Private security agencies aid Bakersfield Police Department on patrol
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. Dec 3 2022 Private security agencies are helping out the Bakersfield Police Department keep people safe and the city’s quality of life maintained.
O&A Security is the newest private security group working to keep Downtown Bakersfield streets safe but in a city council meeting we found out the city and the police department have been working alongside another private security agency for years.
Trans-West Security is contracted with the City of Bakersfield and is partnered with Bakersfield Police Department since September of 2019.
“We are using Trans-West across the city,” Greg Terry the Bakersfield police chief said. “We meet with them on a weekly basis and we use data to draw where the points of interest are for Trans-West for that week.”
Trans-West brings about a dozen more officers to assist with low level emergencies like accidents, crime reports and fights across the city. They also help businesses by moving homeless people out of the area.
“Let’s head to the Auto Mall at Gasoline Alley at Pacheco and Harris,” said Zach Austin of Trans-West security patrol. “When we pull into a parking lot like this we’re looking for people sleeping on the sidewalks, on parks, around the building.”
“Trans-West has gone to thousands of incidents across our city that police officers did not have to go to, did not need to go to,” Terry said. “They provided medical aid calls and stood by while medical aid responded.”
The company’s contract isn’t cheap. $87,000 for a three-month period. The money comes from the city’s public safety and vital services fund.
“They’ve interrupted crime, they’ve certainly have helped with trespassing issues and those kinds of quality of life and loitering issues across the city,” Terry said.
Some businesses owners say they haven’t seen too much of a change since the security began its patrols but others say the opposite.
