What are the advantages/disadvantages of Patrols vs. On-Site/Guard?

Patrol services are significantly cheaper than On-Site services. Patrol services typically cost a few hundred dollars per month whereas On-Site services are thousands of dollars per month.

On-Site officers do provide full-time dedicated coverage of a site, which is an advantage if total coverage is necessary.  But patrols do offer a better cost to effectiveness ratio.  The coverage a site gets, and the visibility provided by vehicle patrols, are almost as high as On-Site officers because the vehicles make the presence known and the mobility of vehicle born officers is superior to On-Site officers. On-Site officers have a tendency to “get lost” on sites and “hide out” in comfortable locations. This negates the effectiveness of having a dedicated officer if he isn’t seen and if he isn’t making a high number of rounds.  

The quality of individual varies from company to company, but the opportunity to have a quality individual is greater in Patrol Services.  Even On-Site/Guard Companies who provide Patrols as a sideline generally use their highest quality individuals as Patrol Officers.  There are many reasons for this, not least of which is the trust involved in operating a vehicle, providing supervision of On-Site Officers, handling numerous client accounts, and financial transactions regarding the vehicle.  With Patrol-only Companies it is easier to staff with high quality individuals because you only have a few of them making up the entire staff.