Imperial Security started at 2555 Poplar Avenue in Memphis back in 1968 and never left. The building is still their headquarters, and after nearly six decades, they’ve stretched from that one office into a nationwide operation covering 20-plus states with more than a thousand employees. The Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce lists them as a member. The BBB gives them an A+ rating. They answer the phone around the clock, seven days a week.
That kind of growth from a single Memphis office to a coast-to-coast presence tells you something about how they run the business. It also tells you who they’re running it for: big accounts with big budgets and complicated needs.
The Imperial Difference (Their Words, Not Mine)
Imperial brands their approach as “The Imperial Difference,” a total quality management system they’ve refined over the decades. Strip away the marketing language and what it means in practice is this: they train officers for specific industries rather than dropping a warm body at your front door and hoping for the best.
Their strongest verticals are transportation, distribution, and logistics. If you run a warehouse complex off I-40 or a distribution center near the Memphis intermodal yard, Imperial’s officers know that environment. They understand dock security, driver screening protocols, cargo tracking, and the specific theft patterns that hit supply chain facilities.
Healthcare is another area where they’ve invested heavily. Hospital security is a different animal from warehouse security, and Imperial trains accordingly. Patient interaction, de-escalation in emergency rooms, visitor management, and HIPAA-adjacent protocols are all part of their healthcare officer training.
They also handle petrochemical and energy sites, commercial real estate, and hospitality. The breadth of the service menu is real, not marketing fluff.
Services Worth Knowing About
The standard offerings (armed guards, unarmed guards, patrol, access control) are table stakes. Every security company in Memphis provides those. What separates Imperial from many competitors:
Undercover operatives. If you suspect internal theft at a distribution center or retail operation, Imperial can place an undercover officer on your staff. Few Memphis-area firms maintain this capability in-house.
High-value cargo escort. Pharmaceutical shipments, electronics loads, and other high-theft-risk cargo moving through Memphis (the logistics capital of the country, after all) can get armed escort service from origin to destination.
Mobile field supervisors. Instead of just sending a guard to a post and checking in once a month, Imperial runs field supervisors who make unannounced visits, verify post orders are being followed, and handle on-site issues in real time.
Fire watch. When a building’s fire suppression system goes offline for maintenance or repair, Tennessee code requires a fire watch. Imperial staffs these short-notice assignments without the scramble that smaller firms sometimes go through.
The Size Question
Here’s where I’ll be straight with you. Imperial is built for contracts that involve ten or more officers, multiple shifts, and multi-site coordination. Their infrastructure, their pricing, and their management attention all orient around those larger engagements.
If you’re a small retail shop on Summer Avenue that needs one guard on Friday and Saturday nights, Imperial will take the call. They’ll send someone qualified. You’ll pay a premium for it, though, and you probably won’t have the account manager’s cell number.
I talked to a property manager in East Memphis who switched from Imperial to a smaller local firm in 2025. Her reasoning: “The guards were fine. The billing was fine. I just couldn’t get anyone to sit down with me and actually talk about what was working and what wasn’t.” She managed four properties. For Imperial, that’s a small account. For the local firm she moved to, she’s one of their biggest clients.
That dynamic is predictable and it isn’t unique to Imperial. It’s the inherent tension between corporate scale and personal service.
Employee Reviews: The Other Side
I checked Indeed, Glassdoor, and Facebook reviews from Imperial employees in the Memphis area. The feedback splits along a fault line you’ll find at most large guard companies. Officers who work premium accounts (hospitals, corporate campuses) tend to be more satisfied with their posts, their supervisors, and their schedules. Officers on lower-profile accounts report lower pay, inconsistent scheduling, and limited advancement paths.
This matters to you as a client because guard pay directly affects who shows up at your property. Companies that pay above market attract and keep better people. Companies that squeeze margins on labor attract whoever is available that week.
Imperial’s pay rates for Memphis fall in the middle-to-upper range for the market. Not the highest, not the lowest. The BBB profile shows no unresolved complaints, which is a positive signal for a company this size.
Pricing
Imperial charges more than local independents and less than the global firms (GardaWorld, Securitas, Allied Universal). For their target client, a mid-to-large enterprise with specific industry needs, the pricing reflects real value: trained officers, field supervision, multi-state coordination, and a management layer that handles problems before you hear about them.
For smaller accounts, local alternatives deliver comparable guard quality at lower price points. Shield of Steel, for example, covers statewide Tennessee at rates that typically come in 15-25% below Imperial for similar service levels.
The Verdict
Imperial Security earned its place in the Memphis market over 57 years of continuous operation. They know logistics security. They know healthcare security. They have the bench depth to staff a 30-officer deployment across three states without breaking a sweat. If that matches what you need, they belong on your short list.
If you need one or two guards and a direct line to the owner, look elsewhere. Imperial is built for bigger things, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Know what you’re buying.
Contact Imperial Security:
- Website: imperialsecurity.com
- Phone: (901) 440-4825 or (866) 840-2066
- Address: 2555 Poplar Ave, Memphis, TN 38112