You are buying two different things
A standing guard buys continuous presence inside a fixed boundary for the hours you pay for. Mobile patrol buys unpredictability and documentation across a much larger footprint. Neither is better; they solve different problems, and the price gap between them is roughly ten to one.
The question that decides it is simple: is your problem property or people? Cut catalytic converters, stripped copper, stolen job-site equipment, overnight dumping, tagging, and after-hours parking are property problems that respond to randomized presence. Repeat trespass, encampment re-establishment, aggressive panhandling at an entrance, tenant conflict, and shoplifting are people problems that require someone physically there.
Mobile patrol vs. standing guard, side by side
Our actual quoted ranges for the Sacramento, Placer, Solano, and East Bay markets.
| Factor | Mobile patrol | Standing guard |
|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | $250–$900 / month | $28–$45 / hour — $5,000–$9,500 / month nightly |
| Presence | 2–6 randomized passes, 10–20 min each | Continuous for the contracted shift |
| Best against | Property crime in predictable overnight windows | People problems, confrontation, access control |
| Coverage footprint | Multiple buildings, lots, and sites on one route | One post, one boundary |
| Response to an alarm | Dispatched from route — minutes away | Already on site — immediate |
| Documentation produced | GPS checkpoint hits and timestamped photos per pass | Full shift log, incident reports, visitor records |
| Ramp-up time | Often the same night, subject to route capacity | 24–48 hours after a signed quote |
Choose mobile patrol when
- Your losses happen between roughly 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., when nobody is on the property anyway
- You have multiple lots, buildings, or sites and a standing post could only cover one
- You need deterrence and a documented record for an insurer, lender, or board
- The budget is a few hundred dollars a month rather than several thousand
- You want to establish an incident baseline before committing to a fixed post
- The property is a construction site, storage yard, distribution lot, or vacant building
Choose a standing guard when
- The same individuals return after each patrol pass leaves
- Someone must control access — gate, lobby, dock, or driver check-in
- Staff or tenants have reported feeling unsafe arriving or leaving
- You are running an event, closure, layoff, or eviction with a known flashpoint
- Fire watch or an ordinance requires continuous, documented on-site presence
- Retail shrink is happening during business hours, in front of employees
The hybrid most Sacramento properties actually end up on
In practice the answer is rarely purely one or the other. The pattern we deploy most often across Sacramento, Roseville, Rancho Cordova, and Citrus Heights is a standing officer during the hours when people are the problem — closing time at a shopping center, weekend nights at a pool and clubhouse, business hours at a lobby — paired with randomized vehicle patrol overnight when the problem shifts back to property.
That structure typically lands well under a full nightly post while covering both failure modes. The way to size it is not a guess: run patrol for 60 to 90 days, read the incident reports, and let the documented pattern tell you which hours actually need a body standing in them.