Where do security guards work?

Security guards work wherever employers hire them. Businesses with valuable property and/or extensive amounts of merchandise often hire security guards, as do most large institutions.

• Malls: While security guards at shopping malls are often disparagingly termed “rent-a-cops,” they have the unenviable burden of protecting scores of vendors while also observing unsupervised children and teenagers.
• Department Stores: Department stores, including retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target, use security guards primarily to protect against shoplifting.
• Hospitals: Hospital security guards not only protect doctors, patients, and valuable medical equipment, they also maintain the security of confidential medical records.
• Casinos: Casinos usually have a small army of security guards in order to prevent cheating.
• Armored Cars: When individuals make substantial cash deposits or withdrawals, security guards drive armored cars and often also carry the money into and/or out of the financial institution.
• Government Buildings: Federal security guards protect historic government buildings but also protect the government workers from any perceived threat.
• Transportation: Airport security is the most notable example of transportation security, but security guards also work in the automotive, shipping, and railroad industries
• Bars: Bars and other eating and drinking establishments employ security guards to maintain control and to prevent entry by unauthorized individuals.

These venues are only a sampling of the places that might use security guards. From institutions such as colleges and universities to events such as sporting events and concerts, security guards help to regulate and control situations so that they never get out of hand.