I receive many calls from prospective customers, usually with an urgent tone to their voice, asking about security guard services or security patrols at their facility. It’s often a similar story, a resident’s vehicle was stolen, an employee was accosted in the parking area, a suspicious vehicle was seen circling the parking lot, buildings on property found vandalized; the first question they usually have is, “we need security, but where do we start?”

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), 932,329 vehicles were reported stolen in 2021. In the first three quarters of 2022, 745,000 vehicles were reported stolen, when the final numbers are tallied, we are likely to see close to a million vehicles stolen last year. While some violent crimes have trended lower since the pandemic, property crimes, including vehicle theft, continue to rise. Vehicle thefts are at their highest since 2008.