What actually drives the price of security cover, why the cheapest quote is usually a warning sign, and what to check in a contract before signing it.
What actually drives the cost of security cover?
Hours are the largest factor, followed by how many personnel the site genuinely needs and whether the cover is at unsocial times. Nights, weekends and bank holidays cost more because staff are paid more for them.
After that, the type of cover. A dog unit, a static officer and a CCTV operative are all different rates. Then whether the site needs one continuous presence or scheduled visits.
Site characteristics matter too. A long perimeter with many access points needs more resource than a compact, well-lit yard for the same number of hours.
Because the cost of compliant security has a floor. Licensed, screened staff paid lawfully for unsocial hours, insured, supervised and properly equipped costs a certain amount, and a rate materially below the market usually means one of those has been cut.
The common shortcuts are unvetted staff, shifts long enough that alertness is not realistic, single-crewed dog units without support, or personnel whose licence class does not match the role.
The failure mode is not usually a dramatic incident. It is an officer who was present but asleep, or a report that turns out to be unusable when your insurer asks for it.
Short-notice and short-duration cover is normal in this trade, after a break-in, during a high-risk phase of works, or for a single event. There is no requirement to commit to a long contract to get cover.
Longer arrangements are usually better value and produce better security, because the same personnel get to know the site. But that should be your choice, not a condition of being quoted.
Ask what the notice period is, whether rates are fixed for the term, and what happens if you need to scale cover up or down mid-contract.
At minimum: exactly what hours are covered, how many personnel and of what type, what the escalation procedure is including out-of-hours contacts, what reporting you receive and how often, and what happens if the contractor cannot fill a shift.
That last point is the one most often left vague. Ask what the arrangement is when an officer calls in sick an hour before a night shift.
Assignment instructions, the site-specific document telling personnel what to do, should be agreed in writing before the first shift rather than written afterwards.
