May 12, 2006—At least 85 percent of the critical infrastructure in the United States is protected by private, contracted security officers. The National Association of Security Companies (NASCO), has released the following facts and figures regarding the contract security industry:
- Private security contracting (security personnel) is an approximately $13 billion industry in the United States with 11,000 to 15,000 companies employing some 1.2 million contract security officers.
- The total number of U.S. security officers has fallen by 11 percent since 2001, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Security officers are the “true” first responders. They are on the scene as situations occur and are increasingly being asked to support law enforcement and emergency personnel.
The following firms are responsible for nearly 50 percent of contract guard market-share:
- Securitas
- Wackenhut
- AlliedBarton
- Guardsmark
- US Security Associates
- Initial Security
NASCO is the nation’s largest contract security trade association, representing private security companies that employ more than 400,000 of the nation’s most highly trained security officers servicing every business sector. For more on the organization, visit its Web site.
