Security Guards for Public Housing
A courtesy patrol that residents recognize, trespass enforcement the way the authority wants it done, and a report the housing office can file.
Request a proposalThe situation
What a public housing community deals with
Trespass by people who used to live there
Former residents, banned guests and people who know the property well come back. The authority's trespass policy is the tool, and it needs someone on the property applying it consistently, with a list and a log.
Residents who are the point
Families, elderly residents and people with disabilities live here, and most of what happens is ordinary. Security that treats every resident as a suspect fails; security residents recognize and trust works.
Common areas and the edges
Stairwells, laundry rooms, playgrounds, the lots and the fence line. Drug activity, loitering and damage concentrate where nobody is looking, and residents' complaints follow.
Compliance and the file
The authority answers to a board, to funders and to residents' councils. Every incident needs a record in the authority's format, and the security vendor needs to meet the authority's procurement and screening rules.
Residents first, the list second
Security in public housing is judged by residents as much as by the authority. A patrol that treats every resident as a suspect fails on the first night. Price Protection’s approach is the courtesy patrol the company runs in market-rate communities, adapted to the authority’s rules: the same officers on the community, on foot, greeting residents by name, taking complaints and passing them to the office, and applying the trespass policy exactly as the authority wrote it, with the list carried and every contact logged.
Trespass, loitering and the common areas
The authority’s trespass policy is the main tool and the post orders restate it: who is on the list, how a warning is issued or renewed, when the police are called. Loitering and common-area rules are applied the same way. Rounds on foot cover the places complaints come from: stairwells, laundry rooms, playgrounds, lots and the fence line. Conditions are logged so the housing office knows about the door and the light before the complaint. Residents who report something to the officer are told what will happen with it, and the report closes the loop the next day.
Posts, patrols and scattered sites
Mid-rise and senior buildings get a lobby or entrance post with the visitor policy applied. Garden communities get a foot and vehicle patrol. Scattered sites are covered by a vehicle on a written route with checkpoints on foot at each. Where the authority has decided on an armed post for a property or a period, a commissioned officer works it under post orders written with the authority.
The record
The authority answers to a board, to funders and to residents’ councils, and every incident needs a record. The daily report is written in the authority’s incident format, with trespass contacts, police calls and case numbers, complaints and conditions, and goes to the housing office. The trespass list is updated from it. The company supplies the licensing, insurance and certifications the authority’s procurement requires.
Starting coverage
The process begins with the authority’s purchasing office or the property manager: the properties, the hours, the trespass and visitor policies, the residents’ council, the incident format and the procurement requirements. The supervisor walks each property with the manager, the post orders are written and the patrol starts on the contract date.
How we cover it
Every service, applied to this post.
- Unarmed security guards
Unarmed courtesy patrol officers on foot and by vehicle for the hours the authority chooses, walking the buildings, stairwells, laundry rooms, playgrounds and lots, known to residents and the residents' council, applying the trespass policy and logging every contact.
- Armed security guards
Where the authority has decided on an armed post for a particular property or period, a commissioned officer works under post orders written with the authority, with observe-and-report the default and the police called for enforcement.
- Access control
Lobby or entrance posts at mid-rise and senior buildings, visitor policies applied as the authority sets them, and the trespass list carried and applied on the property.
- Vehicle patrol
A marked vehicle covers scattered sites and large communities on a written route, with checkpoints on foot, and responds across the authority's properties as dispatch directs.
- Incident reporting
A daily report in the authority's incident format: contacts, trespass warnings issued and the list updated, arrests by police, resident complaints, common-area conditions and maintenance issues seen, so the housing office and the residents' council have the record.
A typical post
What a shift looks like here.
The evening officer takes the post with the trespass list and the day's notes from the housing office: a banned guest seen yesterday in Building 4, a broken laundry room door, a residents' council meeting at seven. The first round is on foot: stairwells, laundry rooms, the playground, the lots, greeting residents by name.
A man in Building 4's breezeway is on the list; the officer speaks to him courteously, reminds him of the warning, he leaves, and the contact is logged with the time. The council meeting is covered from the doorway. Later, a group in the lot is asked to move on under the loitering policy; a resident's complaint about a neighbor is taken and passed to the office.
After midnight the officer walks the buildings again, checks the laundry room door, which is still broken, and writes the report in the authority's format: the man from the list, the group in the lot, the complaint, the door. The housing office files it and updates the list.
Reporting
What the daily report covers here
Every client receives a written report each day, and officer performance is reviewed and documented daily. This is what the report records on this kind of post.
- Rounds on foot and by vehicle, with times and buildings covered
- Trespass contacts: person, list status, warning issued or renewed, outcome
- Loitering and common-area contacts, with the policy section applied
- Resident complaints taken and passed to the housing office
- Police calls and arrests, with times and case numbers
- Common-area conditions: lighting, doors, laundry rooms, playgrounds
- Residents' council meetings and events covered
How do officers apply the trespass policy?
The authority provides the policy and the list; the post orders restate them; officers carry the list, issue or renew warnings as the policy allows, log every contact and call the police for anyone who refuses to leave. The authority updates the list from the reports.
How do you build trust with residents?
By assigning the same officers to the community, walking on foot, greeting residents by name, taking complaints seriously and passing them to the office, and attending residents' council meetings where the authority asks. Officers are trained in customer service and de-escalation.
Are your officers screened to the authority's standard?
Every officer holds a Texas DPS registration, which requires a fingerprint background check, and passes the company's own check and a drug test. Additional requirements in the authority's contract are met or stated.
Can you cover scattered sites?
Yes. A vehicle patrol covers scattered sites on a written route with checkpoints on foot at each, and a fixed post is added at properties that need one.
Is the company eligible for the authority's procurement programs?
The company displays City of Houston MBE, Texas HUB and City of Houston Office of Business Opportunity marks and supplies certificates with its bid. The authority's program determines eligibility.
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Request a proposal
Request a proposal for public housing.
Two short steps. Dispatch reviews every request and calls you back about coverage. For urgent unarmed coverage we can typically staff most sites within hours.
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(281) 326-9189