Oakland Calf can not protect you.
Budget restraints prompt city to debate private guards vs. police—again
By Leischen Stelter - 10.06.2009
OAKLAND, Calif.—In the wake of major budget shortfalls, at the end of October the city of Oakland will once again consider how it can afford to protect businesses and citizens.
In March, four police officers were shot and killed in the area of MacArthur Boulevard, prompting an outcry for additional protection in the area. However, finding the money to pay for additional patrols proved to be costly, especially in light of the city’s $80 million budget shortfall. In an effort to save money, the city council considered using private armed guards instead of paying overtime for police officers to patrol the area.
“There was a push by the city council to put security guards on the street because private guards are cheaper than police officers,” said Officer Jeff Thomason, public information officer for the Oakland Police Department. “But from our perspective, it’s a liability. They’re not highly trained and they might be placed in a situation where they have to use deadly force.”
The mayor’s office agreed with the police department’s stance. “The mayor was reticent to put armed guards into an area where four police officers had been shot and felt trained law enforcement was necessary,” said Karen Boyd, strategic communications manager for the city of Oakland.
“The city council voted and agreed with us and instead of giving $180,000 to a security company they gave it to us to work overtime,” he said. The police department began running a pilot program of a walking patrol in the MacArthur area commercial district and so far has received positive results from the program. “The immediate feedback from merchants was that they felt it was a worthwhile program and wanted to see it continued,” said Larry Gallegos, redevelopment area manager for East Oakland. “A lot of them expressed a better feeling of public safety and said their businesses were in better shape with the presence of police officers on walking patrol.”
However, the funding for the pilot program only lasted about three months, since officers assigned to the walking patrol were paid in overtime hours. At the end of October, the police department, along with the business redevelopment office, will present a status report of the program to the city council to seek additional funding. The council will decide whether to continue funding the initiative or again seek alternatives to protecting the area.
One consideration may be the use of security ambassadors, which the city utilizes in its downtown area, Gallegos said. The ambassadors are unarmed security personnel that act largely as a deterrent factor to crime.
“I’m not sure if the council will consider unarmed guards for this program, but it’s all open for debate,” said Gallegos. “Budget is a major issue and there are little funds that are unaccounted for at this time, so it would be hard pressed to come up with additional funds.”
Here is a wacky thought maybe start issueing more CCW's or allowing honest hard working people OC? Bet crime would drop down in a heart beat.
This is really funny..........
Quote:
One consideration may be the use of security ambassadors, which the city utilizes in its downtown area, Gallegos said. The ambassadors are unarmed security personnel that act largely as a deterrent factor to crime.
A deterrent......:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl :
