BOSTON, MASS. — A security guard posted outside a Back Bay brownstone and a security guard posted outside a Seaport construction site are doing two completely different jobs, even though both addresses have a Boston zip code. This city is 48 neighborhoods stitched together by the Big Dig’s green spaces, and treating it as one market is how out-of-town security firms get Boston wrong.
By Derek Kreymer, Operations Manager
Hub Security and Investigative Group provides security guard services in Boston, MA — armed and unarmed guards, mobile patrol, and licensed private investigation services — for Massachusetts’s capital and largest city: 666,442 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate) across Suffolk County, ranked among the world’s top 30 most economically powerful cities and home to a leading biotech and life-sciences cluster, five major teaching hospitals, and dozens of colleges and universities. Boston isn’t one downtown; it’s Back Bay, the Seaport, Dorchester, Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, East Boston, Charlestown, Fenway, and dozens of other neighborhoods, each with a genuinely different security profile.
Security Built Around Boston’s Neighborhoods
Downtown, the Financial District, and Back Bay are Boston’s corporate and retail core — office towers, high-end retail along Newbury Street and Boylston Street, and hotel and residential properties that need corporate access control and visible commercial patrol. The Seaport District, transformed over the past decade into one of the city’s fastest-growing commercial areas and now home to General Electric’s headquarters and a wave of new office and lab construction, keeps construction site security and corporate facility coverage in constant demand. The Longwood Medical Area, home to Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Boston Children’s Hospital, needs institutional-grade access control across large, security-conscious campuses. Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan, and Jamaica Plain are large, densely populated residential neighborhoods where community-focused residential patrol and visible deterrence matter more than corporate security. And Allston-Brighton and the Fenway, packed with student housing near Boston University, Northeastern, and Harvard-adjacent areas, have security needs shaped by a large, transient student population and dense multi-family housing.
What Local Crime Data Actually Shows
According to the FBI’s 2024 crime data as compiled by NeighborhoodScout, Boston recorded a violent crime rate of 6.21 per 1,000 residents and a property crime rate of 21.39 per 1,000 — both roughly double the Massachusetts state averages of 3.15 and 11.12 per 1,000, respectively, with 24 murders recorded citywide. NeighborhoodScout notes that more than 98% of Massachusetts communities have a lower overall crime rate than Boston. That citywide figure, though, blends dramatically different neighborhood-level realities: a city of nearly 700,000 people spread across 48 distinct neighborhoods will always show more variation block-to-block than a single suburban town, and Hub’s coverage plans are built neighborhood-by-neighborhood rather than off one citywide number.
That combination of an elevated citywide baseline and real neighborhood-level variation is exactly why Hub treats a security plan for the Seaport differently from one for Back Bay or Dorchester — visible, trained guard presence matters everywhere in Boston, but where the emphasis falls changes block by block.
Coverage by Neighborhood
| Neighborhood Cluster | Key Local Features | Hub Security Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown, Financial District & Back Bay | Office towers, Newbury/Boylston Street retail, hotels | Corporate access control, commercial patrol |
| Seaport District | GE headquarters, rapid office and lab construction | Construction site security, corporate facility coverage |
| Longwood Medical Area | Brigham and Women’s, Dana-Farber, MGH, Boston Children’s | Institutional access control |
| Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan & Jamaica Plain | Large, dense residential neighborhoods | Community-focused residential patrol, visible deterrence |
| Allston-Brighton & the Fenway | Dense student housing near multiple universities | Multi-family residential and campus-adjacent coverage |
What Hub Security Provides in Boston
- Armed and unarmed uniformed security guards, standing officers, and mobile patrol
- Corporate access control for Downtown, Back Bay, and Seaport office and lab space
- Construction site security for Boston’s ongoing development boom
- Institutional access control for hospitals, medical campuses, and research facilities
- Residential patrol for neighborhoods across Dorchester, Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, and beyond
- Retail loss prevention for Boston’s commercial corridors
- Licensed background check and corporate investigation services, surveillance, and asset searches
Serving Boston and the Surrounding Area
Boston is the hub of Hub Security’s Massachusetts coverage area, and crews and dispatch supporting the city also cover the surrounding communities that share its downtown and waterfront business districts.
- Our coverage in Quincy
- Our coverage in Newton
- Our coverage in Somerville
- Our coverage in Brookline
Why Boston Businesses and Residents Choose Hub
- Massachusetts-licensed for both security guard services and private investigating services
- Fully insured, with background-checked officers and ongoing training
- GPS patrol tracking and unannounced supervisor inspections
- Local management that plans coverage neighborhood-by-neighborhood — not a national call center or app-based broker treating Boston as one zip code
- 24/7 emergency dispatch at (617) 857-1200
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Boston a high-crime city? FBI data shows Boston’s citywide violent and property crime rates both run roughly double the Massachusetts state average, with more than 98% of Massachusetts communities showing a lower overall crime rate. That citywide number covers a huge range of neighborhood-level realities, which is why Hub builds coverage plans neighborhood-by-neighborhood rather than off one number.
Do you provide security for construction sites in the Seaport District? Yes, including construction site security during active build-out for office, lab, and residential projects.
Can you cover hospital and medical campus properties in the Longwood Medical Area? Yes, including institutional-grade access control tailored to large, security-conscious campuses.
Are your guards licensed and insured in Massachusetts? Yes — Hub is fully licensed for both security guard services and private investigating services, with comprehensive insurance on every deployment.
Call Hub Security & Investigative Group at (617) 857-1200 for a free consultation on security guard services in Boston, MA, or request a quote online.