Three Reasons why Los Angeles Business Owners Should Hire more Security Guards
January 07, 2022
Live in the Los Angeles County or Greater Los Angeles Area and have been watching the local news lately. You should be familiar with the recent rise in cases and reports of retail stores, boutiques, malls, and other local establishments becoming victims and targets of petty theft or violent crimes – some of which involve deadly weapons. Some local establishments that recently became victim to crimes are the Topanga Mall Nordstrom department store located in Woodland Hills, a Burlington Coat Factory department store located in North Hollywood, and even a local Calabasas restaurant and bar – the Sagebrush Cantina. With these petty thefts rapidly increasing in occurrences and widely spreading throughout overpopulated small towns and cities within Los Angeles County, it’s not uncommon to find yourself concerned or in fear for your safety and the safety of your business.
Petty theft under California Law is defined as any theft of property under $950. As Los Angeles County’s petty theft rate rises, most criminals have become more inclined to become repeat offenders. But why have cases of petty theft become a more common misdemeanor? The answer to this question is simple: With the lack of police presence due to the Los Angeles Police Department budget cuts and other funding issues, many criminals have found it more convenient to commit and recommit crimes. First-time offenders have now found it easier to become repeat offenders, becoming bolder with each crime committed.
Convictions and standing arrests of offenders of petty theft crimes are more likely to be dismissed, and its charges have decreased to serve less jail time (in most cases only serving up to 6 months of jail time) if found guilty of the charges in a court of law. In some (but not all) cases, offenders can be dismissed of any and all charges depending on the circumstances. With the risk and consequences of these crimes being low, offenders find themselves more motivated to want to take the chance and commit the crime.
Reasons Your Business Needs Security
With the crime rates visibly rising, the increase of thefts, and the volume of violent crimes being reported increasing, wouldn’t you feel more safe and secure with hiring a trained security guard service in Los Angeles as a business owner? Your answer should be a definite ‘YES,’ and here are three reasons why:
On-site 24/7
- A security guard’s presence will not only offer reassurance and provide a sense of safety and security to your staff, but it will also allow your customers to shop in peace, knowing that in the event of a crime, they will be protected by the hired private security guards until the local police authority arrive to seize and make the proper arrest as well as providing all the necessary citations. One significant advantage of staffing and hiring a private security guard service is that the security guard can immediately address the disturbance in the event of a crime. They can work on safely de-escalating the situation as it is occurring. Addressing the disruption or crime directly allows local Police to respond and arrive on the scene. As most of us have the unfortunate firsthand experience and knowledge, it can take the police minutes and sometimes over an hour to respond to emergency calls – depending on their availability and the number of calls they have received that night. This is the case even though there are several police stations located and spread throughout the Greater Los Angeles area. So, if you find that you’re solely dependent on the response time of the local Police, you may find yourself in a situation where the crime against you has already been committed, and the damage has already been done.
Security Presence
- Another reason to hire a trained security guard service is that a criminal offender is less inclined to rob an establishment with trained security guards than an establishment that does not have a sufficient presence of security staff. Hiring a security guard service is the most direct and most apparent benefit. Research and statistics show that many criminals will not commit crimes in establishments with a strong security presence. This will make any criminal guess their ability to commit a crime against you and your establishment successfully.
Increase In Crime
- Evidence has shown that criminal activity always increases during the winter and significantly increases during the holiday season throughout the past few years. Records show that the Winter months have the highest rates of unemployment. With rising unemployment rates during the holiday season, people are more motivated and incentivized to commit robberies and petty theft. First-time offenders usually find themselves in a challenging financial position where money is tight and their debt grows exponentially. Rather than turning to the public welfare systems and services put into place to protect individuals in these particular circumstances, they sometimes turn to pretty theft to help them find an ‘easy’ solution to their financial burdens. To lower the possibility of you or your business becoming a victim of a crime made against you, it is highly recommended that you should significantly consider hiring a security guard service to help protect and prevent any unfortunate occurrences. Your team of security staff can help protect you or at the very least prevent crimes from being committed in the first place.
Simply put, the reasons listed above should be enough to help convince you to hire a security guard service in Los Angeles. Not only will it reassure your staff, your customers, and yourself that you can conduct business safely and as usual, but it also may prevent crimes before they even occur. Investing in a security guard service can quickly pay itself off tenfold- mainly if your business establishment is located in a high crime rate city like Los Angeles. Save yourself the trouble and look into hiring a security guard service in Los Angeles today!