when people consume alcohol, so nightclub security is a must for every club, no matter how big or small. Nightclub security guards:

• Prevent theft, vandalism, and physical altercations between guests
• Deter underage drinking and drug activity
• Remove intoxicated people who may endanger others
• Limit access control in different areas of the club
• Monitor security cameras

It’s best for club owners to have multiple security officers onsite. For example, you can staff one at the door to check IDs and frisk for weapons, designate specific bouncers to remove out-of-control clubgoers, and staff other guards in an office to monitor video surveillance cameras inside and outside the club.

Shopping Center Security Guards

From small shopping centers to large shopping malls, every retail store owner and mall property owner should hire shopping center security. Retail guards:

• Improve loss prevention methods
• Deter theft, loitering, and all types of criminal activity
• Provide crowd control
• Protect mall patrons and employees before, during, and after mall hours

Retail theft is on the rise, with stores losing $121.6 billion in 2023 and shoplifting projections expected to exceed $150 billion by 2026. Every retail outlet can benefit from hiring guards to protect their assets.

Movie Theater Security Guards

In the dark confines of a crowded movie theater, anything can happen. Movie theater owners and managers should hire movie theater security to:

• Prevent the theft of cash from concession stands, ticket windows, and patrons
• Protect valuable assets, including high-end audio and visual equipment
• Mitigate potential liabilities, such as slip and fall claims
• Improve emergency response times and contact emergency services in cases of medical emergencies

Having security professionals patrolling lobbies and movie theaters during screenings can prevent theft, prevent physical and sexual assaults, and de-escalate altercations between moviegoers.

Movie Set Security Guards

Movies are a big-business affair, and most major Hollywood movies cost more than $100 million to produce. It’s vital for production companies to hire movie set patrol guards to:

• Protect actors, artists, directors, production staff, and all employees
• Protect assets such as cameras and production equipment, costumes, props, and intellectual property
• Control unauthorized access by the public and fans
• Ensure celebrity privacy

With professional security guards on the set, production companies can maintain integrity within the film industry and create a set that’s safe for everyone to work on.

Yacht Security Guards

All sorts of dangers exist when you’re in open water. Yacht owners and captains should hire yacht security to:

• Protect valuable assets, including the yacht itself
• Protect against vandalism, theft, and all sorts of maritime criminal activities, including piracy
• Monitor alarm systems, motion detectors, and CCTV cameras
• Prevent unwanted access onto the boat

Yachts, cruise ships, and other sea vessels are often at their most vulnerable when anchored or docked. Having a visible security presence onboard deters and prevents criminals, thieves, and unwanted intruders from attempting to get on your boat.

Dispensary Security Guards

Cannabis dispensaries are high-value targets for criminals because they often have large amounts of cash and inventory on hand. Plus, stolen cannabis is easy to re-distribute on the street. Owners should hire dispensary security guards to:

• Help you comply with state laws
• Protect your dispensary against robberies and wide-scale theft, including the cannabis you sell and the cash collected from those sales
• Control crowds and maintain access control

By stationing guards outside your dispensary door, you can control the flow of how many customers are allowed inside at one time and keep crowds in long lines from becoming unruly.

Hospital Security Guards

In addition to the multiple duties that all security guards are trained to do, hospital security guards often handle tasks that other guards don’t. Hospital security is necessary to:

• Deter violence and stop immediate threats
• Maintain a sense of calm and order in an often crowded, hectic environment
• Control the visitor management system to track who’s coming and going at all times
• Limit access, even among staff, to allow only authorized people to enter operating rooms, pharmacies, maternity wards, and administrative offices that hold patient records

All hospitals need security personnel on staff to protect patients, staff, visitors, and hospital property. From cyber data to medications, hospitals are desirable targets for many types of criminals.

