Although Georgetown residents have hired private security guards with cellphones and flashlights from Securitas Security Services for years, the neighborhood’s anti-crime presence is now stronger than ever before.
Two security pilot projects, jointly funded by the Citizens Association of Georgetown and the University, began on Jan.5.
One project adds a Securitas manager in a scout car to the normal guard force, while a separate agreement with the Metropolitan Police Department will deploy two off-duty police officers to patrol Georgetown on Friday and Saturday nights. CAG Public Safety Committee Co-chair Rob Houseman hopes that the car will help the guard force to be more flexible. Additionally, the new Securitas manager, former military scout and sniper Jonathan Simatos, will improve their coordination and effectiveness.
“We’re looking for him to work with the other guards to make the program more effective,” Houseman said. “[Snipers] are trained to watch.”
In addition to the guards, CAG and the University will pay MPD for two off-duty MPD officers in the neighborhood on Friday and Saturday nights between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. Despite being off-duty, they will be armed, will ride MPD scooters and will have full powers of arrest.
“They are real cops and we’re paying their overtime wages,” Houseman said.
The practice, called reimbursement detail, is common in other D.C. neighborhoods, including Adam’s Morgan and the Waterfront, according to Second District Commander Andy Solberg. Unlike re-distributing forces, paying overtime prevents the department from reducing police in other areas.
“It’s not a new thing,” he said. “This won’t affect our deployment one way or another.”
Houseman emphasized that police on scooters can be more involved in the neighborhood than police in cars, while still remaining mobile.
“It’s easier to just pull your scooter over and ask a question; it’s less formal,” he said.
Three men, two scooters and a scout car, however, do not come cheap.
CAG is about to begin a new initiative to solicit tax-deductible donations: $325 buys the title “Custodian,” $1,000 makes you a “Sentinel”and a $5,000 donation is necessary for “Guardian” status.
According to Houseman, the University has matched CAG’s combined contribution dollar-for-dollar so far.
It remains unclear whether University President John J. DeGioia will be awarded “Guardian” status.
