a brand of
Vehicle patrol security sends a licensed officer in a marked or unmarked car to your property on a scheduled or randomized route. GRDX patrols are GPS-verified, each stop can include a foot check of doors and lots, and anything found is written up with time-stamped photos. It suits sites that don't need someone on post all night.
How does a vehicle patrol work?
A patrol officer drives a route that includes your property, stops, gets out, checks what you asked us to check, and moves on to the next stop. Then comes back later. How often depends on what you buy.
- We agree on the checkpoints: gates, doors, dumpsters, lots, roofs if reachable.
- The officer arrives, walks the checkpoints, and the GPS records the visit.
- Anything off gets photographed with a timestamp and written up.
- Serious problems go to the supervisor and you, right away, not in the morning.
Marked or unmarked: which one should I pick?
Pick marked if you want people to see it and leave. Pick unmarked if you want to catch who keeps coming back.
Most clients start with marked. A lit-up patrol car rolling through a lot at 1 a.m. moves people along. Unmarked works for a different problem: catalytic converter thefts, dumping, a vacant building someone is using. There, you want to see it happen and document it.
| Marked patrol | Unmarked patrol | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Deter | Observe and document |
| Best for | Lots, communities, retail centers after close | Repeat theft, illegal dumping, vacant sites |
| What people see | GRDX vehicle and uniformed officer | A car that blends in |
Why would I want randomized patrol times?
Randomized times stop people from learning your schedule. If a patrol hits your lot at 11, 2 and 5 every night, anyone watching for a week knows exactly when the window is.
Scheduled visits still have a place. Opening checks, lockup checks, and a set walk before a construction crew arrives all work better on a clock. Many sites mix the two: one fixed lockup visit and two or three random ones overnight.
Your route can also be changed as problems move. If the trouble shifts from the front lot to the loading dock, the checkpoints move with it, and the GPS log shows you whether the change worked.
Which properties are a good fit for patrol?
Patrol fits sites where something should happen several times a night but a full-time post would be overkill.
Vacant buildings waiting on a sale or a tenant are another good match. Nobody is inside to notice a broken window, and a few visits a night catch it before squatters or water damage settle in.
HOAs and communities
Pools, clubhouses, common lots and entrances.
Construction sites
Equipment, copper and materials after the crew leaves.
Office parks
Several buildings, one route, overnight and weekends.
Retail centers
After-close lots, loading docks, back doors.
What will I see from a patrol each night?
You'll see where the officer went, when, and what they found. GPS shows the stop. The report shows what was checked and anything wrong, with photos.
A quiet night is a short report. That's fine. It still shows the gate was locked at 2:14 and nobody was in the stairwell, which matters to an insurer after something does go wrong.
Price follows the plan behind those reports: how many visits, how long each stop takes, and how far your site sits from the rest of the route. A five-minute lock check costs less than a twenty-minute walk of a 300-space garage.
Armed officers cost more than unarmed ones. Unmarked cars are sometimes assigned to fewer accounts, which can change things too. We'll put the plan options side by side in writing so you can see what a fourth nightly visit adds before you pick it.
Can patrol be combined with a standing officer?
Yes, and on larger sites that's often the best setup. A standing officer holds the front desk or gate. A patrol car covers the outer lots, the back fence, and the other building across the road.
It also works by time of day. Plenty of office parks keep an officer on post during business hours, when people are coming and going, then switch to patrol after 10 p.m. when the buildings are locked and the job is mostly checking doors.
Both report to the same supervisor and use the same reporting system, so you read one set of records instead of two. If the standing officer sees something at the edge of the property, the patrol officer can be sent to look.
Questions
How many times a night will a patrol visit my property?+
It depends on the plan you choose. Visit count, timing and checkpoints are agreed with you up front, and the GPS log shows every visit actually made.
Can a patrol officer respond to an alarm at my site?+
Yes, where that is set up in your post orders. The officer heads to the site, checks it, and the supervisor contacts you with what was found.
Will the patrol officer carry a gun?+
That's settled account by account. Armed or unarmed patrol is decided per client, and each driver holds the license that matches the county or city of the route.
Do you do vehicle patrol in Maryland?+
Yes. GRDX holds its Maryland license from the State Police, and we patrol in the Maryland counties near the District and up to Baltimore, plus everywhere we work in Virginia and the city itself.
Is vehicle patrol cheaper than a standing guard?+
Usually, since you pay for visits and not every hour. Whether it's enough coverage for your site is a separate question we answer on the walk.
What happens if the patrol finds an open door?+
The officer checks the inside if it's safe and allowed, secures it if possible, photographs it, and the supervisor contacts you. Your post orders say exactly who gets called and when.