Before you contact any patrol partners, decide what your community needs and build a short list of candidates. Clear requirements make the RFP easier to write and the responses easier to compare.

This is the first of three articles on selecting a patrol partner. Next, see Selecting a patrol partner: RFP questions to ask. If your community patrols with its own team, you can skip this process.

Define your requirements

Coverage

• How often do you need patrol? Daily, several times a day, overnight only, or weekends only. Communities with daytime traffic often need different coverage than mostly residential ones.

• What hours? Many communities focus on overnight enforcement. Others need daytime presence around amenity areas.

• Are there high-risk zones? Fire lanes, accessible spaces, reserved spaces, and garage entrances. Your patrol partner should know where to focus.

Enforcement scope

• Which actions does your community authorize? Warnings, citations, boots, and tows. Some communities allow all four, and others stop at citations.

• What are your escalation rules? For example, a warning for a first offense, a citation for a second, and a tow for a third. Your parking policy should spell this out, and your patrol partner needs to follow it.

• Do state rules apply? Some states have their own signage, dispute, and timing rules. Colorado, for example, requires real-time tow authorization. See State compliance overview.

Working in ParkingPass

• Your patrol partner needs to use ParkingPass. Every patrol, warning, citation, boot, and tow should be recorded in ParkingPass. Your records, reports, and dispute workflow depend on it.

• Their patrol staff need training. The records you see in Patrol Analytics are only as good as the data your patrol partner enters.

Budget and pricing structure

• How do you want to pay? Patrol partners may charge a flat fee, a per-patrol fee, a hybrid, or a revenue-share model. Knowing your budget helps you narrow the list.

• Who handles tow recovery fees? Usually the patrol partner does, but it varies. Some communities use a separate tow company, and others bundle towing with patrol.

Build your shortlist

Good places to find candidates:

• The ParkingPass enforcement company directory. Patrol partners already working in ParkingPass know how it works.

• Referrals from similar communities. A community like yours in size, location, and type that's happy with its patrol partner is a strong signal.

• Industry associations. Local apartment and HOA associations often keep lists of referenced patrol partners.

• Your current patrol partner, at renewal. Include them, but evaluate them like any other candidate. See Handling a patrol vendor renewal.

• Nearby communities. Some markets have a few large patrol partners, and others have many. Talking to communities nearby gives you a quick read.

Aim for three to five candidates. More is hard to evaluate carefully, and fewer limits your options.

Common questions

Should we use a patrol partner ParkingPass recommends, or pick our own?

Either works. Patrol partners who already know ParkingPass get started faster. Others can be just as effective once they learn it. The choice usually comes down to local fit, references, and pricing.

How long does selection take?

Usually 4 to 8 weeks from first outreach to a signed contract. It depends on how quickly candidates respond and how your community makes decisions. HOAs with monthly board meetings sometimes take longer.

Who should run the selection?

At apartment communities, it's usually the property manager, with input from the regional team. At HOAs, the property manager often runs the RFP and brings a recommendation to the board. See Who decides at HOAs and apartments.

Important notes

• Patrol partner options vary widely by region. What's standard in one city may not be available in another.

• Switching patrol partners takes time, resident communication, and training. Careful selection up front is worth the effort.