How much notice do I need to hire a security guard?

Same day, when it has to be

A break-in overnight, a threat at the office, a system that failed, a storm on the way: dispatch takes the call, assigns an officer and has a supervisor draft the post orders while the officer drives. The officer walks the property with you on arrival and the orders are completed then. Price Protection’s own claim is that unarmed guards can typically arrive at most job sites within hours, and it is the claim the company is judged on.

A few days, when you can

With two or three days, a supervisor visits before the first shift, walks the entrances, the lots and the amenities, meets the people the officer will work with and writes post orders that fit on the first night rather than the third. Officers are briefed rather than handed a page in the car. The first daily report is better for it, and so is the first month.

A week or more, for the harder posts

Armed coverage needs a Level III commissioned officer matched to the post, and the pool of them is smaller. Large events need a plan, a team and a lead. A fire watch with a demanding interval, special certifications or a plant’s safety orientation needs officers trained for it and time for the orientation. None of these is impossible on short notice, and all of them are better with a week.

Ending or changing a post

Notice runs the other way too. The proposal states the notice each side gives to change hours or end the post, so that officers are not left without a shift and the property is not left without cover. The contracts article explains the usual terms, and the emergency security guards page lists what dispatch needs for a same-day start.