Threats like vandalism and theft haven’t disappeared – but security budgets are tighter than ever. For businesses looking for smarter, scalable protection, mobile patrols offer a flexible, budget-friendly alternative to static guarding.
At The Keyholding Company (TKC), our nationwide mobile patrols provide adaptable, reliable security without the need for an officer on site 24/7. It’s a service that’s there when you need it, adapts as you grow, and doesn’t cost the earth.
What are mobile patrols?
Mobile patrols are a dynamic alternative to static guarding, providing protection through scheduled or ad-hoc patrols.
SIA-licensed officers operate from marked vehicles, covering large areas and responding flexibly to emerging risks or information from CCTV monitoring services.
As well as being a visual deterrent to criminal activity, officers are trained to conduct tasks tailored to your needs. They check doors, windows and access points for vulnerabilities, and alert you to any maintenance issues so you can jump on fixing them ASAP.
Why choose mobile patrols?
In some cases, on-site guards are a must, but often they are seen as the only solution.
Mobile patrols are cost-effective quite simply because you are not paying for resource on site 24/7. Not only can they cover larger areas quickly, but they also allow you to be more strategic and put protection in place when you know a site needs it most.
Is a high-value property more vulnerable out of hours? Increase the number of night-time patrols. Is your CCTV alerting a recurring issue? We can tailor the patrol workflow to address it. In short, mobile patrols bring efficiency from smarter operations and resource allocation.
Take Workspace Group as an example. They needed a flexible and more mobile security team out-of-hours, who – in response to information from their CCTV network – could be rapidly deployed to areas of need. We helped them with a new approach to patrolling to best secure their estate that delivered:
• 75% reduction in burglaries over two years
• 37% improvement in alarm response rates
• 20,268 patrols completed in a year with 100% coverage on every shift
The approach drove a significant cost saving by freeing up resource, as patrol routes could be tailored on a shift-by-shift basis to incorporate other jobs such as granting access to contractors. This has enabled Workspace Group to re-invest in other areas of their security provision, such as upgrading their electronics systems like cameras and access control. They also now have a fleet of electric vehicles, which is set to cut their carbon emissions by over two tonnes over the course of the current contract.
The Keyholding Company has been instrumental in the transformation of our security model.
Darren Baker, Head of Security and Risk Management at Workspace Group
What to look for in a mobile patrols provider
If you’re considering mobile patrols for your business, it’s essential to partner with a provider that takes a tech first approach to ensure you get a reliable, transparent, high-quality service. There are two key areas to prioritise in your search:
Nationwide coverage and high standards
Security coverage shouldn’t be patchy. For businesses with multiple locations, a provider must offer nationwide reach, ensuring every site gets the same level of protection – wherever it’s based. But coverage alone isn’t enough. Without consistency of compliance and high standards, businesses risk service gaps, quality issues, and security failures that leave them vulnerable.
What to look for:
• A provider with nationwide reach that ensures consistent coverage across all your sites
• Officers who understand the local risks and challenges of each area
• A compliance framework and the right accreditations that ensure high standards
• Intelligent, tech-driven officer deployment, ensuring the best-placed officers respond quickly and reliably while reducing travel emissions
Over 25 years, we have built a network of 200 ACS-accredited service providers, enabling us to reach 99.8% of the UK’s postcodes. This offers clients the best of both worlds: nationwide coverage with local expertise provided by 11,000 SIA-licensed officers.
We proactively manage our partners, analysing data to swiftly pinpoint any challenges and replacing underperformers to optimise operational performance. We also ensure that our partners hold the correct accreditations, as we pride ourselves – and our supply chain – on maintaining the highest of standards.
As for us? We are accredited by the National Security Inspectorate (NSI) to gold standard and are in the top 5% of companies ranked by the ACS benchmarking and achievement scoring system. We are also B Corp Certified – so while we deliver security at scale, we do it ethically and sustainably.
Transparency and service quality
Outsourcing security shouldn’t mean losing control. Many businesses struggle with a lack of real-time insights, making it difficult to verify if patrols are being carried out as promised. Without this transparency, it’s hard to ensure security measures are effective.
What to look for:
• An integrated booking and job management system that enables you to control your provision in one place
• Real-time tracking, so you can monitor security activity as it happens
• A quality assurance process that ensures every patrol meets agreed standards
• Detailed job reports that provide evidence of completed patrols and surface details about anything of interest detected on site
TKC’s proprietary booking platform allows you to book, manage and track your patrols in real-time. Officers complete their assigned tasks and upload photo evidence via a mobile app that feeds into the platform. We then use an AI tool to verify the accuracy and authenticity of the information being provided.
Anything that doesn’t meet our standards can be fed back to the officer, which helps to quickly solve any quality issues before they get reported to you.
Chris Russell, Chief Transformation Officer, The Keyholding Company
Once each shift is completed, you’ll receive an automated job report. By putting real-time, transparent insights at your fingertips, we remove the guesswork and give you full confidence in the quality of your security operations.
Ready to enhance your security?
As the security landscape evolves, so do we. We’re constantly innovating and looking for ways to make our mobile patrols even more effective and efficient.
We like to work closely with our clients to create a security solution that’s as unique as their business, so whether you look after offices, retail premises, industrial sites or something else, we are here to help.
Interested in cost-effective, reliable commercial security solutions?
Interested in cost-effective, reliable commercial security solutions?
Contact us today for a free quote – we’d love to hear from you.
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