San Francisco security guard services you can check, not just pay for.
On-site security guards, mobile security patrols, fire watch and event security across San Francisco and the Peninsula, with GPS-verified patrol routes, timestamped reports and supervisor audits behind every shift.
Free, no obligation. An assessment sizes the coverage before anyone quotes it.
Need coverage today? Call (415) 647-8500, Mon-Fri 9am-5pm (415) 647-8500
Check what any security company tells you about the risk at your address. Including us.
The first free, public tool of its kind from a San Francisco security company. Security decisions should rest on facts, not on a pitch. Sometimes a company gets it wrong by mistake, sometimes on purpose, to win your business. So we built an atlas of San Francisco from the City’s own records: police incidents, encampment reports, street-cleaning requests and emergency calls, month by month, back to January 2018, mapped across the city. Nothing is modelled and nothing is estimated. Every figure traces to an open dataset you can open yourself. If what you are told about your address does not match this map, ours included, do not take it on faith.
For business
Two moments: choosing where to put the site, and choosing who guards it. The atlas is useful in both, and it is the only part of either conversation that has no stake in the outcome.
- Audit the quote you were given. A proposal built on “this area has a break-in problem” is checkable in about a minute. So is one that quietly skips the problem your block actually has.
- Price the block before you sign the lease. Rent per square foot is on the listing; what the site costs to protect is not, and it is a property of the block rather than of the city. Compare three addresses on one scale.
- See which problems are actually yours. Break-ins, trespass, vandalism, dumping and alarm calls are separate layers, so you find out whether you need an officer, a patrol or neither.
- Take it to the landlord or the board. City records carry further in that room than a vendor’s brochure.
For residents
You are given a description of a neighborhood by people who are paid when you sign. Here is the same neighborhood as the City recorded it.
- Check what the listing says. “Quiet street” and “up-and-coming” are opinions. Reports per month on that block are not.
- Check a specific address. Type it in and the map goes there. Risk changes within a few hundred meters, which is finer than any neighborhood name.
- See the direction, not just today. Eight years of months, so you can tell a block that is settling from one that is getting worse.
- Know the wait. How long a non-urgent police call actually takes to be answered where you are about to live.
Security guard services in San Francisco, recorded shift by shift
Armada Protective Services combines field experience since 1994 with a digital operations system that records patrols, post activity and incident reports in real time. Clients receive transparent, time-stamped documentation: clear proof of performance, not promises.
Start where you actually are: a situation, or a security service
Most people arrive with a problem at a property, not a service name. Either route reaches the same answer.
Security Guard Services
Our on-site guards manage entrances, support tenants, and de-escalate issues with calm professionalism. Officers are BSIS-certified and oriented to each property’s rules and routines before taking the post. Shift times and incident notes are logged in our system, giving managers reliable visibility without chasing reports.
Mobile Patrol Services
Patrol units cover large or multi-site properties day and night with GPS-logged routes and time-stamped checkpoint completion. When needed, teams deploy drones with thermal cameras to scan roofs, lots, and perimeters, locating suspects or heat signatures quickly and guiding police to exact positions. Dashcams capture key incidents, adding objective evidence to the patrol record.
Event Security Services
Event teams focus on coordination, not disruption: controlling access, directing flow, and staying in constant contact with organizers. Supervisors receive live updates from the field, keeping responses fast and aligned with the run-of-show. Body-cams can be used where policy or venue requirements call for documented interactions.
Start from the situation
Describe what is happening at the property. No security terminology required.
I know the service
Go straight to it: what it delivers, what it records, and when it is the wrong purchase.
