There are more private security guards than police. How much are they paid?

There are 1.3 million private security guards in the U.S., according to a report from the University of California, Berkeley, Labor Center. That’s more than the number of police officers nationwide.

Kurtis Lee is an economics correspondent for The New York Times, who wrote about how prevalent private security guards are, despite their consistently low pay and the lack of regulation surrounding their training.

“As more and more threats of violence happen in public life,” Lee said, “there's going to be a need for security guards to be on the front lines of protection in public places.”

“Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal spoke with Lee about his reporting. Click the audio player above to hear their conversation.