The City of San Diego wants armed private security guards at the branch libraries in Ocean Beach and Point Loma, as well as the Robb Field Skate Park – and at a whole list of other locations around town.
San Diego is now officially seeking proposals from security firms, according to 10News, “that would authorize armed or enhanced safety personnel outside more than 50 places, including community parks, skate parks, and library branches. The guards could either carry guns or non-lethal weapons, such as mace or hand restraints, depending on the arrangement.”
Comfort stations, euphemisms for public restrooms, are also on the list, however none in OB or Point Loma are on it. Also, none of the parks in Ocean Beach are on the list.
Right now, a security company called Able Patrol and Guard patrols most city libraries and parks, but they are unarmed and usually just observe and report problems. But guards at the Central Library have complained about being threatened, harassed and spit upon by homeless people.
According to 10News they have the new city request for proposals, and reported:
The document says guards are still required to defer to police unless the situation calls for self-defense.
“Reasonable force is to be used only if Guards are physically threatened or if they feel another person’s safety is in jeopardy,” the document says. “If necessary, Guards are to call the San Diego Police for assistance.”
The document says guards who carry guns must have permanent licenses from the state of California and five years experience in the sector. They can also qualify with substitutes such as two years of military experience or two years as a police officer.
“The City is releasing a comprehensive RFP that allows the City to potentially utilize a variety of security services should the need arise,” city spokesman Tim Graham said in a statement. “The goal of the RFP is to provide the proper level of security for City facilities as determined by City departments.”
Responses to the RFP are due by September 7 to the city.
Here’s the full list:
Library Locations
Allied Gardens/Benjamin Branch Library
Balboa Branch Library
Carmel Mountain Ranch Branch Library
Carmel Valley Branch Library
City Heights/Weingart Branch Library
Clairemont Branch Library
College-Rolando Branch Library
Kensington-Normal Heights Branch Library
La Jolla/Riford Branch Library
Linda Vista Branch Library
Logan Heights Branch Library
Mira Mesa Branch Library
Mission Hills Branch Library
Mission Valley Branch Library
Mountain View/Beckwourth Branch Library
North Clairemont Branch Library
North Park Branch Library
North University Community Branch Library
Oak Park Branch Library
Ocean Beach Branch Library
Otay Mesa-Nestor Branch Library
Pacific Beach/Taylor Branch Library
Paradise Hills Branch Library
Point Loma/Hervey Branch Library
Rancho Bernardo Branch Library
Rancho Peñasquitos Branch Library
San Carlos Branch Library
San Ysidro Branch Library
Scripps Miramar Ranch Branch Library
Serra Mesa-Kearny Mesa Branch Library
Skyline Hills Branch Library
Tierrasanta Branch Library
University Community Branch Library
University Heights Branch Library
Valencia Park/Malcolm X Branch Library
Skate Parks
Linda Vista Skate Park
Carmel Valley Skate Park
Robb Field Skate Park
Rancho Penasquitos Skate Park
Bill and Maxine Wilson Skate Park
Charles Lewis Skate Park
Park de la Cruz Skate Park
Parks
Chicano Park
Charles Lewis Neighborhood Park
Marie Widman Park
Montgomery-Waller Park
Palm Ridge Park
Silver Wing Park
Comfort Stations
Cherokee Point Comfort Station
Hollywood Neighborhood Park Comfort Station
Keiller Neighborhood Park Comfort Station
Montclair Neighborhood Park Comfort Station
Teralta Park Comfort Station
Ward Canyon Neighborhood Park Comfort Station
Robert Egger/South Bay Recreation Center Comfort Station
Golden Hill Park
28th Street Park
Grape Street Park
Velodrome/Ball Field
Tennis Court, No. 1013 Morley Field
Ball Field/Concession Stand
Shneider Hill No. 510
Adjacent to Golden Hill Recreation Center
Pam Canyon
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m pretty sure the city just voted to increase Police pay. So we now have to hire extra people, and pay them, to do the job the police are paid to do. Sounds about right. Fookin’ idiots are now officially in charge of everything.
Oh lord, can you imagine being a guard at a public toilet? The piss patrol.
Why not station a janitor at the public toilets? A mop, a bucket, and a cell phone to call the cops when things get out of control.
I saw a bunch of MS-13 browsing the periodicals in the OB library.
Pig Nation.
So let me get this right. The city wants to station guards with weapons at libraries and skate parks and city parks and toilets? Really?
Or else ‘enhanced’ safety’ personnel which certainly puts me to mind of ‘enhanced interrogation’ which we found out is nothing but a fancy name for torture and war crimes. Coming soon to your neighborhood. And they’ll hired ex-soldiers with hair trigger reflexes that NEVER go away (according to the Vets I know), and who got used to kicking in doors in residential neighborhoods in the Middle East?
Oh wait, maybe not if those STVR petitions do their job. You won’t have to worry because you won’t have neighborhoods anymore…
And all of this is needed because some homeless people spit on some guards kicking them out of libraries? Excuse me? Is this for real? Any of these hired mercenary folk from the Ministry of Guardians for Public Places been actually attacked? Like with guns or knives or clubs or bricks or fists or feet? How many in hospitals, how many dead, how many in jail from all these attacks?
And this part: “Reasonable force is to be used only if Guards are physically threatened or if they feel another person’s safety is in jeopardy,” and what would be considered ‘reasonable’ to a racist or someone who just doesn’t like your looks? ‘THEY FEEL’ is a very arbitrary standard here. Think Starbucks and all the other ‘reasonable feelings’ that have been in the news lately.
So is this a fancy way of saying Police State San Diego? Hire more cops, drain the treasury even more, and then hire privatized mercenaries because…what’s that again?
We are a long way down the rabbit hole in this country, aren’t we?
sealintheSelkirks
I feel safe already.