You Shouldn't Have to Manage Your Security Company.
Fire Watch, Guard Services, Event Security, and Executive Protection across Florida. Officers who know your site. A supervisor who checks the work. And when you call, a real person picks up. Not a phone tree, not a voicemail you never hear back from.
Whether It's One Night or Every Night.
A single overnight Fire Watch, or Officers on your site every day of the year. It went into our Promise before there was a company to hold to it: "Whether our contract terms are long or short, we promise to serve you with Passion & Purpose." The small job gets the same standard as the big one.
Condo, HOA & Residential
A steady, professional presence for associations, communities, and buildings. Residents notice, and so do the people you'd rather keep out.
Commercial & Retail
Deterrence, access control, and a calm response for stores, offices, and warehouses.
Construction & Fire Watch
Fast, professional Fire Watch and site security. Our Officers complete your Fire Watch logs and submit them to the Fire Marshal, because the log is the proof.
Events, Venues & Hospitality
Planning and on-site teams that protect the guest experience from doors to close, without becoming the thing people remember.
Healthcare & Senior Living
Coverage that respects patients, staff, and compliance, from medical centers to senior communities.
Government & Education
Cities, campuses, and public institutions. We're veteran-owned and Black-owned, which matters when it's a bid.
Six different kinds of property, and about six versions of the same bad week. One of them is probably why you're here.
If Any of This Sounds Like Your Week.
Nobody calls a security company on a good day. By the time you're looking, something has already gone wrong, or the people you hired to handle it stopped handling it. We try to be the part of your week that gets easier.
"We keep having incidents, and nothing changes."
Break-ins. Trespassing. People walking in who shouldn't. You've reported it. There may even be a provider on site already. And it's still happening.
What we do: Licensed Officers, post orders written for your specific property, and an Officer from our Emergency Response Team, a standing bench we keep ready, who comes out and checks the work.
"Our fire system is down and we can't close the building."
The panel isn't working. The inspector is coming. You can't send everyone home while you wait on the repair.
What we do: Professional Fire Watch, documented rounds, and logs completed and filed with the Fire Marshal.
"Our current company keeps letting us down."
No-shows. Nobody picking up when you call. An Officer nobody has checked on in months, because nobody was ever going to. You've been doing your provider's job for them, and you're done.
What we do: ERT Officers check the posts, whether or not anyone is expecting them. Reports you'll actually read. And a person answers the phone.
"We've got 1,200 people coming and one way in."
Crowds, entrances, alcohol, VIPs, and a date that cannot move. One incident and it's your name on it.
What we do: Real planning, entry control, and a team that protects the guest experience instead of becoming the story.
"Someone knows where I live."
A threat. A role that made you visible. And a home address sitting on a dozen websites for anyone who bothers to look.
What we do: Discreet Executive Protection Agents built around your real life, and Information Removal to shrink what's out there.
"I can never get anyone on the phone."
The single most common complaint in this industry. A question, an incident, an invoice. You call. You leave a message. You wait.
What we do: Three teams whose whole job is being reachable. Client Success takes your first call about anything at all, and they're reachable 24/7.
Every one of those answers rests on the same five things happening behind it. They start the day after you sign.
What Happens on Your Site After You Sign.
Five things happen around every Officer we place. They happen the same way on your site whether it's one night or five years. We call it the ARDENT Operating Standard, but the name isn't the point. The five things are.
Post Orders for Your Site
Written for your property, not pulled from a template, and kept current as the site changes.
Trained, Vetted Officers
Background-checked, trained past the state minimum, and matched to the site, not just whoever was free.
ERT Site Checks
An ERT Officer comes out, checks the post, and verifies the work against the orders. Then we tell you what we found.
Reporting You'll Read
Clear, concise, complete, accurate. A record of every shift, sent to you, not stored for us.
A 30-Day Startup
Site assessment, post orders built with you, recruitment, training, compliance. A process, not a hope.
Most security problems aren't caused by a bad Officer. They're caused by a company that placed one and walked away.
Every ARDENT Officer completes 16 hours of ARDENT training on top of Florida's required 40-hour Class D certification, before they ever stand a post. And we pay above the market rate. That isn't generosity. It's how you get the same Officer on your site next month instead of a stranger every few weeks.
Five things done properly still leave you one question on a bad night. Who do you call when they aren't?
Who Picks Up When You Call.
The number one complaint about security companies is that nobody picks up. It's the last place a good standard goes to die, so we split the job three ways and put a real person behind each one.
Client Success
Your first call, about anything at all. We hire Client Success out of customer-service backgrounds rather than sales, because we want people who are genuinely good at solving a problem, not closing one.