Most people are choosing a coverage model, not a service name
A standing officer, a patrol route and a camera solve different problems. Choosing the wrong one is the most expensive mistake available in this category.
| Dimension | Standing officer | Mobile patrol | Cameras only |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presence | Continuous, one named post | Intermittent, randomized visits | None on site |
| Response on site | Immediate | At the next visit, or on call | Remote only |
| Geographic reach | One location | Several sites per shift | Fixed camera lines |
| Deterrence | Visible and constant | Visible but unpredictable | Visible only where mounted |
| Record produced | Shift attendance and post log | GPS and timestamped checkpoints | Footage, if retained |
| Management burden | Post orders and relief planning | Route and frequency | Monitoring and storage |
| What drives cost | Hours on post | Visits per night and sites per route | Hardware, install, retention |
| Best when | Access control and a visible post | Several exposed hours, several sites | Evidence after the fact |
Presence
- Standing officer
- Continuous, one named post
- Mobile patrol
- Intermittent, randomized visits
- Cameras only
- None on site
Response on site
- Standing officer
- Immediate
- Mobile patrol
- At the next visit, or on call
- Cameras only
- Remote only
Geographic reach
- Standing officer
- One location
- Mobile patrol
- Several sites per shift
- Cameras only
- Fixed camera lines
Deterrence
- Standing officer
- Visible and constant
- Mobile patrol
- Visible but unpredictable
- Cameras only
- Visible only where mounted
Record produced
- Standing officer
- Shift attendance and post log
- Mobile patrol
- GPS and timestamped checkpoints
- Cameras only
- Footage, if retained
Management burden
- Standing officer
- Post orders and relief planning
- Mobile patrol
- Route and frequency
- Cameras only
- Monitoring and storage
What drives cost
- Standing officer
- Hours on post
- Mobile patrol
- Visits per night and sites per route
- Cameras only
- Hardware, install, retention
Best when
- Standing officer
- Access control and a visible post
- Mobile patrol
- Several exposed hours, several sites
- Cameras only
- Evidence after the fact
Work it out yourself
The comparison above is the short form. The long form walks through a real property and shows which model the site conditions point to.
Not sure you actually need guards?
Answer seven questions. The selector shows which coverage model fits and why, including when hiring security is not justified yet, and what to fix instead.
What “verifiable” means here, specifically
Every security company claims reliability. The difference is whether there is a mechanism that would catch its absence.
- 06:00:04
-
Shift start recorded
Officer on post. Start time written to the operations record at the time it happened.
- 22:14:37
-
Checkpoint, north gate
Padlock and chain checked by hand. Gate secure.
- 23:41:12
-
Checkpoint, rear loading door
Door secure. Lighting out on the east side of the bay.
- 01:07:55
-
Checkpoint, roof access
Hatch secured. No sign of forced entry.
- 02:22:09
-
Incident filed, same shift
Filed in a fixed structure: TIME, LOCATION, OBSERVED, ACTION, NOTIFIED.
Illustrative: a specimen night, in the format the operations record produces.
- Can you show where the unit was, and when?
- A checkpoint record with GPS and a timestamp answers this by reading, not by asking.
- What happens when a relief is late?
- A missed or late relief surfaces through the operations system before a tenant notices it.
- Who is accountable for this site by name?
- A named supervisor, not a dispatch queue.
- Is the license current, and can I check it myself?
- California BSIS Private Patrol Operator PPO 120526, verifiable in the state register.
- How is an incident recorded?
- Filed the same shift in a fixed structure that insurers and counsel can use.
Our Statistics. Your Guarantee.
Police triage calls by priority. A violent crime outranks a tripped alarm, a tent against a loading door or after-hours access, and the city publishes the wait for those calls itself. The hours a low-priority incident waits are exactly the work a patrol officer is for.
- 2x
-
At least twice as fast as police arrival
Under contract Armada is on site in 15 to 30 minutes. The median SFPD publishes for a low-priority call is longer, which is why SFPD itself points businesses to private security for anything short of a crime in progress.
- 80%
-
Fewer incidents at monitored properties
Twelve client sites kept incident records both before and after Armada started. Across them incidents fell by 80 percent, measured in our 2025 client survey.
- 24/7
-
Your officer is the one you call
Clients hold the direct numbers of the officers on their site, and the app carries the messages, the photos and the log. Nothing is relayed through a desk.
- 100%
-
Licensed and insured
Every officer individually BSIS licensed and background-checked, under California Private Patrol Operator PPO 120526, both verifiable in the state register.
