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+1 714-760-5385
+1 714-760-5385
BSIS licensed officers who deter theft, document every incident properly and keep shoppers safe from the front door to the far end of the parking lot.
Retail security in Los Angeles used to be about deterrence alone. Put a uniform by the door and hope. Since Proposition 36 took effect in December 2024, repeat theft can be charged as a felony where there are prior convictions, and thefts by groups of three or more carry extra time. That has made something else matter too: whether your incident was documented well enough for a case to move forward.
We Guard Now provides retail security services in Los Angeles for shopping centers, malls, strip plazas, grocery stores and individual retailers. Our officers are BSIS licensed, trained to deter theft without confronting shoppers, and trained to write clear incident reports with times, descriptions, loss values and preserved footage references. They also cover the part of retail security most owners overlook, the parking lot, where shoppers and staff are often most at risk.
Whether you need one retail security guard for a single store or a team covering a full shopping center, we can usually have officers on post within 24 hours.
Tell us about your center or store and where losses are happening. We will give you a written quote, usually the same day.
Our retail security services cover the store, the common areas and the lot. Most Los Angeles clients start with a visible presence at peak hours, then add parking patrols and closing coverage as they see results.
A uniformed officer at entrances and on the sales floor during peak hours, the single most effective way to reduce opportunistic shoplifting.
Officers trained to recognise group theft patterns, alert staff, avoid dangerous confrontations and gather the details investigators need.
Written reports with times, descriptions, loss values and footage references, prepared the same day so they are useful to police and prosecutors.
Foot or vehicle patrols of lots, walkways and loading areas, deterring car break ins and keeping shoppers safe.
Officers present when stores open and close, protecting staff handling cash and securing doors and gates.
Responding to tenant calls across a shopping center, from disruptive visitors to lost children.
Calm, consistent handling of loitering and trespass, following your center’s rules and local law.
Every center and store has its own loss pattern. Tell us where yours is and we will build coverage around it.
A retail security guard protects stock, staff and shoppers at the same time, in a space designed to be open and welcoming. The skill is being noticed by people planning to steal, without making genuine customers feel watched.
On a typical shift, one of our Los Angeles retail security officers will:
What a retail officer must never do is chase a shoplifter into the parking lot. It rarely recovers the stock and often ends in injury and liability. Deter, observe, report and document is what protects you.
Both reduce theft, but in very different ways. Many retailers hire one when the problem calls for the other.
Comparison point | Uniformed Security Guard | Loss Prevention Officer |
How they work | Visible and obvious, preventing theft by presence | Often plain clothes, watching and documenting theft |
Best against | Opportunistic shoplifting, disorder, loitering | Repeat and organized theft, internal theft |
Customer experience | Reassuring to shoppers | Invisible to shoppers |
Documentation | Incident reports | Detailed case notes and evidence for prosecution |
Coverage area | Store, common areas and parking lot | Inside the store |
Typical buyer | Shopping centers and most retailers | Stores with high value goods or known repeat losses |
Choose a uniformed guard if you want to prevent theft before it happens, reassure shoppers and cover common areas and parking. This is the right answer for most centers and stores.
Choose a loss prevention officer if you are losing stock to repeat or organized theft that presence alone has not stopped, and you need incidents documented for prosecution.
Many retailers run both, with a uniformed officer at the door and plain clothes loss prevention on the floor. For large lots and centers, patrol or marked vehicle coverage often works better than more officers on foot.
Internal link: “See our patrol security and marked vehicle guard services in Los Angeles.”
Neighbourhood centers with several tenants, shared parking and common areas.
Large indoor centers with many entrances, food courts and busy weekends.
Open air centers where shoppers, diners and visitors mix late into the evening.
High traffic stores with frequent theft and long opening hours.
Stores holding medication, cosmetics and other frequently stolen goods.
Large footprints with many exits and high value categories.
Stores on Rodeo Drive, Melrose and the Westside where presentation matters as much as protection.
Small, high value goods that are prime targets for grab and run theft.
Late night stores with cash on hand and lone staff.
Large outlet sites with busy lots and visitors from across the region.
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 shopping center and retail security across Los Angeles County, including:
Retail theft moves. When one center tightens security, activity shifts to the next one along the boulevard. If you are comparing security companies in Los Angeles, ask how well they know the area around your property and how quickly they can adjust coverage when patterns change.
We staff from the surrounding area wherever possible, so officers know the neighbourhood, recognise repeat faces and know which LAPD division or Sheriff station covers your center.
Do not see your neighborhood? We cover all of Los Angeles County. Call +1 714-760-5385 and ask.
Officers trained to prevent theft and protect people, not to chase shoplifters into the parking lot.
Same day incident reports with the details police and prosecutors ask for.
We protect the lot, the walkways and the loading areas, where many incidents actually happen.
We match presentation and manner to your store, from grocery to luxury boutique.
Every officer holds a current BSIS guard card, verified before assignment. We operate under PPO # 121614 with general liability and workers compensation coverage.
Field supervisors run unannounced checks. If an officer is on their phone instead of watching the floor, we find out first.
We do not publish a single hourly figure. A single store at peak hours and a full shopping center with lot patrols are very different assignments. Here is what moves the rate.
Many stores need officers only at peak hours and closing. Covering the right hours saves more than negotiating the rate.
Foot patrols, marked vehicle patrols or cameras each suit different lot sizes and budgets.
Plain clothes loss prevention requires different skills and is priced accordingly.
A single door post costs less than floor, door and lot coverage together. Multi post sites price better per hour.
Holiday season and short term coverage are available. Ongoing coverage is priced lower.
Almost all retail coverage is unarmed. Armed officers suit specific high value or high risk stores and cost 30 to 50 percent more.
What we do commit to: one flat hourly rate quoted in writing before you sign, no administrative add ons, and no rate change mid contract without your agreement. If a retail quote is much lower, ask what the officer will actually do when they see theft, and how they write it up.
Call +1 714-760-5385 or request a quote online. We review your store or center, your loss pattern and your peak hours, and recommend where coverage belongs.
You receive post orders aligned to your stop and reporting policy, a schedule and a flat hourly rate.
We brief officers on your store and coverage begins, typically within 24 hours.
No long term contract is required. Whether you need retail security in Los Angeles for the holiday season or year round, both are fine.
They deter theft with a visible presence, watch for concealment and group theft, alert staff, patrol parking lots and common areas, support opening and closing, manage loitering and write clear incident reports.
Prop 36 took effect on 18 December 2024. It allows repeat theft to be charged as a felony where the person has prior theft convictions, and adds time for thefts committed by groups of three or more. Good documentation from your store helps these cases move forward.
Officers follow your stop policy. For most retailers that means observe, alert staff, report and document, without chasing, because chases rarely recover stock and often cause injuries.
A uniformed guard prevents theft by being seen. A loss prevention officer often works in plain clothes to catch and document theft. Many stores use both.
It depends on hours, number of posts, whether you need uniformed or loss prevention officers, and how parking is covered. We quote one flat hourly rate in writing with no hidden fees.
Yes. Parking lot patrols on foot or by marked vehicle deter car break ins and keep shoppers and staff safe.
Yes. Every officer holds a current BSIS guard card, verified before assignment. We operate under PPO # 121614.
Yes. We provide short term coverage for holiday peaks, sales events and store openings.
Tell us where your losses are happening. We will recommend the right coverage, quote a flat hourly rate in writing and tell you how fast we can start. Free assessment, no obligation.