Operations Leadership
The people who run the coverage in your area. Scheduling, ERT site checks, post orders, incidents, Officer performance. Anything happening on your property right now.
Finance & Admin
Invoices, contracts, certificates of insurance, and the paperwork your procurement team needs. A real person with a real answer, not a portal and a ticket number.
Not sure who to call?
Call Client Success. It's what they're there for. They won't sell you anything and they won't pass you around. They'll either fix it themselves or walk you over to the person who can, and then stay on it until it's actually done.
"At the end of the day, my goal is only to guide you toward a provider you can trust. I'm truly not concerned about it being ARDENT."
Darryl Johnson · Founder & CEOThose three teams sit behind every job we take. And we take a wider range of them than most people expect.
What We Can Cover.
Guard Services
Armed and unarmed Officers for commercial, residential, and retail properties. Post orders, patrols, access control, and a clear escalation ladder so a situation doesn't become an incident.
Learn moreFire Watch
Professional Fire Watch when your system is impaired or a hazard is present. Continuous foot patrols, documented rounds, and logs filed with the Fire Marshal. One night or ongoing.
Learn moreEvent Security
Event security isn't a pile of Officers you add at the end. It's a plan you build from the start. Venue walkthrough, crowd flow, credentialing, and a named lead who owns your event.
Learn moreExecutive Protection
Risk management built around one person and how they move through their day. Advance work, discretion, and Agents who make the job look uneventful, because that's what success looks like.
Learn moreWorkplace Violence Prevention
Support for terminations, threats, and elevated-risk periods. HR and leadership own the conversation. Our Agents bring presence, readiness, and calm, and know exactly where the line is.
Learn moreInformation Removal
Protection at the door only solves half the problem if your home address is a search result. We find your personal information on data brokers and people-search sites and work to get it taken down.
Learn moreMost of that gets planned weeks ahead of the first shift. Some of it has to start tonight.
Fire System Down?
You Can Probably Have Someone Tonight.
Most companies handle urgent work by grabbing whoever's free. We built a standing Emergency Response Team for it: Officers and Agents kept on the bench for exactly this, so a 2 a.m. problem is a phone call instead of a scramble.
We're fast because the readiness is built before the phone rings, not after. What we won't do is promise you a number before we know your site. Call us and you'll get a real answer about tonight.
"Even on short notice Ardent has had officers onsite the next day after we request them. The officers have always been very professional to work with."
John Enos · Google"Ardent protection is a great company and they answering at the right moment when people reach them out."
Edwine St Preux · Google"Very professional from the original phone call and at each step of the service. Delivered exactly what we were looking for! Highly recommended"
Daniel Dames · GoogleSpeed is an easy thing to claim in a sales meeting. It's a much harder thing to claim in somebody else's words.
What Clients Say When We're Not in the Room.
"ARDENT PROTECTION has far exceeded our expectations. From the first phone call they have demonstrated the utmost professionalism. The owner met with us to outline a detailed plan that met our unique needs. I can not have asked for more or better service. I recommend this company without reservation. As circumstances have arisen, the on site staff have responded in real time with no hesitation. This has been a really great experience."
"I cannot speak highly enough of Ardent Protection's executive protection services. They were incredibly thorough, ensuring the family felt safe and secure throughout our time with them. Their team was highly action-oriented, always one step ahead and ready to address any situation that arose."
"We hired Ardent to protect our neighborhood, they are fantastic about communication and the staff is very friendly. We've noticed a drastic reduction in traffic in the community and have a much better sense of safety when the Ardent team is present."
Reviews like these tell you about the good days. What you're actually buying is the bad one.
Two Providers Can Look Identical
Until Something Happens.
Same uniform. Same badge. A similar rate on the quote. You can't tell the difference by looking, and the truth only comes out when something gets tested. The line that actually matters isn't the name on the truck. It's whether a company just fills your shifts, or actually manages the post.
| Where it shows | Filling the shift | Managing the post |
|---|---|---|
| How the job is seen | Fill the shift, send the invoice | Protect the property, and represent you while we do it |
| Post orders | A blank clipboard, or a generic template | Written for your site, and updated as the site changes |
| Supervision | Nobody comes back after the contract is signed | Scheduled and unannounced site checks, and you hear what was found. Ours are run by ERT Officers. |
| Their own Officers | Whoever was available | Trained past the state minimum, paid above market, kept |
| An 11 p.m. call-out | Phone calls, and hoping somebody answers | A standing bench that was ready before you called. Ours is the ERT. |
| The worst night | Silence, spin, or blame | Facts, a response, and an honest recap of what changes |
There's one question worth putting to every company you're considering. Including us.
