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+1 800-460-0475
+1 800-460-0475
Firearms permitted, BSIS licensed officers protecting high value sites across Los Angeles County, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Some sites in Los Angeles carry a level of risk that a visible uniform alone will not settle. A cash room. A dispensary holding six figures in product and currency because banking is still difficult. A jewelry counter on a busy boulevard. A clinic where a patient has already threatened staff once. In those situations you are not buying deterrence. You are buying the capability to respond.
We Guard Now provides armed security guard services in Los Angeles for exactly those sites. Every armed officer we assign holds a current BSIS guard card, a valid California firearms permit, and a range qualification we verify before the first shift. They are supervised in the field, dispatched through a line that answers around the clock, and trained to keep a weapon holstered in almost every situation they will ever face.
Whether you need one armed security guard in Los Angeles for a nightly cash drop or a full rotation covering three shifts, we can usually place officers on post within 24 hours.
Tell us about your property, and we’ll give you a written quote, usually the same day.
Our armed security guard services cover the situations where response capability genuinely matters. Most clients in Los Angeles begin with one of the following and expand once they see how the officer performs on site.
Officers cover cash counts, safe access, night drops and armored pickups. We also provide cash escort service between your site and the bank, which is the single most common reason a Los Angeles business calls us for armed coverage.
Bank security guard services for branch lobbies, ATM servicing, vault access windows and staff escorts at open and close. Officers are briefed on your robbery response protocol before they ever stand a post.
A jewelry store security guard changes buyer behaviour the moment they walk in. We cover showrooms, buying counters, trade shows and courier handoffs across the Downtown LA jewelry district and beyond.
Dispensary security in Los Angeles has its own rules. Officers manage age verification at the door, monitor the sales floor, secure the vault room and cover delivery driver departures, all within California cannabis compliance requirements.
A fixed, firearms permitted officer at a gate, lobby or controlled entry point, verifying identity and turning away anyone without a legitimate reason to be there.
Scheduled and randomized patrol routes with GPS verified checkpoints, so you can see exactly where your officer was and when.
Executive protection in Los Angeles for leadership teams, visiting principals, high profile staff and anyone facing a credible personal threat. Discreet, plain clothes or uniformed, depending on what the situation calls for.
We build post orders around your site, not a template. Tell us the problem and we’ll tell you whether a guard is the right fix.
The honest answer surprises people. An armed security guard spends almost every shift doing the same work an unarmed officer does. The firearm is a last resort that a well trained officer will very likely never draw. What you are actually paying for is a higher standard of screening, training and judgment, backed by response capability if a situation escalates past anything talking can fix.
On a typical shift, one of our Los Angeles armed security officers will:
What an armed officer does not do is patrol looking for a confrontation. Our post orders are written around avoidance, distance and de escalation, in that order. Any officer who treats a firearm as a first option does not work for us.
This is the question we are asked more than any other, and we answer it the same way every time. Most Los Angeles businesses do not need armed officers. The ones that do usually know exactly why.
| Comparison point | Unarmed Security Guards | Armed Security Guards |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Offices, retail, hotels, HOAs, warehouses, schools, events | Cash handling, jewelry, dispensaries, high-threat sites |
| Primary role | Deter, observe, report, defuse | Deter, observe, report, defuse, plus armed response capability |
| Licensing | BSIS Guard Card | BSIS Guard Card plus Firearms Permit plus range qualification |
| Cost | Lower hourly rate | Typically 30–50% higher |
| Public perception | Approachable, service-oriented | Authoritative, can feel severe in customer-facing spaces |
| Liability profile | Lower | Higher — requires stricter protocols and insurance |
Choose armed if you handle meaningful cash or high value goods on site, operate in an area with a documented violent crime pattern, have already had a serious incident, or your insurer, landlord or contract requires it.
Choose unarmed if your concerns are theft, trespassing, vandalism, access control, after hours coverage or simply having a professional presence on site. That describes most commercial property in this city.
There is also a third answer, and it is the one we recommend most often. Many of our clients run a blended model, using unarmed officers for daytime access control and armed coverage only for the overnight window or the cash transport run. If you have been weighing armed or unarmed security guards in Los Angeles and cannot decide, that split usually gives you the protection you need at a cost that makes sense.
Internal link: “Need unarmed coverage instead? See our unarmed security guard services in Los Angeles.”
Branch lobby posts, ATM servicing coverage, vault window supervision and staff escorts. Our bank security guard services are built around your existing robbery response plan, not a generic template.
Door screening, age verification, sales floor presence, vault room control and delivery driver coverage for dispensaries across the city, delivered inside California compliance requirements.
Showroom posts, buying counter coverage, courier handoffs and event protection for the Downtown LA jewelry district and high end retail across the Westside.
Armed escorts for night drops, bank runs, payroll movements and daily takings. If your staff are walking money to a car, that is the exact risk armed coverage exists to remove.
Executive protection in Los Angeles for leadership teams, visiting principals and private residences. Available as an armed private security guard assignment, uniformed or plain clothes.
Gate control, driver check in and dock supervision for high value inventory around Vernon, Commerce and the Port corridor, where a single trailer can carry six figures of product.
Controlled area access, pharmacy protection and support for staff in departments that have already seen violent incidents. Patience and restraint matter more here than anywhere.
Armed lobby and garage coverage for properties that have experienced repeat incidents, alongside standard tenant access control.
Short term armed teams for high profile events, productions carrying valuable equipment, and private functions where the guest list creates its own risk.
