Hiring a residential security company can help to keep your neighborhood, gated community, or building safe. Not all companies are the same, especially in an ever-growing industry like private security.

However, there are some questions you should ask to understand more about what a company can offer before you choose to hire them.

What Kind of Experience Do You Have?

It’s essential to choose a security company with decades of experience in the security industry and specific experience in your area. There may be threats that are specific to your geographic location. When your residential security company has a greater understanding of all of this, it can offer you a higher level of protection.
It’s not just the company’s experience that you should be concerned about; its reputation also matters.
Findcompany’s others have to say about the company. Ask the residential security company for the names of other residential properties that are using the services. This way, you can contact them to learn more about what is offered and what to expect from the service.

What Residential Services are Offered?

Hiring a residential security company that offers the comprehensive services that you need is critical. Not all security companies provide the same level of services. Additionally, you’ll want to have well-trained, professional security that has experience working in the environment of your property.

Depending on the size and the ease in which it can be patrolled, patrolling a residential area may happen on foot, bicycle, golf cart, or vehicle.

Some companies will provide you with the option of armed or unarmed guards. Often, your first thought may be to have armed guards because it offers a higher level of protection. This is not always the case – and understanding your residential area will make it easier for you to decide.

Unarmed guards will rely on verbal skills to de-escalate problems. Uniformed guards will serve as a deterrent so that your residential area is protected.

If your community or building has a history of violence, ongoing drug activity, or anything else, you may want to consider the use of armed guards. If you choose to hire armed guards, you want to know that they have professionally trained on how to use their weapons. Otherwise, they can end up creating more danger by hurting themselves or one of the civilians that they are supposed to be protecting.

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What Tasks Will the Security Guards Perform?

The security guards should have the ability to perform a number of tasks about the security of your residential facility.
This can include

• Responding to emergencies​
• Doorman/Concierge Services
• Enforcing parking regulations​
• Conducting security sweeps of public areas​
• Locking and unlocking gates to parks, swimming pools, and other areas​

What Training Does Security Guards Receive?

Often, it comes down to the training that security guards receive. Some companies don’t offer training. They send a person down to sit at a guard station as nothing more than a warm body and call that person a security guard.

The experience of the security guards themselves should matter. You don’t want any random person working “security” on your property. Instead, find out if they have a military or law enforcement background. Ensure that they have completed all state-required security training classes. You’ll want to see a valid security guard license from each guard that will be working within your property.

Training is a necessity and should include such things as:

• Use of force, including use of a baton and chemical agents
• Patrol and radio procedures
• Report writing
• Legal issues as they pertain to security detail
• Customer service
• Public relations

When you hire a residential security company that puts a significant focus on security training, you get more out of the services.

What Actions Are Taken in an Emergency?

If a resident calls in an issue – fire, burglary, or another incident, how will the security guards respond?

You’ll want to find out what their complete procedure is for handling issues.

• Do they call the police?
• Do they visit the property?
• Do they phone the issue to a supervisor?

Complete reports should be written so that you know what happens daily. Further, reports can maintain a history of what has happened to help you justify the need for more security, should it be necessary.
You can control how they handle issues based on the needs of residents and other services you may have in place.

Are You Licensed and Insured?

Residential security is one of the single most important services that you can hire for your residential area. You don’t want to hire just any company – they have to be both licensed and insured.
This is not an area where you want to take their word on it. Ask to see their license from the Department of Public Safety. Ask to see their insurance policy to see what kind of coverage is in place.
Failure to hire a licensed and insured company could end up costing you a significant amount of money. If a guard gets injured, you don’t want to be financially responsible. Similarly, if a guard injures someone else, you don’t want to be accountable for the inevitable lawsuit.
By asking a few questions and following it up with some research, you can protect your neighborhood, gated community, or building more effectively.

How are Guards Monitored?

It’s important to know that the guards are being monitored by the company that you are employing. Otherwise, they may not even be on the property for the time that you are paying for security detail.
GPS patrol tracking systems should be utilized to monitor security guards.
Additionally, companies like DMAC Security will have field supervisors to visit sites on an ongoing basis. It can ensure that the security guards are doing their job, ensure that their training is being observed and that your property is getting the best protection possible.

How Flexible are Your Service Packages?

Service packages will impact not only the price that you pay but also the number of services that you get. While some companies try to lock you into specific packages that may offer you more than you need, other companies will customize.

Specifically, you’ll want to consider:

• The times in which security is in place
• What tasks are performed by the guards
• How many guards are in place
• Whether the guards are standing or mobile
• What technology is being utilized

As you compare different residential security companies, you’ll find that costs can vary dramatically. Be sure that you know what you’re getting for your money and that it provides the necessary level of protection for your residential area.

Hiring the Right Company

Choosing a residential security company is critical for the overall safety of the residents under your care. By asking questions of different companies, you can get to know what is available, how comprehensive the protection can be, and what it will cost.
Any quality company in the DC/Maryland area should be forthcoming with everything. They should be able to address your concerns, make recommendations for your residential area, and show you how the guards can make a difference in keeping everyone feeling safer night after night, week after week.