"What happens when my Officer calls out at 11 p.m.?"
Every provider has coverage on a normal night. You're trying to learn what happens on a bad one, because that's the night you'll remember. The answer comes fast, and it tells you almost everything. If ours doesn't hold up, you've learned something about us too.
Managing a post only works if somebody is close enough to actually do it. Which is why the person who answers your call knows your county.
Statewide Reach.
Local Teams.
We serve all of Florida. Wherever your property is, you're working with Officers who know the area and a local number that reaches people who know your site.
Call Your Area
Fort LauderdaleBroward County(954) 787-3700 MiamiMiami-Dade County(786) 646-2633 West Palm BeachPalm Beach County(561) 584-8483 OrlandoOrange County(407) 479-4994 TampaHillsborough County(813) 710-6776 JacksonvilleDuval County(904) 618-2343Headquarters
4790 Hiatus Rd
Sunrise, FL 33351
Main line: (954) 787-3700
Answered 24/7, by a person.
Careers
Our founder, Darryl Johnson, started out standing a post. That's why we train past the state minimum, pay above the market, and treat this like a profession instead of a shift you fill.
View Open RolesThat's the number, and a person answers it. Most people have a few questions before they use it.
Before You Hire Anyone
These are the questions we get asked most. They're worth putting to any security company you're considering, and the answers are worth comparing.
What happens when my Officer calls out at 11 p.m.?
An ERT Officer fills it. Our Emergency Response Team is a standing bench kept ready for exactly this, and they're briefed on your post orders before they arrive. A provider without one starts making phone calls and hopes somebody answers. It's a fair question to put to any security company you're considering, and the answer usually tells you most of what you need to know.
Can I see a sample set of post orders before I sign?
Yes, and it's worth asking any provider for them. Post orders are where the standard actually lives. If a company can't show you what they'd write for your site, or hands you a template with another client's name still in it, you've learned something important.
We already have a guard on site. Can't they just do the Fire Watch too?
No, and this one costs people real money. Fire Watch requires dedicated attention. If a Fire Marshal finds your Officer was also handling security duties at the same time, they may determine the property had no compliant Fire Watch at all, which can mean you're treated as though you had none. It needs to be a separate assignment. There's more on this, including what the code actually says, on our Fire Watch page.
How fast can you actually get someone on site?
Our standard Fire Watch setup is four hours, and our fastest was under 60 minutes. Short-notice Guard Services is typically 24 hours. But it honestly depends on your location, the time of day, and how much we know about your site when you call. Be wary of any provider who promises an exact arrival time before knowing anything about your need. That's a sales reflex, not an operational answer.
Are your Officers licensed, and how much training do they actually get?
ARDENT is licensed and insured in Florida, license #B1900411. Every Officer holds a current Class D license. Every ARDENT Officer completes 16 hours of ARDENT training on top of Florida's required 40-hour Class D certification, before they ever stand a post. The state hours are a minimum, not a ceiling.
What does it cost?
Unarmed Guard Services typically run $28 to $40 an hour in this market, armed $38 to $55, and Fire Watch $35 to $55. The full ranges, and the eight things that move a quote inside them, are published on our Pricing page, no phone number required. What we'll add honestly: a cheap Officer who's often missing, unprepared, or unprofessional costs far more than the few dollars an hour you saved. The right question isn't who's cheapest. It's who gives you reliable coverage at a fair price.
Those are worth putting to any company you're considering. And if you'd rather make up your own mind before you talk to anybody at all, that's a good instinct.
Three Things Worth Knowing
Before You Hire Anyone.
Useful whether or not you ever call us, and just as useful with any provider you're considering.
Who Actually Checks On Your Security Officer?
Supervision is the thing every company claims and almost nobody defines. What a real site check involves, and the question that exposes a company that isn't doing them.
Read itWhat Separates a Real Provider From One Just Filling Shifts
Two quotes can look identical. The difference shows up on the worst night, not the first one. This is what to look for before you find out the hard way.
Read itFlorida Fire Watch Requirements, in Plain English
What the code actually says, the thresholds nobody explains, and why the hours are counted cumulatively rather than consecutively. The single most misunderstood rule in fire watch.
Read itYou might come away deciding you don't need us at all. That's a perfectly good outcome. It's the guessing we're trying to put an end to.
Let's Talk About Your Site
or Your Situation.
Get a site assessment and you'll get a straight read on what your property actually needs, including when that's less than you were told. If you're in a hole right now, skip the form and call (954) 787-3700. Someone will pick up.