Overnight and weekend coverage for job sites and yards holding copper, tools, machinery and materials that disappear from unsecured LA sites nightly.
Airport security guard services in Los Angeles for cargo terminals, FBO hangars, ground-handling yards, and airside support offices around LAX, Van Nuys, and Hawthorne, badge-controlled areas where documentation discipline matters as much as presence.
We provide armed and unarmed security guard services across Los Angeles County, including:
f you have been searching for armed security guard services near me and comparing security companies in Los Angeles, coverage area is where most of them quietly fall short. A firm headquartered in Orange County will still quote your Van Nuys site, then take an hour to reach it when something happens. We assign officers from the surrounding area wherever possible, so the person on your post knows the streets, the traffic and which division to call.
Armed security services in Downtown Los Angeles carry their own considerations, from jewelry district protocols to garage layouts and foot traffic patterns, and we staff that area accordingly.
Do not see your neighborhood? We cover all of Los Angeles County. Call +1 714-760-5385 and ask.
We screen for temperament as hard as we screen for qualification. The best armed security guard services in Los Angeles are the ones whose officers never need to prove why they are armed.
Field supervisors run unannounced site checks. If your officer is not where they should be, we find out before you do.
Security problems do not wait for business hours, and neither does our line.
Most sites need a mix. Running both through one armed guard security provider means one point of contact, one invoice and one set of post orders instead of two vendors blaming each other.
Daily activity reports, timestamped incident reports and GPS verified patrol logs delivered to your inbox. Documentation that holds up with insurers, courts and your own leadership.
[CLIENT COUNT] properties, [GUARD COUNT] officers, and a working knowledge of how LAPD divisions, county sheriff jurisdictions and local ordinances actually operate across this city.
We do not publish a single hourly figure, and you should be wary of any Los Angeles security company that does. What we can tell you plainly is that armed coverage runs roughly 30 to 50 percent above unarmed, and that the gap is not margin. It is officer pay, firearms permit upkeep, range time and a materially higher insurance premium. Beyond that, five things move your rate.
An eight hour weekday post costs less per hour than a four hour Saturday night one. Longer, more predictable schedules are cheaper for us to staff and we pass that on.
Overnight, weekend and holiday shifts carry a premium because officers are paid more to work them.
A branch lobby and a dispensary vault room are not the same assignment. Risk drives the officer you need, and the officer drives the cost.
Multi post and multi site contracts price better per hour, because supervision and scheduling overhead is shared across the account.
Choose armed security coverage for a single event or ongoing protection. There is no long term contract required, so you can select the schedule and coverage that best fits your security needs.
Bilingual officers, executive protection experience, plain clothes assignments, cannabis compliance familiarity or client mandated training all narrow the pool and affect the rate.
What we do commit to: one flat hourly rate quoted in writing before you sign, no fuel surcharges, no administrative add ons, and no rate change mid contract without your agreement. If another quote for armed coverage comes in dramatically cheaper, ask two questions. What are the officers paid, and does the insurance policy actually extend to armed assignments. The answers usually explain the difference.
Call+1 800-460-0475 or request a quote online. We walk your property or review your site details and identify where armed coverage is genuinely warranted, and where an unarmed officer would do the same job for less.
You receive post orders, a use of force policy, shift schedules, officer counts and a transparent hourly rate. No vague estimates and no surprise line items.
Once you approve, we assign and brief your team, and coverage begins, typically within 24 hours. Your field supervisor’s direct number comes with it.
No long term contract is required to start. If you need an armed security guard for hire in Los Angeles for one weekend or a full year, both are fine.
Both deter, observe, report and defuse situations. An armed guard adds response capability and needs a California firearms permit and range qualification on top of the BSIS guard card. Unarmed officers suit most offices, retail, residential and industrial sites. Armed officers are appropriate where cash, high value goods or a documented violent threat is involved. Armed coverage typically costs 30 to 50 percent more.
Yes. Every armed officer holds a current BSIS guard card and a valid BSIS firearms permit; we verify range qualification before assignment and re-verify at renewal. We Guard Now operates under Private Patrol Operator license PPO # 121614
Rates depend on shift length, site risk, hours of coverage, and how many officers you need. Unarmed coverage generally runs well below armed rates, and longer or recurring schedules lower the hourly figure. We quote a flat hourly rate in writing with no hidden fees; call for a same-day estimate.
When cash or high value goods are on site, when your area has a documented violent crime pattern, when you have already had a serious incident, or when an insurer, landlord or contract requires it. If none of those apply, unarmed coverage is almost always the better value.
Our post orders define escalation steps clearly, with avoidance and distance first. Any use of force triggers immediate law enforcement notification, a full written incident report, supervisor review and client notification the same day. You receive the documentation, not a summary.
Yes. We carry general liability of [INSURANCE LIMIT] plus workers compensation, written to cover armed assignments specifically. We will provide a certificate of insurance naming you as additional insured on request.
Typically within 24 hours for standard armed coverage across Los Angeles County. Armed placements take slightly longer than unarmed because the officer pool is smaller and every permit is verified first. Call our 24/7 dispatch line and we will tell you honestly what we can do.
Yes, and it is what we recommend most often. A common arrangement is unarmed officers on daytime access control with armed coverage for the overnight window or cash transport run. One contract, one supervisor, one invoice.
Tell us about your site and the risk you are managing. We will give you a straight answer on whether armed coverage is warranted, what it costs, and how fast we can start. Free assessment, no obligation.