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For current Patrol Special clients: Academic Survey Request from Dr. Edward Stringham, San Jose State University |
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| FAQ's |
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Q. How does a SF Patrol Special Police
Officer differ from a regular SFPD Police Officer? A. First, Patrol Special Police Officers focus on cost-effective early intervention in a disturbance, and prevention before a crime occurs, not costly law enforcement after the fact. They provide policing that is often called 'quality-of-life' or 'order maintenance' policing regarding issues that if left unattended, can spiral downward into more serious crime. By their uniformed, armed, and visible presence with police radio communications, walking the same streets and visiting the same markets and businesses of a neighborhood day after day, Patrol Special Police Officers become a welcome neighborhood presence. They watch out for the safety of everyone -- and become 'watched out for' and avoided by those intent upon perpetrating mischief. They aren't called down town to complete paperwork or respond to crime across town; they stay close at hand. They don't have to report statistics at the end of the day in order to prove their value or justify their keep. Indeed, a day without statistics to report is a day of Patrol Special policing success! Second, the Patrol Special Police have a unique culture of care and respect for the neighborhoods they serve. They conform their demeanor to the unique characteristics of the particular neighborhood they serve. They quickly get to know by name those whom they serve, and those working in or visiting the neighborhood. They become the eyes and ears of the community, and are often consulted by San Francisco Police Department (S.F.P.D.) officers who come into a neighborhood attempting to locate a suspect. Patrol Special Police put a friendly face on policing, and become a welcome part of the fabric of community life. They become active members of their neighborhood community, attending meetings of merchants and residents. They become the 'go to' official for advice, and are often the first responder to incidents or disturbances, even long before the public police officer can arrive. They attend to immediate safety and security needs, then give the person creating a disturbance the chance to do the right thing first, without using heavy-handed methods or making unneeded arrests. Third, the Patrol Special Police provide the very best kind of policing, truly "green" policing that organically arises directly from the needs and requirements of the client and the neighborhood. It is not defined by others or imposed from City Hall. Patrol Special Police don't have to "learn how to" do community policing developed by public police from the top down; Patrol Special Police provide neighborhood policing from the bottom up. Clients don't have to demand that they be heard or their priorities considered. The Patrol Special Police start – not finish -- by listening carefully to the needs expressed by their private clients and by everyone. Then they advise clients based on best policing practices plus their many years of continuous policing experience. They don't concentrate on large-district coverage, requiring high-performance patrol cars and expensive gas. They focus on foot patrols, walking pass-by services and security details after closing hours, and other non-car-based security services. Their 'office' is the neighborhood street; they have no 'police department' building with high overhead costs, and no civil service salaries or pensions to pay. Their personnel practices don't burden coming generations of taxpayers with high severance packages or inflated pension costs. Patrol officers don't often 'turn over', and many remain for years serving the same neighborhoods and same clients, even up to 40 years and more of service in some districts of San Francisco. Fourth, the Patrol Special Police can respond quickly and flexibly to both disturbances and client/community needs. They can quickly alter their patrol hours and routes, focusing on "hot spots" as they develop for a particular community, business, or individual client. Fifth, the Patrol Special Police officer is paid for by a private client for a specific service desired, and not by taxpayer dollars for a generalized service. Private clients include merchants, professional businesses, residential associations, individual residents, or organizations. Services may be periodic (such as at holidays or during vacations), for a specific event (such as a street fair or concert), or more frequent such as daily, weekly or monthly patrols. Q. What kind of services can you provide? A. Services range widely and may include the following: standby security watches, street patrols, individual security details for public persons or politicians, money drop security, emergency service or natural disaster response (such as earthquakes or floods), interior checks for warehouses and homes, and other. Q. How much do I have to pay? A. That depends upon several factors, and how the Patrol Special service arises in your neighborhood. Some merchant associations who employ a Patrol Special Police Officer, set a recommended monthly amount to be paid by each business for a basic level and type of service. Your Patrol Special Police Officer can advise about that. Sometimes a specific client inside of a given service area, may want additional service in hours or type, above and beyond that provided as the basic service unit by the hiring group. In some neighborhoods, each resident or merchant pays a month fee direct to their Officer and based upon their individual business or family budget. In any of the above scenarios, the hourly rate for standard patrol and pass-by services are among the most competitive and value driven. Contact us for a no-obligation personalized rate evaluation. In all cases, contributions and service contracts are entirely voluntary, are typically billed on a month-by-month basis, and require only a month's written notice to terminate. Clients may always request the period of billing and specific service package they desire. No client and no neighborhood business, customer, visitor, or shopper will ever be discriminated against in terms of service delivery. However, specific subscribers who pay for the additional policing service will obviously enjoy certain special safety benefits such personal visits, additional escort service, vacation home or business checks, and emergency or disaster service response as needed and requested. Q. I already pay taxes for S.F.P.D. policing service. Why should I pay even more for Patrol Special policing? A. While our public police work hard to preserve safety, consider the fact that they are often overburdened and serve districts covering large geographic areas, or neighborhoods with high levels of violent or serious crime on which attention and scare personnel resources must be focused. Consider that public police cannot be on every street, watching every corner in a neighborhood. On a daily basis they simply cannot visit every shop, market, hotel, or office, and stand by to answer specific questions, alert you to what new streets or types of public