About RMT Security

Started on the Hāmākua Coast in 1999

RMT Enterprises Security Division opened in Honokaʻa in November 1999, at a time when most security contracts on the island went to firms based in Honolulu or on the mainland. The idea was simple: a company run by people who live on Hawaiʻi Island, who answer their own phone, and whose officers already know the properties and the people.

More than a quarter century later, that is still the whole business model. The company is owned and run by the family that started it. Its owner is Native Hawaiian and a Vietnam veteran, and dispatch is still answered by a person every hour of the year.

What has changed since 1999, and what has not

Since 1999 the island has added whole subdivisions in Puna, gated communities along the Kohala coast, far more events on county grounds, and an alarm or camera system on almost every property we are asked to watch. The work has changed with it: more gates, more job sites, more alarm calls, more reports that have to hold up with an insurer or a board.

What has not changed is the standard. An officer who shows up in uniform and on time, follows the post orders, treats people with respect, and writes down what happened. That is what more than a quarter century of contracts on this island has been built on, and it is the first thing we tell a new hire.

What we do, and what we do not

We provide unarmed security officers for standing posts, mobile patrol and alarm response, event security, residential and estate coverage, and government and institutional facilities.

We do not install alarms or cameras, and we do not do armed work or investigations. We work alongside the alarm companies, property managers, venue staff, and the Hawaiʻi Police Department who do their part, and we are clear about ours.

How officers are trained and supervised

Every officer holds a Hawaiʻi guard card, which requires state-approved training and a background check. On top of that we train for the situations our posts actually produce: a guest at a resort gate at midnight, a trespasser on a farm road, a crowd at a festival exit, a report that a property manager or a police officer has to be able to use.

• Written post orders for every post, approved by you before the first shift
• Supervisors who visit posts during the shift
• A written report after every shift and a call as soon as we know about anything that needs your attention
• Officers assigned as close to home as we can manage, so coverage holds in Kaʻū and Kohala, not just Hilo

Why our officers are unarmed

For the properties and events we serve, a trained, visible, unarmed officer who knows how to talk to people prevents more problems than a weapon would. It also keeps liability low for you and keeps the tone of a place what it should be: a resort, a school, a neighborhood, a celebration. We have built the company on that for more than 25 years.