Manned guarding vs mobile patrols is rarely about which service is better. It is about whether your site needs an officer there all shift, or visits frequent and irregular enough to keep trouble away.
Fortico provides both manned guarding and mobile patrols, and often recommends a mix. Compare them below, then tell us about your site for a free quote.
In the manned guarding vs mobile patrols decision, you are trading constant presence against regular, unpredictable visits. A static officer stays on one site all shift. A patrol officer drives a route and calls in several times during agreed hours.
A static officer earns their cost where people and vehicles come and go and someone must decide who gets in: a gatehouse, a staffed reception, a yard taking night deliveries, or stock too valuable to leave unwatched for even a short gap.
Patrols suit premises that are locked and empty for long stretches, where the risk is someone forcing a door while nobody is looking. Visit times vary so nobody can plan around them, and you pay for visits rather than for every hour of the night.
The legal standard is the same. The Private Security Industry Act 2001 treats both a physical presence and patrolling as guarding, so a contracted officer doing either needs an SIA licence. Every Fortico officer is also screened to BS 7858.
The first three point to a static officer, the last three to patrols. See which sound like your site.
Visitors, contractors or drivers arrive all shift, and someone must decide who gets past the gate or reception.
Plant, materials or stock is worth enough that the gap between two patrol visits is too long.
Theft, aggression or trespass happens during working hours. For offices, see corporate security.
The premises are locked overnight and the worry is a break-in, vandalism or trespass while nobody is there.
Your units or properties are spread across the region, and one route can take in each of them in a night.
You need lock-up checks and someone to attend alarm activations, not a staffed site. Key holding and alarm response may be enough on its own.
| Manned guarding | Mobile patrols | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | A licensed officer is based at your premises for the full shift. | A licensed officer drives a route and visits an agreed number of times. |
| Presence on site | Continuous, for every minute of the shift. | During each visit only. The site is unattended in between. |
| Best for | Access control, deliveries, visitors, valuable assets and risk that lasts all shift. | Locked, empty or lower-risk premises, out-of-hours cover and groups of sites. |
| Deterrence | A visible officer at the entrance gives opportunists a clear reason to move on. | Irregular visits leave anyone watching unsure when the site is unattended. |
| Response to an incident | Immediate. The officer is already there and alerts the control room. | On the next visit, or when an alarm or camera alert brings an officer out. |
| Evidence and reporting | Checkpoint scans on each round, incident reports and an automatic shift report. | Every visit logged with GPS, time and photos, so a missed visit shows. |
| How cost is worked out | Charged for every hour on site. Shift length and officer numbers drive the total. | Charged per visit. Visit numbers, sites, time on site and travel drive the total. |
| Covering several sites | Each site needs its own officer for the hours it is covered. | One route can take in several sites, which is where patrols are most efficient. |
| Flexibility | Shifts can be added for busy periods or after an incident. | Visits can be added, removed or retimed, and sites can join or leave the route. |
| Typical hours | Day, night, weekend or 24 hour shifts. | Evenings, overnight, weekends and holiday closures. |
Neither wins in general. If someone must control who enters, or a loss between two visits would be serious, pay for a static officer. If the site is locked and the aim is to deter and detect, patrols give you recorded checks without paying for idle hours.
Using both is common: an officer on the gate or reception while the site is open, then patrol visits after lock-up and at weekends.
Sometimes you need less than either. On a yard or construction site with clear sightlines, a mobile CCTV tower with remote CCTV monitoring can spot intruders as they arrive, and an officer is sent only when something is seen. If that is the right answer for your site, we will tell you.
We review your entrances, boundaries, opening hours and past incidents.
When is the site most exposed, and does that call for presence or frequent checks?
Static cover, patrols, monitoring or a mix, with a free quote showing what drives the cost.
Guard Track Pro reports show what is happening on site. If the risk changes, so does the cover.
Guarding and patrols run from the same Birmingham base, so switching or combining them needs no new contractor.
Every officer holds the SIA licence the work requires and is screened to BS 7858. Both are checked before deployment.
Whichever you choose, Guard Track Pro gives you a live dashboard, photo evidence and an automatic report after each shift.
Night guards and patrol drivers often work alone. Our 24/7 control room stays in touch and escalates incidents as they happen.
We can put an officer on site or start patrols within 24 hours of confirming requirements.
From our Birmingham base we cover the region, including Coventry, Wolverhampton and Walsall. Further out, we confirm coverage first.
A gate officer in working hours, then patrols or a monitored tower after close. See construction site security.
Inspections and irregular patrols, with static cover after a break-in. More on vacant property security.
A person on reception during the working day. Evening lock-up checks can often move to patrols.
Night loading usually needs a gatehouse officer. Sites closed overnight often manage with patrols.
Officers are needed throughout, which makes events a static job. See event security.
Usually one patrol route, with static cover added at any site that needs it.
Usually, yes. A static guard is charged for every hour on site, while patrols are charged per visit, covering time at your premises and travel. Many long visits a night narrow the gap, so compare quotes for the cover you need.
Yes. A static officer can cover the hours when the site is open, and patrols can take over after lock-up and at weekends. Both are logged in Guard Track Pro, so you get one set of reports.
Often both, at different times. In working hours a gate officer controls access and checks deliveries. Out of hours, smaller sites often manage with patrols or a monitored CCTV tower, while larger sites keep an officer overnight. The CDM Regulations 2015 require the principal contractor to take the necessary steps to prevent unauthorised access to the site, so plan security early.
Usually inspections and mobile patrols, because there is nothing to staff and the risks are break-ins, damage and squatting. A static guard makes sense when the risk rises, such as after a break-in. Your insurer may also set conditions on how often an unoccupied building is inspected.
They can, especially when visit times vary so nobody can predict them. A patrol cannot see what happens between visits, so it is often paired with alarm monitoring or remote CCTV monitoring, which brings an officer out when needed.
Yes. If a site gets busier or has an incident, you can move from patrols to a static officer. If it empties or the risk falls, you can scale back to patrols. We provide both, so the change needs no new supplier.
Each visit leaves a digital trail. Our officers use Guard Track Pro at fixed points on your premises, and every scan is stamped with where and when it happened, backed by photos. You can follow visits on a live dashboard and read the report afterwards, so a gap is easy to spot. Static officers log their rounds the same way.
Tell us about your site, its hours and what worries you most. We will recommend guarding, patrols or a mix, and send you a free quote.
Need security advice?