Service Line
Armed & Unarmed Security Guards Los Angeles
Professionally trained armed and unarmed security officers — licensed, background-checked, and held to the highest standards of conduct.
Armed & Unarmed Officers — at a glance
- Armed & Unarmed Officers for Los Angeles & Southern California properties
- Armed officers (with Exposed Firearm Permit)
- Unarmed uniformed officers
- Coverage typically live within 72 hours of signing
- Licensed, bonded & insured — CA PPO #122163
- 24/7/365 live operations center & supervision
Overview
Every Stratton officer is licensed by the California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, background-checked, drug-tested, and trained to our internal standards — which exceed the state minimum. Armed officers carry additional firearms permits (Exposed Firearm Permit) and complete live-fire requalification on a defined cadence.
Get Started
Request a Consultation
Talk with a Stratton advisor about a tailored program for your property.
PricingHourly rates based on coverage hours, armed vs. unarmed, and site requirements — free walkthrough, then a clear written proposal.
TimingCoverage typically begins within 72 hours of signing — teams have mobilized in under 24 for urgent needs.
What You Get
Core Program Benefits
Vetted Personnel
Criminal background checks, drug screening, and work history verification for every officer before deployment.
Armed Or Unarmed
Match the posture to the risk — armed officers for high-value assets, unarmed for guest-facing environments.
Exceeds Minimums
Stratton training goes beyond California's required hours — TEAM, CPR/First Aid, Power to Arrest, and more.
Professional Presence
Officers are uniformed, composed, and trained in de-escalation — never the loud, unprofessional type the industry is known for.
Capabilities
Program Components
Stratton programs are modular — combine the components that match your property's risk profile and operational requirements.
In Practice
How Armed & Unarmed Officers Actually Works
What you are actually buying is not a uniform — it is the officer who will be on your property at 3 a.m., and the system that verifies he is awake, on post and writing reports. That is where vendors genuinely differ, and it is why the useful questions are about wages and supervision rather than about headcount. Ask what the officer assigned to your site will be paid, and ask for the field-supervisor-to-post ratio. Both answers predict service quality better than anything in a capability deck.
The armed-versus-unarmed decision gets made badly more often than any other. An armed officer carries additional BSIS permitting, firearm qualification and substantially higher insurance exposure for the company, so the premium is real and universal across the industry. Those costs are justified by a documented threat, cash handling or high-value goods — not by a preference for a more imposing presence. Plenty of properties that assume they need armed coverage are better served by well-trained unarmed officers with strong patrol discipline, and an honest advisor will say so even though it is the smaller invoice.
Capability beyond the state minimum is what determines how the week actually goes. A BSIS guard card means Power to Arrest training and background clearance through the DOJ and FBI; it says nothing about whether an officer can defuse an intoxicated guest, an angry tenant or a trespasser who refuses to leave without creating a liability. Those situations, not burglaries, are what happens routinely — which is why our training emphasizes de-escalation, documentation and access control, and why we recruit heavily from military and law-enforcement backgrounds.
Every post runs on written orders specific to your property: what gets checked and how often, what gets documented, when the officer handles something versus escalates, and who to call in your organization at 2 a.m. Incident reports come timestamped and specific, because that is the document your insurer or attorney will want later. Coverage typically begins within 72 hours of signing, and teams have mobilized in under 24 for urgent gaps.
Common Questions
Armed & Unarmed Officers — Questions Buyers Ask
Do I need armed or unarmed security guards?
Match it to documented risk rather than to how imposing you want the presence to be. Most commercial and residential properties are well served by well-trained unarmed officers. Armed coverage is warranted where there is a specific, verifiable threat, cash handling, or high-value goods — because the armed premium reflects real additional permitting, qualification and insurance exposure. A Stratton advisor will tell you which applies during the free assessment, including when the answer is the less expensive one.
What licensing and training do your officers have?
Every officer holds a California BSIS guard card, which requires Power to Arrest training and background clearance through the Department of Justice and the FBI. Armed officers additionally hold a BSIS Exposed Firearm Permit with firearm qualification. Beyond that state minimum we train on de-escalation, incident documentation and access control, because those are the skills the job actually demands week to week. Stratton operates under CA PPO #122163, verifiable on the BSIS public lookup.
How do you supervise officers overnight?
Field supervisors visit posts and a live operations center runs 24/7, so there is someone verifying the officer is on post and reporting rather than trusting that they are. Ask any vendor for the supervisor-to-post ratio and the after-hours escalation path, then test that line yourself before signing. Unsupervised overnight posts are the most common failure in contract security and the hardest thing to detect from a proposal.
How much does a security guard cost per hour in Los Angeles?
Market rates run roughly $22–38 per hour for unarmed officers and $35–60+ for armed, with specialized posts higher. Those are market ranges for sanity-checking bids, not a Stratton quote — your rate depends on hours, post orders and site risk. The billed rate covers the officer's wage plus payroll taxes, workers' compensation, liability insurance, training and supervision, which is why it sits well above take-home pay. A quote far below that band means one of those is missing.
Where It Fits
Industries We Serve With This Program
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Coverage
Armed & Unarmed Officers across greater Los Angeles
