More companies in Maryland hiring private security guards to ward off crime

As retail and property crime rise and police ranks thin, Maryland neighborhoods, apartment buildings, big box stores, fast-food chains, hospitals, banks and schools rely on more than 26,000 licensed private security guards to deter crime and provide a sense of safety, according to state data and industry specialists. Retailers are increasingly hiring private guards to thwart organized retail crime, said Cailey Locklair, president of the Maryland Retailers Alliance.