Unarmed security guards could soon patrol parks in Garden Grove and Stanton in an effort to reduce vandalism, drinking in public, camping and deter low-level crimes in the neighboring cities that share a host of similar quality of life issues.
It comes after California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 36 last year – a law that increased punishment on common street crimes like drugs and theft.
[Read: What Does California’s New Street Crime Law Mean for OC in the New Year?]
City officials in Garden Grove are currently finalizing bids for unarmed security guards to patrol a host of parks throughout the city.
“The goal of the program is to reduce vandalism, drug use, unauthorized overnight camping, and other activities that contribute to park and restroom closures. A consistent security presence will help ensure restrooms and other public amenities remain open, clean, and safe for community use,” reads a summary of the bid for services – also known as a request for proposal.
City spokesman Johnathan Garcia said the six-month pilot program proposes unarmed guards patrol Garden Grove Park, Magnolia Park, Eastgate Park, Pioneer Park, Haster Basin and the Chapman Sports Complex.
“Over the past several years, repeated vandalism has led to prolonged closures of park amenities. With more residents and visitors using our parks, reliable restroom access is a priority. The added security presence is intended to deter damage, support compliance with park rules, and enable the City to extend restroom availability,” Garcia said in a Sept. 15 email.
He noted that city council members have yet to discuss the issue and will publicly consider the proposal once city staff gets the proposed contract finalized with the vendor.
It’s a proposal that drew the interest of some city council members in Stanton, who recently kicked off a bidding process for one unarmed security guard to patrol parks and other public areas from Thursday evening to Sunday evening.
Stanton City Councilman Victor Barrios, who proposed the idea, said the presence of an unarmed security guard could help deter crime in a city that contracts with the OC Sheriff for law enforcement.
While there was no staff report on the proposal for the Sept. 9 council meeting, Barrios noted that sheriff’s deputies have seen a sharp rise in calls in recent months.
“Effective private security contributes to safety through visible patrols,” Barrios said. “Making criminals think twice about targeting a protected area.”
But Councilman Gary Taylor raised concerns over just how effective a security guard could be, raising questions over what they can do that a sheriff deputy can’t already handle.
“You know, as soon as they drive away, some of these issues that you see might just appear right back there again. They’re not law enforcement,” Taylor said.
Councilman Donald Torres said the city recently spent an additional $1.6 million on its contract with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to increase patrols and enforce drug laws under Proposition 36.
“Our sheriffs are, you know, struggling to deal with that. I don’t think private security is going to deal with it much better,” Torres said.
Echoing Barrios’ remarks, Mayor David Shawver said the private security guard can help sheriff deputies.
“We know that we have quality of life issues in our city and those quality of life issues could be addressed by simply having the recommended private security come out and take care of it on an as needed basis,” Shawver said.
“Every day I get inundated with calls on quality of life issues.”
The bid proposal ended up passing on a 3-1-1 vote, with Taylor voting no and Torres abstaining.
“I think just let the sheriff’s do their job and get better at their job and if we actually need more specific things, I think it would be smarter to talk to our chief of police about how we fix this rather than go outside and bring in people we don’t know too much about,” Taylor said.
OC Sheriff Captain Ryan Prince – Stanton’s chief of police – cautioned council members that the city could be liable for the private security guard if a lawsuit arises, adding that the sheriff’s department is liable for lawsuits against their deputies, not the city.
“Our deputies are trained to handle people – whether it’s criminal activity, quality of life issues – they are highly trained individuals that you will not find in a private security company,” Prince said, adding that deputies arrested over 100 people for various alleged crimes in July.
City Manager Hannah Shin-Heydorn said that from July through August, there’s been over 100 citations issued to people for issues like public nudity, illegal camping, smoking in parks, standing on street medians, drinking in public and trespassing.
Taylor highlighted what many Stanton residents have raised concerns about – Beach Boulevard, once home to scores of motels that hosted drugs and prostitution and has been a top focus of city officials.
[read: Stanton Cracks Down on Problematic Motels]
“I see problems all the time. But I mean you’re going to have that when you got Beach Boulevard and you’re a low-income city.”
Spencer Custodio is the civic editor. You can reach him at scustodio@voiceofoc.org. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerCustodio.