City leaders in Stanton are weighing whether to hire private security guards to patrol city parks in response to vandalism and safety concerns, though a final decision has not yet been made.
The Stanton City Council recently approved a measure allowing the city to solicit bids from private security firms. But Mayor David Shawver said the city is not moving forward with the process yet, citing the recent addition of six new Orange County Sheriff’s deputies assigned to Stanton.
“We’re waiting to see if things improve now that we’ve got the deputies in place,” Shawver said.
The mayor pointed to vandalism and transient-related issues in local parks, including restrooms at Stanton Park that were so badly damaged they had to be boarded up until repairs could be made. He said the proposed private security officers would be unarmed and function more as a deterrent and monitoring presence than as law enforcement.
“Basically, we’re just asking them to do – it’s like, I hate to compare it to this piece, but it’s like a lifeguard,” Shawver said. “They have a whistle, they have a speaker in the car, and they ask people to conform to what they need to be. If someone’s damaging property, they can step in and stop that kind of action.”
Councilmember Gary Taylor, however, questioned the value of hiring private security, arguing that the city had already spent $1.6 million to increase its sheriff’s presence.
“They can only do certain things, report basically,” Taylor said. “They can call the sheriff’s department. They really can’t enforce anything. They can make a presence felt, I guess, but if people know they’re private security, it’s just not going to work.”
Shawver countered that having guards in the parks could free deputies to handle more serious crimes elsewhere in the city. Still, he stressed that Stanton has not committed to the plan.
Nearby Garden Grove is also exploring the possibility of adding private security guards to its parks, though city officials there said no final decision has been made.
Both cities continue to monitor the effectiveness of law enforcement staffing before moving ahead with potential contracts for private security.
The post Stanton considers private security guards for city parks appeared first on KTLA.
