Founded in 2003, Signal 88 Security revolutionized the security guard industry by providing a fresh solution to the insufficient guard sector. Shea Degan, a Douglas County deputy sheriff in the K9 Drug Interdiction Unit, witnessed many acts of disturbance on private commercial properties.
While off duty, he went to advise these owners of the situations so he could consult with them to protect their properties. When the owners would not listen, Shea took video of these acts in progress and mailed them to the owners as a wake up call. Within a few days, the properties had convinced Shea to work the properties in the off hours as a deterrent. Word spread, and soon Shea needed to hire fellow off-duty officers to help. Some of these clients began to request a lower cost solution than the law-enforcement based security while others requested larger quantities of hours. This led to the creation of the Community Based Security (or civilian) Division. Before doing this, however, Shea and his team identified the urgent need to revolutionize and heighten the standard of professionalism in the security industry.
Through this division, the image, training, and professionalism of the security "guard" was greatly improved in comparison to the established industry standard. In addition, the roving patrol concept was perfected, where Signal 88 could advise visual deterrence patrols that could also serve as a solution for loitering, unlocked doors, power outages, lighting assessments, alarm calls, etc. Shea Degan got in contact with a local technology partner to develop the initial stages of Inteliguide, Signal 88’s proprietary time & attendance and patrol routing software. (See our Security Technology page for more info).
The Omaha group won the contract for the NCAA’s College World Series within a year or two, and from there, the local presence began to grow at an even greater rate. The company grew to service Lincoln, Nebraska and Council Bluffs, IA when conversations led the growth strategy to franchising. In 2007, the franchise group was developed and the concept was modeled and documented through the Omaha office.
Advertising for franchises began in the spring of 2008 and now as of January 2011, Signal 88 has been named #357 in the Entreprenuer’s list of the Franchise 500 for 2010. With over 70 locations, Signal 88 has been able to solidify its network of security experts through franchise owners and greater resources for security training and development in order to provide even better, more customized solutions for its clients.
Signal 88 Security continues its tradition, Re-Engineering the security industry, with the introduction of Virtual Monitoring and Patrolling services, Signal 88’s solution to camera monitoring and response, which launched in the Spring of 2011. With our large network of police officers, military personnel, and business owners, Signal 88 is geared to continue to develop and expand its security resources, reach, and response network across the country.