Private security spending increases as violent crime declines

The trendy Hillcrest neighborhood in San Diego, California, was the scene of violence and hate crimes. The business owner had had enough.

In 2024, members of the Hillcrest Business Association began paying third-party services of about $400,000 a year for eight hours of unarmed security patrol each day. The association plans to add about $150,000 to its second-shift budget next year.

“The idea is to set the tone for the neighborhood,” said Benjamin Nichols, the association’s executive director.

Violent crime in the United States has plummeted in recent decades, according to government data. But a series of high-profile cases involving businesses, politicians and community groups has led to an explosion in spending on protective services like Hillcrest, benefiting providers like Allied Universal.

According to Robert H. Perry & Associates, private security sector revenues have increased 17% over the past decade and will exceed $50 billion in 2025. Outsourcing services in the U.S., such as electronic security systems and manned security, accounted for more than $35 billion, according to industry brokers.

Some believe this is a sign of the times. As political and cultural tensions reach a crescendo in the United States, even parts of American life that were once considered normal feel at risk of becoming scenes of violence.

“Who would have thought 10 years ago that we would need to hire private security for school board meetings and town meetings,” said Steve Amitay, executive director of the National Security Contractors Association, an industry group. “We currently live in a very divisive and inflammatory society.”

At the center of the personal protection boom is Allied Universal, a privately held company with operations in more than 100 countries and annual sales of approximately $23 billion.

At sporting events, music festivals and office buildings, Allied Universal’s uniformed security guards monitor lines, operate metal detectors and conduct bag searches. Allied counts more than 80% of Fortune 500 companies among its customers and has supported major global events such as this summer’s World Cup.

CEO Steve Jones has publicly talked about his ambitions to take the company public. In a statement to CNBC, Allied said it is “continually evaluating how our capital is being capitalized” and is currently focused on growing its business and servicing its customers.

Allied calls itself the world’s seventh-largest private employer, with about 800,000 employees. By comparison, its workforce is about twice the size. target’s and more than three times larger disney’s.

Allied says its North American operations receive about 65,000 applications a week, interviewing about 40,000 candidates and hiring about 3,500 people.

“We’re everywhere,” said Glenn Kucera, president of Allied Universal’s Enhanced Protective Services division. “Even if it’s hard to walk three steps down the road, I can take my dog ​​without tripping.”

In Lower Manhattan, for example, Allied human and dog teams are stationed at landmarks like the Staten Island Ferry and the World Trade Center. On a recent weekday morning at the ferry terminal, Kucera security guards answered passengers’ questions and provided directions. Dogs sniffed bags and bicycles for explosives.

There are other layers to Allied’s conservation efforts that may be missed by the naked eye. The company’s employees sometimes joke that they are more than just “mall cops.” Plainclothes workers cross Manhattan on foot in search of danger. A separate team monitors the cameras from a command center and is ready to alert staff in the field if they spot a threat.

“The blatant safety measures are there for everyone to see,” Allied Vice President Justin Kelly said in an interview with CNBC on the grounds of a dog training facility in Windsor, Conn.

“Having a physical security presence there is very important,” said Kelly, who previously worked for the Connecticut State Police for more than 20 years. “At the same time, it is also very important to have a secret security backstop.”

Industry leaders see multiple factors driving the demand for private security services, including increased corporate spending and evolving insurance requirements.

Approximately 40% S&P500– Publicly traded companies will provide security services to at least some executives in 2025, up from just under 19% in 2019, according to Equilar’s corporate disclosure analysis as of early August. Median costs rose 178% during this time.

walmart Equilar research has found that major companies such as Microsoft are adding security to their executives for the first time in recent years. In some cases, spending doesn’t stop when a leader leaves. cracker barrel said in a regulatory filing in July that the restaurant chain would continue to pay for former CEO Julie Masino’s protective services.

Trade publication Security, which produces an annual report based on self-reported data from security leaders, says the threat of workplace violence ranks as the top concern facing these leaders in 2021 and beyond.

Nasco’s Amitay said pressure from insurance companies is driving demand. In recent years, companies that provide insurance to businesses and events have begun to view security planning as part of their “duty of care,” he said.

