Santa Cruz Police to Outsource Harvey West Patrols

In response to community complaints of drug sales, drug use and unsavory elements taking over Harvey West Park, the Santa Cruz Police Department has hired First Alarm Security to do eight-hour patrols every day.

The department has used the same service for adding to downtown patrols after merchants and shoppers asked for more police presence there.

The reasons to outsource are simple: economics. It's cheaper to pay outsiders to do the patrol than it is to use sworn officers, who earn more in salary and benefits, and can often be tied up with two hours of paperwork after an arrest.

"It's more cost effective than paying an officer," said Deputy Chief Steve Clark. "It allows us to free up police officers for more serious issues."

Clark disagrees that this is outsourcing, but says it is a way to get more police services with less money.

 "Outsourcing connotes a subrogation or surrendering of primary responsibility," he said in an email. "We are NOT subrogating our responsibility to police the city.  In fact the area will still be patrolled by police just as much, if not more.

" We are providing an additional presence they might not otherwise receive with the current resources we have.  Using the private security allows us to enhance the presence of uniformed personnel in certain areas.  It is a less expensive way to provide this presence (not policing), especially when the officers are committed to other higher priority calls.  It is an effective and innovative way to use salary savings from unfilled positions at the police department."

The new patrols started Monday and will help keep a police presence in the industrial and park area that includes Costco, Plantronics and the Little League fields, swimming pool and camping areas that are in Harvey West Park. 

Such patrols cost the city about $4,000 to $6,000 a month, according to police spokesman Zach Friend, a big savings from the cost of fulltime sworn officers, whose salary and benefits are paid by the city.

The private security officers do not carry guns, but are trained in making arrests and instructed to call for police when needed.

The money to pay First Alarm workers is coming from funds budgeted to hire new officers who have not yet been hired.