Bakersfield adding more private security patrols to downtown area
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. August 9 2019 Downtown Bakersfield business owners say vandalism and break ins are becoming all too common.
Bakersfield Police have responded to one hundred reports of these crimes in the past 12 months. Blue Stag, a menswear boutique on F and 20th street had ten break-ins since July 2018, the most recent was last Wednesday, when two masked thieves broke in and stole upwards of $5,000 worth of merchandise.
“I definitely feel frustrated and violated every time,” Carly Elmore, co-owner and operator of Blue Stag, said. “I certainly want it to stop, I just don’t know how to accomplish that.”
Elmore says she’s tried every option available. From locking the doors and leaving the lights on at night, to having an alarm system that calls 911 if there’s a break-in. Even a nightly security guard that patrols her block hasn’t been enough.
“I think they patrol other places in the area as well. So we’re just one of their stops. They’re not here the whole night,” Elmore said.
But that could be changing. The Downtown Business Association’s “Block to Block” program brought business owners together on Tuesday for a collaborative meeting on what to do about frequent theft and vandalism.
The association brought M & S Security Services to the meeting, a downtown business that one in four DBA members turn to for security resources. The DBA said they’d like to partner with M&S to offer an affordable nighttime guard at businesses that want one.
Tim Gojich the owner and operator of Fit for Life gym, appreciated that recommendation.
Four years ago, he hired Bob, a member of his gym and a retired Kern County Firefighter, to patrol outside the gym in the early morning hours. Cars of gym members were getting broken into on a weekly basis.
“His presence alone h as made it so these criminals are realizing this isn’t the place anymore,” Gojich said.
He’s optimistic the DBA’s offer to work with M&S will allow him to hire a professional night time guard, and allow bob to sleep in a little.
Marvin Fuller Jr. president of M&S Security Systems, added that the homeless are not to blame for most of these crimes.
“I think the biggest thing that you’ve got to watch out for is the street crime and drug addict, and the, what we call, ‘service resistant’ people who want to be out there, people who are breaking into cars, people who are abusing the system,” Fuller Jr. said. “The homeless element, for the most part, are pretty docile.”
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