Unarmed vs Armed Security Guards: How to Know What You Need

Your top priority is the safety of the people you are responsible for and the security of the possessions you are in charge of or own. This is true whether you’re planning a big event, own a business, manage a neighborhood, run a school, and more. You cannot provide the kind of safety and security needed on your own, of course. You need to bring in professional help in the form of security guards. 

Statistics show that you’re not only deterring crime from happening, but you’ll have more peace of mind knowing there are security guards protecting your building, people, possessions, and property. The decision to hire Austin security guards is a good one, but not the only decision to make. When you hire a team of security guards, you have one main choice to make: whether you want them to be armed or unarmed. 

There’s no right or wrong answer; it’s all about your specific needs and safety concerns. There are some places and occasions where it is most certainly necessary to have guns, and others where it would be overkill at best. Let’s look at a few things in order to help you decide:

“Unarmed” does not mean they have no weapons. Unarmed guards have a professional look, giving the presence of higher authority. This is enough to keep certain situations from happening or escalating, like theft or vandalism. They are usually there to make employees feel at ease about dangers, while also letting them know that they too are being watched. The term “unarmed” means these security guards don’t have a gun, not that they’re totally helpful and unable to defend you. Batons, tasers, and pepper spray are three common alternatives to carrying a gun.

You don’t always need lethal force. You need security, but not for the types of potential crime that require a gun on the premises. Hotels, residential apartment buildings, corporate offices, restaurants, bars and nightclubs, and retail stores are all examples of establishments that don’t typically require an armed guard. As a quick example, parents dropping off their toddler at daycare will be relieved to see a security guard at the door to ensure only parents are allowed inside. They may be less relieved and actually more worried if this security guard has a gun.

Armed guards are necessary in some places. In high crime areas, you’ll want to protect yourself and your staff from being robbed or attacked. Banks, schools, hospitals, airports, courthouses, and other government facilities need complete security. In a place like this, a baton isn’t going to cut it. If there’s a seriously dangerous incident in the courthouse or someone tries to rob a bank, you’ll be happy to have an armed guard on-site and ready to do their job the way they were trained to do.

We encourage you to contact us about hiring Austin, TX security guards. We’ll go over this decision in more detail and help you come up with a final choice you’re happy with. We will provide any number of well-trained uniformed security officers necessary for the protection of your property. Call us at (512) 326-9411 to get started. Crime won’t wait, so this phone call can’t either!

We use the electronic Deggy® Guard Tour System. This allows our officers to easily report events and record our inspections' exact date, time, and location. This system further proves that the services were performed, allowing us to deliver a higher quality service.