By DUG BEGLEY
The Press-Enterprise
June 24, 2009
Uniformed security guards will stick around the downtown Riverside bus station a bit longer, under a plan regional bus system officials are considering Thursday.
Riverside Transit Agency's board of directors will discuss a staff-supported plan to continue using Barry's Security Services guards during operating hours at the bus system terminal off Mission Inn Boulevard in downtown Riverside.
The two-year contract includes an additional three years if both the bus system and Barry's agree. Over five years, the bus system will pay almost $434,000.
The company was chosen for a test project in September, and will continue on if the board approves. Bus system spokesman Brad Weaver said officials are pleased with the guards, adding their presence seems to have reduced complaints by riders who use the station.
"One of the key reasons for the improvement is the fact that Barry's uniformed officers are present at the station during all hours of operation," Weaver said. "Our agreement with the Riverside Police Department, on the other hand, provided security for just five total hours per day."
Weaver said the agency didn't have data comparing the number of complaints before and after guards were placed at the station, but said reports from drivers indicated the guards were improving the station's perception.
Though he has not received much feedback on the bus system's security contract, Riverside Councilman Mike Gardner said hiring the firm made sense.
"My understanding is that they felt they could provide many more hours of security," Gardner said, citing the hourly cost difference between private security and paying officers overtime rates.
Gardner said there is a distinction between security and police, and the roles should not be confused.
"I think police officers, with the power to cite and arrest, are a greater deterrent than private security, but it isn't the police department's role to provide security," he said.
Placing guards at the station is not the only safety feature, bus system officials said. Security cameras were installed last year, giving officials and police a chance to review incidents.
Private security is also planned by transit centers in Corona, Perris and Temecula once they are built in the coming years, Weaver said.
Reach Dug Begley at 951-368-9475 or dbegley@PE.com |