School Security Guards

School shootings, violence from external threats, and violence among students are unwanted realities that students face every day. School security guards are necessary to:

• Check for weapons at entry points
• Control access, maintain crowd control, and keep traffic moving in hallways
• Escort students and staff to parking lots or throughout the campus after hours
• Improve emergency response times

In 2024, gunfire on school grounds in the United States resulted in 46 deaths and 106 injuries. School security guards remain one of the best ways to provide peace of mind for students, teachers, staff, and parents at home.

Bank Security Guards

All banks, big and small, need the added level of security that physical security guards provide. Along with robust video surveillance systems and surveillance monitoring, bank security guards:

• Deter robberies and criminal activity
• Deter inside theft from employees and staff
• Improve customer confidence by making customers feel safer

With large amounts of cash and valuables onsite, financial institutions are always at risk for robberies and theft. Having visible security guards in your bank provides peace of mind to customers and makes them feel safe banking at your institution.

Manufacturing Plant Security Guards

Manufacturing plants can be high-value targets for certain types of criminals. Implementing a manufacturing plant security plan helps to:

• Deter and prevent theft of equipment, tools, and raw materials
• Control access into the plant as well as within it but restricting staff to authorized areas
• Set up and monitor surveillance systems and alarm systems

In addition to physical items onsite, manufacturing plants need guards to thwart cybersecurity threats as well. No matter what it is you manufacture, criminals may attempt to steal customer data, financial information, or intellectual property.

Fire Watch Security Guards

Because small smoldering embers can turn into raging fires in an instant, fire watch security guards have to handle tasks like:

• Conduct regular patrols to prevent fires and detect fire hazards
• Act at the first sign of fire or smoke
• Maintain fire safety and patrol logs
• Reactivate disabled fire prevention and detection systems

In California, every existing structure and construction site must comply with the fire watch rules and regulations in their county. Fire watch is necessary every time a building is being constructed, renovated, or demolished, every time a building is under maintenance or hot work is being done, and every time a building’s fire protection system is compromised.

Celebrity Security Guards

Many high-profile individuals hire bodyguards and private security guard services to protect themselves and their families against potential threats. Like all the different types of security guards we’ve discussed above, celebrity security guards provide unique benefits:

• Protect your personal space
• Maintain your privacy
• Provide physical protection from fans, paparazzi, stalkers, and crowd surges

Bodyguards aren’t only for movie stars and A-list celebrities. Everyone from politicians to athletes and entertainers to high-net-worth individuals can benefit from having a bodyguard by their side.

Residential Security Guards

We all want to feel safe and secure in our homes, and residential security services help us do so. Residential security guards:

• Deter crime, including property crime, vandalism, and vehicle theft
• Control access to the property and deter trespassers
• Protect you, your family, and your assets

With residential security guards on foot patrol outside your home, you’re less likely to become a target for crime than a neighbor who doesn’t have such security measures in place.

Gated Community Security Guards

Residential security services are also important for people living in gated communities. While the gates around your property are a great first line of defense, security guards offer an added level of security. Gated community security services help to:

• Control access to the property
• Keep track of who enters and exits the gates
• Ensure that residents follow community rules regarding things like parking, speeding, and using the facilities and amenities

All gated communities can benefit from having physical guards on staff, even if residents are already equipped with key fobs, entry passcodes, or keycodes.

Unarmed vs Armed Security Guards

Once you determine what type of security services you need, the next step is to decide if you need armed or unarmed security guards.

Armed and unarmed guards have similar security skills, but armed guards have additional firearms training and offer an added level of protection. While visible unarmed guards are a great deterrent for criminals, some consider armed security officers to be more effective for complex security needs because they have training in lethal weapons and understand when use of force is necessary to stop an immediate threat.

There are pros and cons to hiring both armed and unarmed security guards. Weigh all the pros and cons of each before deciding which is the best type of security officer for you.

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Because crimes can occur anywhere and at any time, hiring professional security guards is the best way to enjoy peace of mind in your home, on your yacht, at an event, or in your place of business. No matter what type of security guard you need, find top-rated security solutions in California at Security Explorer now.