Security ROI Calculator: Cost of Vandalism vs Cost of Patrol
Boards and owners approve security when the math is visible. Graffiti abatement, glass replacement, tow and cleanup, insurance deductibles, and resident turnover are already in your budget, just scattered across a dozen line items.
Put those numbers in one place, apply a conservative reduction rate, and you have the slide that gets a program funded.
PPO #122730Your estimate
-$9,415 net per year
- Current annual loss
- $41,300
- Projected avoided loss
- $18,585
- Return on security spend
- -34%
- Break-even
- 18.1 months of avoided loss
Conservative model. It excludes liability exposure, litigation risk, and reputation cost, which are the numbers boards regret ignoring.
What this gives you
- —Current annual loss total across every category you enter
- —Projected avoided loss at a conservative reduction rate
- —Net savings, ROI percentage, and months to break even
Estimates are planning ranges based on Sacramento, CA-area patrol work, not a quote. Final pricing depends on site walk findings, hours, and post orders.
Common questions
- How do you calculate ROI on security guard services?
- Total your annual loss and disruption costs, multiply by a conservative reduction rate, subtract the annual cost of the security program, and divide the result by that program cost. Anything above zero is net positive before you count resident retention.
- What reduction rate is realistic?
- We model 30 to 60 percent on opportunistic property crime such as vandalism, dumping, vehicle break-ins, and after-hours trespass. Targeted crime and interior incidents move less. Treat anything above 70 percent as marketing.
- Should resident turnover be in the model?
- It is usually the largest hidden number. One avoided move-out often covers a month of patrol once you count vacancy loss, turn costs, and leasing commission.
- Does insurance care that we have security?
- Carriers increasingly ask about documented patrol and incident reporting on multifamily and vacant-property policies. Ask your broker directly, since credits vary by carrier and are not guaranteed.
Connected concepts
This page is a node in our security knowledge graph. Follow the chain instead of starting over.
- Security ROIAvoided vandalism, turnover, and claim costs measured against the annual security spend.
- Security CostOfficer hours, pass counts, and coverage windows priced out against the loss they prevent.
- Security MetricsThe five numbers a board should see monthly: passes, incidents, response time, trend, cost per pass.
- Board ApprovalThe vote: scope, budget, metrics, and the risk of doing nothing, in language directors accept.
Turn the estimate into a written quote
Send us the numbers you just generated and we'll walk the property, mark the gaps, and quote it in writing.
Tell us about your property
Send a few details and a supervisor will walk your site, identify the vulnerable hours, and return a written coverage plan with flat hourly pricing — no obligation.
- Same-day response on urgent coverage requests
- Licensed, guard-card verified, uniformed officers
- GPS-tracked patrol reports delivered every morning
- Short-term, event, and long-term contracts available