31 security guard and private security companies in Santa Cruz, California. Ranked by license status, profile views and recommendations.
Part of the directory of security companies in California. New to California? See how California security licensing works.
31 companies
BANDIT SYSTEMS, INC.
Found what you're looking for?
Get free quotes from licensed companies in Santa Cruz.
CISCO SECURITY
NATIONAL SECURITY PROTECTIVE SERVICES
PUSH 365 SECURITY
SANTA CRUZ SEASIDE COMPANY SECURITY
SANTA CRUZ SECURITY SYSTEMS
SC SYSTEMS INC.
SUPERIOR ALARM CO
WATCHDOG ALARM
Your recommendation helps others find companies they can trust. Click "Recommend" on any company you've worked with.
Santa Cruz combines a busy coastal tourism economy, the University of California Santa Cruz, and Monterey Bay agriculture. The Beach Boardwalk, downtown, university events, and summer crowds drive event, hospitality, and crowd-management demand, while retail, agriculture, and a spread-out service area add loss prevention, site-guard, and mobile patrol work.
The providers below are ranked on merit, but the final check is yours. Work through these four steps before you sign anything in Santa Cruz:
Private security in California is licensed at the state level by the California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS), Department of Consumer Affairs. A legitimate company operating in Santa Cruz holds a Private Patrol Operator (PPO) license, which means it has cleared California BSIS's ownership, background-check and insurance requirements. Ask for that license number in writing and verify it yourself — a certificate on the wall tells you nothing about current standing, since a license can be suspended or revoked.
Hiring an unlicensed company is a risk you carry. In California, operating without a license is misdemeanor (Cal. Business & Professions Code §7582.3). Operating as an unlicensed private patrol operator (or knowingly engaging a non-exempt unlicensed one) is a misdemeanor punishable by a $5,000 fine, up to one year in county jail, or both; falsely holding oneself out as licensed (badge, ID/business card, letterhead, or advertising) is a separate misdemeanor with a fine up to $10,000, and a conviction bars BSIS licensure for one year (five years on a second offense).
Santa Cruz scores 56/100 on our Crime Index (grade D), which makes it safer than 21% of the 759 US cities we track. The index is built from FBI Crime Data Explorer reports for a population of 62,473.
Crime Index
Crime rates describe a city, not a specific address — the right level of coverage depends on your block, your hours and what you're protecting. Use the neighborhood breakdown to see how Santa Cruz varies internally before you scope a contract.
See the full Santa Cruz Crime Index and neighborhood breakdown