Across the United States, third-party security is being introduced to supplement police forces. In Louisville, Kentucky, the City Council passed a bill in July that would require some stores open late at night to employ private security guards. The Department of Public Works in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has budgeted nearly $1 million for contract security at various facilities this fiscal year.

“People need to choose their own destiny,” said Jonah Nathan, vice president of Texas-based private security company Ranger Guard. “You are a first responder. You must de-escalate the situation before relying on local law enforcement.”

Approximately 1.3 million Americans worked as security guards as of May 2025, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is nearly double the number of people employed as police and sheriff’s patrol officers, the report found.

The number of security guards jumped more than 16% from 2016 to 2025, according to federal data. Police forces nationwide increased by about 2% over the same period.

The total security guard workforce is expected to remain roughly flat through 2034, according to a July report from the University of California, Berkeley Labor Center. Still, the group found that employers are more likely to continue hiring because of high turnover rates. Annual turnover in the security industry in 2024 reached 89%, higher than the average of 66% for all private sector salaries.

Security companies tout their work as beneficial to social order and largely insulated from artificial intelligence-related automation. However, the role also comes with safety risks and pay is below average.

According to a May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics report, security guards earn an average of $20.42 an hour, or $42,470 annually, which is lower than the average wage of $38.08 an hour, or $79,200 annually, for police and sheriff’s patrol guards. Across all occupations tracked in the government report, the average worker collected $33.54 an hour, or $69,770 annually.

More than two in five security guards do not have health insurance through their or a family member’s employer, according to a report from the University of California, Berkeley Labor Center. The analysis found that across all industries, security guards are significantly more likely to die on the job than regular employees.

“This is an essential workforce, and more and more jobs are needed,” said Enrique Lopezurilla, director of the Low Wage Work Program at the University of California, Berkeley Center. “But pay, training and other labor standards have not kept up.”

A security guard at the San Diego Islamic Center was among the three people killed in a shooting in May. Officials credited the slain guard for delaying the attack and preventing a greater tragedy.

Despite being short-staffed, San Diego police said officers arrived at the scene within minutes of reports of gunfire. The ministry said it would consider whether low staffing levels affected its ability to respond to attacks.

Americans have become increasingly less likely to experience violent victimization over time, with one measure tracked by the government showing a decline of 71% from 1994 to 2024. The FBI said violent crime decreased by an estimated 9% in 2025 alone.

However, according to a poll of 1,000 American adults conducted by Gallup from October 1 to 16, 2025, nearly half of Americans believe that crime has increased compared to the previous year. The research organization conducted a survey of 1,000 adults between March 2 and 8 and found that around two in three people were “very” or “quite” worried about crime and violence. Each survey has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

“The most basic fact about the public’s perception of crime and violence in the United States is that it is almost always out of touch with reality,” said David Kennedy, director of the National Safe Communities Network and professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

President Kennedy said that although the murder rate has fallen, it remains high compared to comparable developed countries. He said the difference lies in the relatively lax regulations on firearms in the United States.

But Kennedy said there was a contradiction. He said that while more guns could lead to more fatalities, Americans often rely on guns as a way to feel safer.

More than 11 million Americans will own a gun for the first time between 2021 and 2024, according to a study by Harvard University and Northeastern researchers. That’s more than the populations of Maryland and Connecticut combined. Annual production of non-military firearms in the United States will nearly triple in 2023 compared to 20 years ago, according to government data.

“It’s basically very simple,” Kennedy said. “The less secure people feel, the more likely they are to take steps to protect themselves and their loved ones.”

Organizations considering whether to budget for protective services may look to events at Temple Israel.

In March, an attacker drove into a synagogue in metro Detroit that was filled with children. Internal security staff was dispatched within seconds, and no community members were killed. Temple Israel leaders hailed the guards as heroes.

“It’s a miracle they were able to keep everyone so safe,” said Andy Bocknek, the temple’s former president. “I can’t even imagine what this would have been like if we didn’t have such dedicated people at the facility and the people we meet every day.”

— CNBC’s Charlotte Morabito contributed to this report.