Three security companies in Memphis have stopped offering armed guard services since January. They didn’t announce it. They didn’t issue press releases. They quietly removed armed patrol and armed standing guard from their service menus and redirected those clients to competitors.
The reason is simple: they can’t find enough qualified armed guards to fill the shifts. And the economics of trying have gotten worse, not better, in 2025.
Tennessee’s armed guard shortage has been building for years. The gap between demand and supply widened during the crime spikes of 2021 and 2022, narrowed slightly in 2023, and then stalled. This year, companies across the state report that hiring armed personnel remains their single most difficult operational problem. The pipeline that feeds trained, qualified, armed officers into the private security workforce is producing fewer candidates than the market needs.
The Pipeline Problem
Becoming an armed security guard in Tennessee requires more than passing a background check and showing up. Under TDCI regulations, an armed guard must complete 24 hours of total training: the 16 hours required for unarmed registration plus an additional 8 hours of firearms-specific instruction. They must qualify at a firing range, demonstrating proficiency with the handgun they’ll carry on duty. They must requalify annually.
The training itself isn’t especially difficult for someone with military or law enforcement experience. For a civilian with no firearms background, those 8 additional hours represent a real barrier. Range fees, ammunition costs, and the training course itself typically run $200 to $400 out of pocket. Some companies cover these costs for new hires. Many don’t, especially smaller operators working on thin margins.
The background check is where the pipeline loses the most candidates. Tennessee’s armed guard background check goes beyond the standard criminal history review required for unarmed guards. Felony convictions disqualify applicants entirely. Certain misdemeanor convictions, including domestic violence charges, are also disqualifying. Drug-related offenses within the past several years eliminate candidates.
In Memphis, where the demographics of the available workforce include a higher-than-average percentage of individuals with criminal records, these disqualifiers filter out a meaningful portion of applicants. A security company recruiter in Shelby County told me that roughly one in three applicants who express interest in armed positions fail the background check. Among those who pass, another 15 to 20% either can’t afford the training or don’t complete it.
The result is a funnel that starts wide and narrows dramatically. For every ten people who respond to an armed guard job posting, two or three actually end up qualified, trained, and ready to work.
Law Enforcement Is Competing for the Same People
Tennessee’s police departments are hiring aggressively in 2025. MPD, Nashville Metro PD, Knoxville PD, and Chattanooga PD all have open positions. State agencies including the Tennessee Highway Patrol and TBI are recruiting. Federal agencies with Tennessee offices, including the U.S. Marshals Service, ATF, and FBI, are pulling candidates from the same pool.
For a qualified armed individual weighing their options, the comparison often favors law enforcement. A starting police officer in Memphis earns $46,000 to $52,000 per year with benefits, pension eligibility, and a career ladder. A starting armed security guard in Memphis earns $17 to $22 per hour, often without benefits, with limited advancement opportunities and no pension.
The veterans who represent the security industry’s best armed guard candidates are the same people law enforcement agencies target most aggressively. A former military police officer or infantry NCO with a clean record and firearms experience is exactly who both sides want. The police departments usually win that recruiting battle.
Federal agencies offer the clearest advantage. A GS-7 security position at a federal building in Memphis starts at roughly $44,000 with full federal benefits. A comparable armed guard position with a private security company pays $35,000 to $42,000 without federal benefits. The math isn’t close.
The Wage Premium
Armed guards in Tennessee currently command a meaningful wage premium over unarmed personnel. The gap varies by market and by employer, yet the statewide average sits around $3 to $5 per hour more for armed positions.
In Memphis, armed guard wages for experienced officers range from $18 to $24 per hour depending on the contract, the client, and the guard’s background. Unarmed guards in the same market earn $14 to $17 per hour. The gap has widened over the past two years as armed guard supply has tightened.
For security companies, this wage premium compounds the cost challenge. An armed guard doesn’t just cost more in wages. They require more expensive insurance coverage because they’re carrying a weapon. Workers’ compensation rates for armed security personnel run higher than for unarmed guards. The company must maintain firearms training programs, cover annual qualification costs, and manage the additional liability that comes with putting armed officers in public-facing positions.
These costs get passed to clients. Armed security contracts in Tennessee typically run 25 to 40% more per hour than unarmed contracts. Some clients absorb that premium because their risk profile demands armed officers. Others don’t, choosing instead to deploy more unarmed guards and rely on camera systems and rapid police response for the armed component.
Companies Dropping Armed Services
The three Memphis companies that stopped offering armed services this year aren’t alone. Across Tennessee, a growing number of small and mid-size security firms have either reduced their armed offerings or exited that segment entirely.
The decision usually comes down to liability. A company with five armed guards carries insurance premiums and legal exposure that can threaten the entire operation if something goes wrong. One negligent discharge, one excessive force complaint, one wrongful death lawsuit, and a small company’s insurance carrier may cancel coverage. Finding replacement coverage for an armed security company with an active claim is nearly impossible at reasonable rates.
Some companies have adopted a middle approach: they maintain a small roster of armed personnel for their highest-value contracts and contract out armed services to larger firms when demand exceeds their capacity. This limits their exposure while keeping armed capability available for clients who insist on it.
The national firms haven’t felt the same pressure. Allied Universal and Securitas can spread their armed guard costs across thousands of contracts in dozens of states. Their insurance buying power keeps premiums lower. Their training infrastructure handles qualification and requalification efficiently. And their wage scale, while not dramatically higher than regional competitors, comes with benefits packages that help with retention.
What Companies Are Doing to Retain Armed Personnel
Retention has become more important than recruitment for many Tennessee security companies. Replacing an armed guard who leaves costs the company $3,000 to $5,000 when you factor in recruiting, background checks, training, firearms qualification, and the lost productivity during the vacancy.
Companies report several strategies producing results.
Scheduling flexibility ranks at the top. Armed guards who can choose their shifts or work consistent schedules stay longer than those assigned rotating shifts with mandatory overtime. Some companies have moved to fixed schedules for armed personnel while keeping rotating schedules for unarmed guards, creating a two-tier system that rewards the harder-to-replace employees.
Equipment upgrades matter more than many company owners expected. Providing quality duty holsters, maintaining weapons properly, and issuing decent body armor signals to armed guards that the company takes their safety seriously. Companies that issued worn-out equipment and expected guards to supply their own gear lost people to competitors who invested in quality.
Benefits are the obvious retention tool. Health insurance, even a basic plan, separates companies that keep armed guards from those that lose them. Dental and vision coverage, which costs employers relatively little per employee, produces disproportionate loyalty. Paid time off, rare in the security industry for hourly workers, has become a differentiator for companies competing for armed personnel.
Bonus structures tied to tenure help too. A $500 bonus at six months, $1,000 at one year, and $2,000 at two years creates financial incentives to stay. The cost is real, and it’s still cheaper than constant turnover.
No Quick Fix
The armed guard shortage in Tennessee isn’t a problem that solves itself with higher wages or better recruiting. The underlying factors driving it are structural: training requirements that filter out candidates, background check standards that eliminate a large portion of the available workforce, and competition from law enforcement agencies that offer better compensation and career paths.
Security companies that want to maintain armed services will need to invest in their people at levels the industry has historically resisted. The alternative is watching their armed guards leave for police departments, federal agencies, or competitors who figured out the retention equation first.
The clients paying for armed security should understand what they’re buying and what it costs to deliver. A company offering armed guards at $16 per hour is either losing money, cutting corners on training and insurance, or paying guards so little they’ll leave at the first opportunity. Quality armed security costs what it costs. The shortage ensures that won’t change anytime soon.