If you’re a business, securing your physical and human capital is one of your top priorities. When considering your security options, it’s best to know precisely what options you have and then decide as per your needs. Each business has its own set of security needs that the services it hires must be tailored to.

If you’re worried about whether to hire armed or unarmed guards for your business, here’s how you can decide.

What’s The Difference?

An armed guard is equipped and licensed to use firearms, including guns and heavier ammunition. These people are trained to deal with and carry their weapons safely and use them only during emergencies.

On the other hand, an unarmed guard may or may not be trained in using arms but will not carry any on him. This type of security guard is not entirely empty-handed or defenseless; they will have a baton, pepper spray, or other low-impact weapons.

Hiring armed guards is mostly more expensive as they come with proper training, and your business may even need to pay liability insurance if you’re hiring an armed security guard. The cost per hour to employ unarmed guards will be lower.

Consider Your Business Risk

This might be an easy decision for many armed guards — simply because they seem to be more well-prepared to deal with threats. However, this isn’t the case. Businesses must carry out a risk assessment to determine their security needs and what message they want to give out to their clients.

If your business is low risk, then why spend extra money on armed services? Unarmed services can help provide discreet deterrence. They can blend in with the crowd and perform effective surveillance for safety. On the other hand, armed guards can increase the sense of security for your clients by visibly deterring any threat.

Choosing The Right Kind Of Security Services

If deterrence is your main priority, your business is in a high-risk area where there are violent crimes, and you sell valuable items that are always under the threat of robbery—then you should hire armed guards.

However, if your business has a relatively lower budget and is not exposed to any direct risk or threat, unarmed guard services would be a better option.

No matter what you decide, Guard Service USA has you covered. We are a security guard company that specializes in providing customized security solutions. Reach out to us to hire reliable armed and unarmed, uniformed and non-uniformed personnel. You can reach out to us at inquiry@guardservicesusa.com for more details.