behavior is attracting criminal attention, explain what new precautions need to be taken, and listen to everyone's opinion. Typically they do not have the time to get to know you personally. They don't serve limited geographic areas so they can easily identify newcomers and behavior which might not be typical of neighborhood patterns of business and residential life. They aren't often aware of what is out of the ordinary, and might constitute a potential threat to the public peace. Normally, public police do not drop by your home or business doorstep to find out how you are doing and what your concerns are. Sometimes public police are occupied elsewhere when a merchant or street festival client calls for help with a potential shoplifter or disorderly person. Patrol Special Police clients appreciate the above exigencies faced by public police. However, they also believe they deserve and need prompt, additional safety and security services to maintain their desired quality of business, family, and neighborhood life. They believe they have a right to live free of fear and in safety. They wish to participate in democratically defining the specific safety services they desire. They see the Patrol Special Police as a valuable policing service complementary to public policing, but not as a replacement. These are only some of the reasons Patrol Special policing makes sense for any individual, community, or group that cares about its overall peace-of-mind and welfare of residents, visitors, and merchants alike. Q. What neighborhoods hire Patrol Special Police? A. Almost all neighborhoods in San Francisco do, or have, hired Patrol Special Police. If you are interested in discussing your safety needs, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We will happily arrange to meet with your personally, or present our fascinating and entertaining PowerPoint presentation at your next residents or merchant’s meeting or association planning committee. Please email: Q. Do you have proof that Patrol Special Police are effective? A. Yes. Our longevity of service contracts entered into by satisfied clients, and our 161-year history of continuous service to San Francisco, speaks to our success, as does the following information. Over time, various neighborhoods, housing projects, or shopping centers in San Francisco have suffered waves of disturbances and active crime. For example, such was the case in the Diamond Heights Shopping Center in the 1970s. However, after a Patrol Special Police Officer and his team worked the area, crime abated and all but disappeared. The property manager confirms that many families of youngsters living near by, drop by her office years after their children are grown, to personally thank her and the Officer for not reporting minor incidents or treating their children as common criminals when they were not, and for taking steps to impress on youth the importance of respecting others, property, and themselves, and abiding by the law. Glen Park was set upon by a wave of crime in late 2008, hired a Patrol Special Police Officer. Residents and merchants joined together in a grass roots effort to hire a Patrol Special Police Officer. A few short months later, the steering committee noted an evident abatement of fear in the neighborhood, less loitering on the streets, less loud music in passing cars, an abatement of graffiti, and several shoplifters caught in the act with property returned and the incident successfully and peaceably concluded. The Castro district bar and shop owners write us to thank us for handling problems of the homeless and panhandling in or around their business, and quelling possible disturbances in the bars. Please inquire if you would like a list of specific references whom you may contact regarding our service performance. Q. I realize that if I contract for additional policing service, not everyone in my area will be chipping in. Won’t they be receiving a benefit for which they are not paying? A. It is true that everyone benefits when a Patrol Special Police Officer walks by other buildings in your area, greeting other passing shoppers and shopkeepers in route to visit your shop, home, or business. Therefore, you and other clients are to be commended for providing a beneficial community improvement service as an indirect result of your individual contract. You act to improve safety not only for yourself and your family or individual business, but also for your block or neighborhood. This is a type of community service is akin to those provided by volunteers who contribute time and/or funds to clean up parks, plant trees, organize street fairs and other events to promote local businesses and charities, or contribute articles and comments for local newspapers. Others clearly benefit from the efforts of others and without paying, however this fact of life does not stop the civic-minded person. Please also note two things. First, no one will pay any amount that he or she does not voluntarily choose to pay when they hire a Patrol Special Police Officer, so the contract fee is not a matter of a forced tax imposed by government from afar. Second, subscribers to the service receive more benefits, not the same as do non-subscribers. Depending upon what they request, subscribers can receive emergency call services, security detail/escort and vacation home or business check services, and other. Patrol Special Police Officers have even been known to pick up newspapers from outside a home during vacations, enter homes or warehouses for security checks, walk a senior home from church, and even walk the family dog upon request! Q. How would I benefit from hiring a Patrol Special Police Officer, rather than a private security company, or an off-duty public police officer? A. You benefit from Patrol Special Police Officer service, because our Officers are on police radio frequencies and in constant contact with news about what is going on in your neighborhood and in outer areas, indicating the possibility of incidents flowing over into your area. Our Officers are initially subject to the same security background checks as the public police, are annually trained at the S.F.P.D. Academy, and are overseen by the Police Commission, rather than merely regulated by non-police civilians in the State Department of Consumer Affairs, as are private security guards. Our Assistant Patrol Special Police Officers are annually trained four times on the range, compared to the S.F.P.D. Officer who trains only twice on the range. Our Officers report in daily to the S.F.P.D. District Captain, and they enjoy cordial professional relations with their colleague foot patrol S.F.P.D. officers on the street, and are frequently called by them for backup or local information needed for law enforcement activities. On the other hand, Patrol Special Police Officers cost one-half the hourly rate of the public police off-duty officer in San Francisco. As well they cost the community far less for general crime prevention and early intervention safety, than what must be paid for law enforcement and prosecution after-the-fact. Doesn’t it make sense to address and solve to a small problem and avert a large crime, by using a cost-effective policing service specifically trained, experienced and therefore equipped to handle just this kind of incident? |