Private Police Post-SHTF

I thought you might find this interesting – several neighborhoods in
greater Seattle are now paying for additional police patrols
(utilizing off-duty officers).
A-

Fed up with crime, Seattle residents hiring off-duty officers

By Cayle Thompson Published: Jan 1, 2015 at 4:18 PM PST Last Updated: Jan 2, 2015 at 9:23 AM PST

SEATTLE — Residents in North Seattle’s Whittier Heights neighborhood say they are tired of crime. So beginning with the new year, they are hiring additional help.
“The plan is to have more patrols,” said resident Brad Renton.
Renton is the director of the newly formed Whittier Heights Patrol Association, a state chartered non-profit he started in November after witnessing several crimes in his neighborhood.
“One of them was a strong armed robbery at the pet store,” Renton said. “It happened about eight feet from me.”
Renton says there are hotspots in the neighborhood, including nearby Baker Park, where has graffiti and signs warning against drug use.
As of January 1st, already vigilant neighbors will have reinforcement from off-duty Seattle Police officers, hired for after-hours work through Seattle Securities, Inc. Officers will wear their uniform, but patrol in unmarked cars.
Neighbors act as “subscribers,” paying a yearly $250 fee. One “subscription” covers one night of patrol. Renton says his goal is to have more than 300 subscribers. As of January 1st, neighbors have nearly a month covered.
Renton says patrols won’t happen every night. Instead, off-duty officers will target nights in which crimes are statistically more likely to happen.
“You’ll see them,” Renton assures. “They’ll be here. Their presence will be noted.”
SPD already patrols Whittier Heights and surrounding areas. In October, police busted a major North Seattle crime ring believed to be responsible for hundreds of burglaries, stolen mail, and identity theft.
But it followed a leaked memo from police, admitting their North Precinct is short staffed.
Seattle police say they have heard the concerns, and are working to address response times to property crime in areas like Whittier Heights, including hiring more officers.
Until then, Renton and his neighbors see the private patrols as an opportunity to step up and tell criminals to get out.
“We felt this was something we could do to keep our neighborhood intact and improve the quality of life,” Renton said. “This is a good place.”

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Fed-up-with-crime-Seattle-residents-hiring-off-duty-officers-287301091.html

 

Hi,
Interesting, it seems to be happening in other parts as well.

That’s very common in Argentina. I paid off-duty cops doing private security in my neighborhood for years. Of course, it is open for debate. On one hand, with his own time an off-duty officer can do whatever he wants. At the same time, you could ask why is he charging for something he’s already supposed to be doing, which is keeping the neighborhood safe. There’s a bit of a conflict of interest there. Either way, in my experience it was well worth paying a bit extra each month for the added security. The blocks that were guarded where safe, the one’s that weren’t, well, you can figure they weren’t as safe.
It’s interesting to see yet another similarity. Years ago it was easy to see how something like this would eventually happen and I have written about it many times. How as the infrastructure and public services start failing and suffering they slowly become “privatized”, increasing the gap between those that can pay for it and those that cant.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.