Security built around the property type, not a standard contract
Every assignment starts with a site visit and a written scope. Choose a security solution tailored to your property type in San Francisco and the Bay Area.
Cover for corporate offices, including access control, surveillance, visitor management, and protection of assets and personnel.
Professional security services for apartment buildings, condominiums, and gated communities, providing resident safety, access control, and property protection.
Guards and patrols dedicated to safeguarding construction sites from theft of equipment and materials, vandalism, and unauthorized entry, often involving overnight surveillance.
Protection services for hospitals and healthcare facilities, ensuring the safety of patients, staff, and visitors, and safeguarding sensitive areas.
Serving San Francisco and the Peninsula from one San Francisco office
Security challenges differ between dense urban zones like SoMa and quieter Peninsula neighborhoods. There are no branch offices: patrol units work from San Francisco, and coverage in outlying areas depends on whether a property sits on or near an existing route.
Professional and Reliable Security Services in San Francisco, Bay Area
We hired Armada on short notice for a situation we were experiencing in one of our apartment complexes. They responded quickly, set up patrols and a guard service for us very quickly. Guards were professional, prompt and communicated activity at the property to us.
Lana August
Property Manager, San Francisco
We have used Armada for about 10 years. They are an amazing company providing professional personnel consistently. Thank you Armada!
Jesse Leite
Resident Manager, San Francisco
Every Armada employee with whom I’ve had the pleasure of interacting has been top notch – curteous, efficient, effective, knowledgeable, responsible.
Alex Goretsky
Business Owner, San Francisco
I Manager a portfolio of communities in San Francisco -working with Armada is great. They are flexible, honest and the Guards are always on point. I would recommend this firm to other HOA/Commercial managers.
Christopher Stanley
Owner and Chief Executive Officer, San Francisco
Before anyone quotes you, the site has to be sized
Pick a time and give us 30 to 60 minutes on the property: an Armada expert walks it with you, shows what is open to anybody tonight and recommends only what this address needs. It is free and does not end in a sales pitch; you keep the written assessment either way. Minimum term one month, month-to-month after.
Questions people ask before they hire a security guard company
Direct answers, including the ones that point away from buying coverage.
We already use a guard company. Can you take over without a gap?
Yes, and the handover needs planning, not paperwork. The free site assessment comes first: an Armada expert walks the property with you, reads the post orders you have now and writes what they should say instead. Your outgoing company keeps the site until the date you set, and our officers arrive with the orders already written. What to do about unreliable guards sets out what to check before you switch.
How soon can officers be on our site?
We do not put a number of hours on that before anybody has seen the property, and a company that does is guessing. The site assessment sets the start date, because it is what establishes how many posts the address needs, what the officer has to be briefed on and which of that you supply. An emergency fire watch is the exception: it can begin before the rest of the paperwork is finished.
Is round-the-clock cover a single officer?
No. A post that is staffed around the clock runs as a rota of officers on separate shifts, each with a named relief, because nobody works a full day without a break. That is the real reason a round-the-clock post costs what it does, and the reason a property that is exposed for part of the day is often better served by a patrol round than by a permanent post.
Our building already has a front desk. Do we still need a security officer?
Often not, and we will say so. A concierge greets residents, signs for parcels and knows who belongs in the building, which covers a great deal of it. What a front desk is not trained, insured or posted to do is hold a door against somebody who will not leave, walk a boundary after dark, or write the kind of record an insurer and a lawyer can use afterwards. If the gap in your building is only after hours, a patrol round is the smaller purchase: the coverage selector walks you through it.
Do you cover a single night or a weekend, or is it always a monthly contract?
Both exist. Event security is bought by the event and fire watch by the night, so neither of those carries a monthly term at all. A standing officer or a patrol route is the other way round, because a post has to be learned, briefed and relieved before it is worth paying for, and the term for those is the one set out in the section above.
Ask us directly
Not here? Put it to us in the form and we answer it ourselves.
Sources
Where the figures, rules and local facts on this page come from. Links reviewed 5 Nov 2026.
- City and County of San Francisco open data 1 SF 311 Cases