Does My Neighborhood Need Private Security?

Many people are taking a new interest in the safety of their neighborhoods and communities. As they read the news, they wonder if the wild stories they read could happen in their neighborhoods. They ask: do we need gates? Should we put up a fence or cameras? Should we spend the money to hire security guards? These can be complex decisions, but we have resources, including a free neighborhood security assessment worksheet, that can help.

There are, of course, real reasons why some communities should be considering private security. As of this writing, in early 2024, many metropolitan police departments are under recruiting and funding pressure. Response times in those areas often average 10 or 20 minutes for top-priority calls (1). Sometimes they run into hours. Already this year, a precinct in Austin, TX spent an afternoon entirely unstaffed by police (2); Houston, TX suspended more than 200,000 open cases due to lack of manpower to investigate (3). Pittsburgh, PA announced that most types of calls will not be answered from 3AM to 7AM (4).

Where police are available, they will not be the answer to every crime and security problem. In places like New York, for example, squatters’ rights laws prevent them from intervening effectively for homeowners once a squatter has moved in (5).

Realizing that a police response may be hours away - or not coming at all - can be very scary.

Of course, not every neighborhood is impacted by these factors to the same degree or in the same way. What makes sense in Austin or Pittsburgh may not make sense for you. To evaluate whether increasing investment in private security is worthwhile, we should we weigh the pros and cons.

PROS OF PRIVATE NEIGHBORHOOD SECURITY

First, the pros: Private security guards can be an effective deterrent to many types of crime, especially of the types that happen in neighborhoods. When crime does happen, they can provide responsive and effective intervention.

For HOA board members, HOA managers, or other community authorities who have become aware of a security problem and have legal duty [link] to address it, security services can be an effective way of mitigating foreseeable and unreasonable risks to residents.

Beyond the direct benefits to deterring and responding to crime, private security can also increase the prestige of neighborhood, protect property values, and help people feel more comfortable enjoying their homes. Some providers also provide training to staff and residents, on-staff EMTs, eviction serving, and other services.

CONS OF PRIVATE NEIGHBORHOOD SECURITY

Then there are the cons: The biggest con of private security is that it can be quite expensive. Regular patrols at key times (especially at night) is often the most affordable service, but doesn’t provide the same deterrence or responsiveness that dedicated, on-site personnel provide.

In either case, private security officers do not have the authority that police have. Their responsibilities are often restricted to “observing and reporting,” unless they intervene as private citizens to protect another citizen (which remains worthwhile for protecting the safety of residents). Police officers filling extra duty shifts paid for by a community have full powers to intervene and arrest in most jurisdictions, but short-staffed police departments may be difficult to depend on.

Finally, whether using private security or extra-duty police officers, there is work that must be done to set scope, evaluate partners, integrate vendors, and oversee program results. For HOAs or HOA managers who are already busy with other duties, this can be too much to take on (if this is you, we can help!).

MAKING THE DECISION

Whether the pros outweigh the cons depends on the situation. Calm neighborhoods with a long track record of safety likely don’t need to spend the money. They may choose to invest in these services anyway for prestige or proactive deterrence, but that will be a decision based on resident sentiment or, for new developments, on commercial strategy.

A formal security assessment, like Settler Security’s VIPER assessment, can help assess the balance of these factors for less clear-cut neighborhoods. VIPER takes many factors into account, including the crime environment, police capabilities, types of businesses nearby, resident profile, and many more.

Not everyone is ready for the full assessment. You may be maybe an individual trying to assess their own situation or and HOA board member or manager who doesn’t yet have a clear purchasing mandate. For those cases, we have created a free, lightweight security assessment worksheet that you can download and print.

That worksheet will help you evaluate how well-matched your security posture is to your risks, within very broad categories. Of course, the “lite” version glosses over a lot of complexity. It cannot account for every risk factor, local nuance, or option for mitigation. Nonetheless, we believe it will be a valuable, easy-to-use tool for informal use.

The completed assessment may show gaps where risks score higher than your current measures to mitigate them. You may even find areas in which there seems to be an over-investment. If this is for prestige or proactive deterrence, this may be appropriate, but it may also represent an opportunity to reinvest security spending in other places.

Where you find gaps in either direction, consider talking to other stakeholders (residents, board members, HOA managers, or HOA clients) to validate those observations. If you find other people have similar observations and concerns, it may be time to invest in a formal assessment and plan.

Of course, we’d love to help with that. If you or your community is interested in a formal assessment of your security, please get in touch!

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Citations

1 - https://dallasexpress.com/crime/police-response-times-for-highest-priority-calls-tick-up/

2 - https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/austin-at-the-brink-of-disaster-as-police-shortages-hit-crisis-level-god-help-us-all/ar-BB1jfry3

3 - https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/houston-police-suspended-264k-investigations-over-lack-of-personnel/ar-BB1jEjvE

4 - https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/pittsburgh-police-wont-send-officers-to-certain-emergency-calls-will-redirect-to-telephone-unit/ar-BB1iYHUC

5 - https://nypost.com/2024/03/19/us-news/moment-nyc-homeowner-is-arrested-after-tense-standoff-with-squatters/