Citadel Security officers keeping the peace in several Colorado towns
Grand Junction June 8 2020 During the coronavirus shutdown this spring, the Downtown Development Authority hired extra security to patrol the empty downtown streets.
Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Brandon Stam said the security firm was hired after several business owners requested more surveillance on their shuttered storefronts.
“Data shows more eyes on the street, the safer everyone feels,” Stam said.
He said Grand Junction was not the only municipality to see additional security in downtown during the closure as the same security company, Citadel Security, was hired for Glenwood Springs.
Headquartered in Rifle, Citadel Security provides security guard services, health care security, security patrols and more. Its security guard services are provided for residential areas, as well as construction sites, oil field security, offices, hotels and retail loss prevention.
The company’s chief operating officer, Brent Jagger, said Citadel has had a contract with the city of Grand Junction for several years for vehicle patrol and security services to various parks and different businesses but the downtown patrol brings “added eyes and ears with everything closed up.”
He said one officer conducts a 4-hour nightly foot patrol around the downtown area, heading down Main Street between First and Seventh streets, and monitors nearby streets as well.
“We’re making sure businesses aren’t being vandalized,” he said. “We’re keeping an eye on the transient population and making sure the city codes are being enforced.”
Other than a few broken liquor bottles and people sleeping in doorways, he said it’s been pretty quiet.
He said his employees have seen a change in attitude in the past week or so in their interactions as protests over George Floyd’s death and police brutality continue across the U.S. The Citadel guards wear uniforms on their patrols, with badges so they can be clearly seen as security officers.
The added security is meant to complement the Grand Junction Police Department patrol and serves as “reassurance” for business owners, Stam added.
“During the closure, we didn’t know when things were going to open up. Some of these businesses were designed to have foot traffic volume and we wanted to provide safety and assurance with everything going on,” he said.
They were hired during the closure at about $23 a hour and Stam was unsure how long they would remain on duty.
He said since the added security was brought in, they have only reported a few incidents to the GJPD, which he considered to be fairly routine for the downtown area.
“Downtown is coming back alive a bit but we’re still a ways from where we were,” he said.
