Choose a security company by verifying the exact business, giving every bidder the same site requirements, inspecting evidence behind each proposal, fixing the chosen service in a clear contract and reviewing what is actually delivered. A familiar name, polished proposal or registration document is only one part of that decision.

This method works for guarding, alarm response, CCTV and mixed services. It does not rank Kenyan companies. It helps you build your own evidence-based shortlist for a particular property.

Use the focused CCTV quote checklist, guarding-service cost guide and alarm-response guide when a proposal includes those services. They give the same evidence-first method more detail for each component.

1. Verify the company you will actually contract

Start with the full legal name on the quotation and proposed contract. Ask for its Private Security Regulatory Authority, or PSRA, registration details and verify the exact entity through the authority's published process. If a group brand, reseller or subcontractor appears in the proposal, establish which legal entity will invoice you, employ the guards, install equipment, monitor alarms and respond to incidents.

The Private Security Regulation Act covers several types of private-security service and provides for individual and company registration. The PSRA FAQ describes company verification. Treat registration as a threshold check. It does not show competence in every service category or prove performance at your site.

Record the result rather than relying on a salesperson's verbal assurance:

  • exact company name checked;
  • registration detail provided;
  • verification route and result;
  • services the entity will supply itself;
  • services assigned to another entity; and
  • person authorised to clarify any mismatch.

2. Make the proposal answer your site problem

Do not invite companies to offer an undefined “security package.” Give each one the same short site brief. It should describe the property, operating hours, people and goods moving through it, previous incident patterns you are willing to disclose, existing equipment, access constraints and the outcomes you need.

Require a site visit for a material contract. The proposal should then identify posts or camera views, patrol or response assumptions, staffing and relief, supervision, communications, equipment, reporting and escalation. If the company proposes a different design, ask it to explain which risk or operating fact drove the change.

Kenyan institutional tenders provide examples of buyers requesting detailed staffing, insurance, radio, supervision and operating information. The East African Portland Cement security tender and National Irrigation Authority guarding tender reflect those buyers' needs. They are not a universal legal checklist for every Kenyan home or business.

3. Inspect evidence behind the proposal

Ask for evidence in proportion to the contract. You need enough to test important claims without demanding confidential procedures or workers' sensitive personal files.

The statutory provider code in the Second Schedule to the Private Security Regulation Act addresses recruitment and training, governance, procedures for proportionate use of force, health and safety, and complaints about staff behaviour. Useful evidence questions include:

  • How does the company recruit and prepare people for the duties proposed here?
  • What site induction will assigned staff receive?
  • Who is the proposed supervisor and what will that person check?
  • What report will show that supervision occurred?
  • How are complaints about staff behaviour received, investigated and closed?
  • What health and safety process applies to this site's duties?
  • What escalation instructions will staff receive?

For communications or equipment, ask for the exact proposed method, its dependencies and its fallback. A licence question matters only where licensed radio spectrum is actually proposed. For insurance, ask for the policy type, current period, scope, limits and important exclusions relevant to the promised work. Do not treat any certificate as proof that a future incident will be covered.

References can help you ask better questions. Seek work with genuinely similar conditions and ask what service was supplied, over what period and to which kind of site. A reference confirms only what you check; it does not guarantee your future delivery.

4. Turn the winning proposal into a manageable contract

Attach the final site plan, staffing schedule, equipment list and reporting timetable to the contract. If these remain only in a presentation, they are easy to dilute later.

The contract should state:

  • locations, hours, duties and exclusions;
  • staffing and relief arrangements;
  • supervisor responsibilities and visit evidence;
  • equipment ownership, maintenance and replacement;
  • communication and fallback methods;
  • incident, attendance and performance records;
  • escalation contacts and complaint handling;
  • charges, recurring costs and change control;
  • relevant insurance details;
  • service failures, remedies, liability limits and exclusions; and
  • notice, handover, access removal and data return or deletion at exit.

Read the exclusions beside the headline promises. “Alarm response included” is incomplete if the contract does not define the covered address, receiving process, dispatch trigger, access assumptions and failure records. “Supervision included” is incomplete if nobody can say how it will be observed.

When closed-circuit television is part of the service

When a closed-circuit television (CCTV) service involves identifiable footage, establish who decides why and how it is used, who processes it on another party's instructions, and which subcontractors or cloud services receive it. The answer depends on the actual arrangement. An installer is not automatically both controller and processor in every job.

The Data Protection Act provides the legal framework for processing and security. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner FAQ gives related registration guidance. Your contract should document permitted use, access, retention, security responsibilities, subcontractors and what happens to footage and accounts when the relationship ends. Those contract controls are prudent buyer protections; their exact form should follow the real data roles.

5. Review delivery, not just documents

Agree on a small set of observable service checks. Depending on the contract, these might include post coverage, relief substitutions, supervisor visits, equipment faults, alarm-event records, incident-report quality, complaint closure and overdue actions.

Meet on a stated timetable and use the same evidence matrix you used during selection. Record the service result, the supporting document, the person responsible for correction and the follow-up date. If the scope changes, update the site schedule and price in writing.

PSRA also has a statutory complaints role, and its FAQ describes written complaints with supporting documents. That route does not promise a particular outcome, compensation or turnaround. Keep your provider complaint, supporting records and response so you can show what was raised and what remains unresolved. See the PSRA FAQ for its published guidance.

A blank evidence matrix for your shortlist

Score only after defining what each row means for your site. Leave a cell blank when evidence is missing rather than awarding points for a promise.

On a narrow screen, focus this region and swipe horizontally to read every column.

Evidence matrix for a security-provider shortlist
Criterion Evidence required Company A Company B Company C
Exact entity and PSRA verification Recorded verification result
Site-specific design Signed site plan and assumptions
Staffing and relief Coverage schedule and relief process
Supervision Named responsibility and sample record
Training and induction Role outline and site induction plan
Communications and fallback Method, dependencies and fallback
Insurance relevance Current scope, limits and exclusions
Reporting and complaints Samples, timetable and escalation
Data handling, where relevant Roles, access, retention and exit terms
Remedies and exit Clear failure and handover terms

Use the matrix to expose uncertainty, not manufacture a winner. Decide which criteria are essential, which are desirable and what evidence meets each standard before opening the commercial offers. A company that scores well on documents still needs delivery review after appointment.

The final selection test

You should be able to point to five things before signing: a verified contracting entity, a site-specific service design, proportionate evidence for important claims, a contract that preserves the design, and a review process that reveals failure. If any one is missing, ask for it or record why you are accepting the gap.

This method gives you something more useful than brand recognition or price alone: a service design and evidence trail you can inspect after the sales meeting is over.

Sources and update note

This article uses Kenyan law, regulator guidance and institutional procurement examples. Tender requirements illustrate buyer questions; they are not national legal duties or evidence that a bidder delivered them. Sources were reviewed as at 8 September 2026. Recheck company status, policies and current legal guidance for the proposed service before appointing a provider.