Physical security spending keeps rising, but the real urgency shows up in the gaps. In a 2024 survey, guarding and patrol services made up 39% of physical security budgets, yet 39% of organizations say they do not know how many devices they have, leaving blind spots for theft, access, and incident response. Layer in workplace violence costs and high accuracy video analytics, and you get a picture where prevention depends on both people and data working together.
Key Takeaways
- 8.7% CAGR projected for the global physical security market from 2024 to 2032
- $9.5 billion global security guard services market size in 2023 (human security often paired with physical security programs)
- $1.8 billion global smart locks market size in 2023 (smart access/locking within physical security)
- 25% of organizations reported incidents related to stolen or lost devices in Verizon DBIR (device theft drives physical security needs)
- 39% of organizations say they don’t know how many devices they have (unknown asset footprint increases physical security risk)
- WHO estimates 10% of medical products worldwide are substandard and/or falsified (drives need for secure facilities and chain-of-custody controls)
- $1.2 billion annual cost of injuries and deaths from workplace violence in the U.S. (CDC/NIOSH estimate)
- 5% median loss due to fraud among organizations experiencing fraud (ACFE Report to the Nations 2024)
- $25,000 average cost per security incident for small businesses (protecting physical operations and assets)
- Guards and patrols are associated with reduced facility theft; a review found 22% lower loss when patrol frequency increased (human deterrence metric)
- 21.4% of employee respondents reported they were able to tailgate/“piggyback” into secure areas (security access control vulnerability indicator)
- Video analytics can detect objects with 90%+ accuracy in controlled pilot evaluations (analytics effectiveness)
- 48% of security leaders reported expanding use of video surveillance/analytics over the last 12 months to improve detection and response times
- In the UK, there were 223,000 burglaries recorded by police in 2023, indicating continued exposure for property security measures
- License plate recognition deployments showed average read accuracy of 85% across mixed lighting conditions in a published evaluation study by a university security lab
Physical security demand is accelerating as organizations expand video, access control, and device protection to cut theft, fraud, and workplace risk.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size6 stats
01
8.7% CAGR projected for the global physical security market from 2024 to 2032
02
$9.5 billion global security guard services market size in 2023 (human security often paired with physical security programs)
03
$1.8 billion global smart locks market size in 2023 (smart access/locking within physical security)
04
The global access control systems market was valued at $13.4 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $24.9 billion by 2030, reflecting strong growth in physical security authentication
05
The global video surveillance market size reached $62.3 billion in 2023 and is forecast to grow to $88.1 billion by 2027
06
Guarding and patrol services accounted for 39% of physical security budgets in a 2024 industry survey (most common spend category for operational security)
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
With the global physical security market projected to grow at an 8.7% CAGR from 2024 to 2032 alongside rapid expansion in adjacent technologies like video surveillance rising from $62.3 billion in 2023 to $88.1 billion by 2027 and access control reaching $24.9 billion by 2030, the market size outlook is clearly pointing to sustained, technology supported growth rather than flat demand.
02 · Category
Threat Landscape4 stats
01
25% of organizations reported incidents related to stolen or lost devices in Verizon DBIR (device theft drives physical security needs)
02
39% of organizations say they don’t know how many devices they have (unknown asset footprint increases physical security risk)
03
WHO estimates 10% of medical products worldwide are substandard and/or falsified (drives need for secure facilities and chain-of-custody controls)
04
10% of U.S. workers reported experiencing workplace violence in the past 12 months (OSHA/National data; physical security and access control relevance)
Interpretation
Threat Landscape Interpretation
Across the threat landscape for physical security, device risk and visibility gaps dominate, with 25% of organizations reporting stolen or lost device incidents and 39% not knowing how many devices they have, while additional pressures from counterfeit medical products at 10% and 10% workplace violence exposure in the past 12 months further raise the stakes for access control and chain of custody.
03 · Category
Cost Analysis6 stats
01
$1.2 billion annual cost of injuries and deaths from workplace violence in the U.S. (CDC/NIOSH estimate)
02
5% median loss due to fraud among organizations experiencing fraud (ACFE Report to the Nations 2024)
03
$25,000average cost per security incident for small businesses (protecting physical operations and assets)
04
The FBI reported 3,019,564 active cybercrime-related reports in 2023; while cyber-focused, physical security is implicated via credential compromise that enables physical access—linking identity controls to physical security outcomes
05
In 2022, the U.S. had 1,988,000 nonfatal workplace injuries requiring days away from work (BLS), supporting demand for facility security controls that reduce violence and hazards
06
Unplanned downtime incidents cost organizations between $250,000and $1 million per event in published industry benchmarks (manufacturing and critical operations), motivating physical protection of industrial sites
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
Across physical security cost analysis, the pattern is that avoidable losses are huge and frequent, such as $1.2 billion annually from workplace violence injuries and deaths in the U.S. and small businesses paying about $25,000 per security incident, showing that stronger physical controls can directly reduce costly real world impacts rather than just improve compliance.
04 · Category
Mitigation Effectiveness4 stats
01
Guards and patrols are associated with reduced facility theft; a review found 22% lower loss when patrol frequency increased (human deterrence metric)
02
21.4% of employee respondents reported they were able to tailgate/“piggyback” into secure areas (security access control vulnerability indicator)
03
Video analytics can detect objects with 90%+ accuracy in controlled pilot evaluations (analytics effectiveness)
04
Automated license plate recognition (ALPR) systems report up to 95%+ read accuracy under ideal conditions (physical surveillance effectiveness)
Interpretation
Mitigation Effectiveness Interpretation
Under the mitigation effectiveness lens, boosting patrols is linked to a 22% lower loss, while addressing access control gaps like the 21.4% tailgating rate and leveraging high-performing detection tools such as 90%+ video analytics accuracy and 95%+ ALPR read accuracy can significantly strengthen physical security defenses.
More related reading
05 · Category
User Adoption1 stats
01
48% of security leaders reported expanding use of video surveillance/analytics over the last 12 months to improve detection and response times
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
In the past 12 months, 48% of security leaders expanded their use of video surveillance and analytics to boost detection and response times, showing that user adoption is actively accelerating around analytics-driven capabilities.
06 · Category
Industry Trends1 stats
01
In the UK, there were 223,000 burglaries recorded by police in 2023, indicating continued exposure for property security measures
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
In the UK, police recorded 223,000 burglaries in 2023, underscoring the ongoing need for physical security improvements as a key industry trend for property risk.
07 · Category
Performance Metrics2 stats
01
License plate recognition deployments showed average read accuracy of 85% across mixed lighting conditions in a published evaluation study by a university security lab
02
Thermal imaging used for perimeter surveillance detected intrusions with 88% sensitivity in a peer-reviewed field study (contrast/environ-dependent)
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Performance metrics show that under real world conditions, license plate recognition achieved 85% average read accuracy and thermal perimeter sensing reached 88% sensitivity, indicating strong and complementary detection performance across sight and heat based monitoring.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Alexander Schmidt. (2026, February 13). Physical Security Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/physical-security-statistics
MLA
Alexander Schmidt. "Physical Security Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/physical-security-statistics.
Chicago
Alexander Schmidt. 2026. "Physical Security Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/physical-security-statistics.
Sources & references
24 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+2 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)