Police Budget Cutbacks and Neighborhood safety in Maryland.

Police Budget Cutbacks and Neighborhood safety in Maryland.

Sounds like an oxymoron, which apparently contradictory. The terms Police Budget Cutbacks do not equal Neighborhood safety.

Residents of a neighborhood grew tired of the crime and slow police responses plaguing their subdivision and decided to find a solution.

This particular neighborhood has experienced a rash of car and home break-ins.

Residences that were victims stated that the crooks left them with $20,000 in damage and stolen property, and the police response was slow:

“I called 911 twice, it took about 45 minutes for Police Department to get there,” Victims said. “It is scary. We didn’t come home for three days and it was really hard to explain to her what happened.”

The homeowners in the area collaborated to hire a private security company to protect their neighborhood.  After that decision there was a dramatic change.

Sources reported

“I think over the last couple of years we’ve seen a 30-40% in providing security for homeowners’ associations.”

Hiring private security firms to improve public safety is not a new concept.  In the US, there are more people working in private security than in all police forces combined.  Private security employment has been growing faster over the last three decades and is expected to grow by 19 percent from 2010 to 2020.

Police departments are not immune from budget cuts, and citizens are taking matters into their own hands to ensure their neighborhoods stay safe.  Robert Stokes, an associate professor at Drexel University who has studied private security, said “These neighborhoods feel like they have no other choice.”

Stokes said 20 neighborhoods in Atlanta and at least four in Detroit have hired private guards. Many other cities – including Chicago and Boston – also have hired private security services.

After Stockton, CA, filed for bankruptcy and laid off 25 percent of its police force in 2009, a sharp increase in burglaries prompted residents in the neighborhood of Bours Park to hire an armed guard to watch over their homes.  The result?  A decline in break-ins.

Private security guards offer a far less costly option than expanding a police force.

In 2009, Oakland, CA was facing a budget shortfall of around $80 million.  About 65% of its budget was used for police and fire services.  Each police officer cost the city around $250,000 annually, including benefits and salary.

Compare that to the $200,000 a year the city can contract to hire four private guards to patrol a district.

Crime in Oakland has increased dramatically in recent years. Robberies are up 54 percent from 2011, burglaries are up almost 40 percent, and vehicle thefts have increased by 33 percent, according to police records.

A small town in Minnesota was paying about $23,000 a month for police services from a neighboring city.  To save money, the town hired General Security Services Corporation, a private security provider, to take over police work.  This resulted in a savings of about $7000 per month.

The Rand Corp., a policy research organization, conducted a study of the 30 improvement districts in the downtown Los Angeles region.  The study showed that districts with private security guards experienced significantly less crime than areas without them. From 1994 to 2005, violent crime dropped on average 8% more compared with the rest of the city during that period.

Chuck Wexler, head of the Police Executive Research Forum, a police think tank in Washington, D.C., said private security patrols are “a sign of the times.”

“Cities are cash-strapped, and they are finding it difficult to keep up with the costs of a municipal police force,” Police are the reactive response to crime, Security Patrols Agencies are the Pro-active method to prevent crime, Keep cost insurance low and keep up and add value to your neighborhood.

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