Temporary security guards in Gilroy.

Temporary security guards for Gilroy properties.

Some security needs show up overnight. A downtown storefront with plywood over the glass until the new pane arrives. A warehouse between tenants that nobody has checked in a week. A processing plant heading into its busiest weeks with more trucks and contractors at the gate than usual. Each one needs officers soon, and only for a while.

Phone us and tell us where, when and what happened. We’ll get coverage organized fast, walk the officers through your property and start a timed log on the very first shift, exactly as we would for a long-term post. Each morning, the shift report tells you how the night went.

Short-term posts can be overnight only, a full 24 hours or just the opening and closing hours. Keeping the officers longer takes no new paperwork. When the situation calls for it, add fire watch while a system is down or randomized patrol visits.

Three situations, three setups

After a break-in, the usual answer is an overnight officer until the door, window or fence is repaired, followed by a few nights of patrol so nobody comes back for a second look. For a building between tenants, randomized patrol visits and alarm response often do the job for much less than a full post.

For a seasonal surge at a processing plant or a distribution center, temporary officers join the gate and the yard for the busy weeks and leave when the volume drops.

Temporary security guard costs in Gilroy

Short-term officers in Gilroy are billed by the guard-hour, just like a long-term post. Temporary coverage typically runs $40 to $50 an hour, from about $36 for an overnight assignment booked a few days ahead up to $50 for a post that starts tonight.

Picture a downtown storefront with plywood over the broken glass for six nights until the new pane arrives. An officer from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. is 10 hours a night, 60 hours in all. At $48 an hour, that’s $2,880, and each morning’s shift report tells you what the officer checked overnight. A warehouse that needs a 24-hour post for a few days after a break-in runs $1,152 for each full day at that rate.

How fast you need us is the biggest factor: a post that starts tonight costs more than one booked for next week. Overnight, weekend and holiday hours, entrances that need a fixed officer, more than one officer on a shift and peak-season gate traffic at a packing plant all push the rate up. When the rough patch is over, you stop; if you want to keep the officer, the post simply carries on.