Last month, the city council of Foley, Minnesota unanimously decided that their community would be better served by hiring private security contractors to cruise its streets rather than pay for extra patrols by Benton County Sheriff's deputies. Mayor Gary Gruba believed his will be the first city to use private security, the St. Cloud Times reported.
A City of Foley press release (pdf) stated the planned use of private security guards is for "enforcement of city ordinances and as a proactive security patrol."
However, the company's guards will have no law enforcement authority, the Star Tribune reported. But, city officials would still like to grant the for-profit company "the power to write parking tickets and enforce city rules on nuisances such as barking dogs." Whether or not the private guards will be able to carry a gun is still being "worked out".
"I believe it will work very well," Foley Mayor Gary Gruba said, noting that simply the guards' presence on the street will deter crime. "If it works in the city of Foley, I think a lot of cities will look at this."
The security guards "do not replace the role of law enforcement", the city's press release said (their emphasis). "As county taxpayers, city residents and business owners are entitled to services provided by the Benton County Sheriff’s Department" (my emphasis). Will the rest of Benton County want to subsidize Foley's emergency calls to the sheriff?
Mayor Gruba argued that Foley, with its larger population, is already "paying our fair share."
Foley is located 15 miles north of St. Cloud and is the county seat of Benton County. With roughly 2,600 people, this rural community has approximately five percent of the county's population. The city is smack dab in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District represented by Michele Bachmann.
In 2003, the year Tim Pawlenty became governor, the State of Minnesota made drastic cuts to Local Government Aid that caused many communities to reduce public safety spending. Eight years ago, Foley abolished its police department and paid Benton County to have three sheriff's deputies patrol the city for 17.1 hours a day.
With its new deal, Foley intends to sign a $98,500, six-month contract with General Security Services Corporation of Eden Prairie, Minnesota to provide 24-hour patrols of the city. The county, for its part, proposed a new contract for 2012 to continue the existing service for $23,426 a month, $1268 less a month than this year's contract.
Foley is "big enough to have police coverage," Benton County Sheriff Brad Bennett said. Residents have made 90 calls for driving complaints, 67 calls concerning theft, and 19 calls for domestic assaults.
Without Foley's contract, the Benton County Sheriff's Office will have to find a way to cover a 4.4 percent hole in their budget. The office "employs 15 patrol deputies along with investigators and other licensed officers."
"It puts us in a difficult situation," assuming the contract dispute isn't solved, Bennett said. "If we have to lay off deputies, it's going to be longer response times."
In response to the Foley's desire to contract with private security rather than law enforcement, Lori Swanson, Minnesota's Attorney General, sent Gruba and Bennett a three page letter (pdf). She wrote that no other Minnesota municipality has hired a private security company to replace a police department, but:
The Bourough of Sussex, New Jersey is approximately the same size as Foley. In 1993 it abolished its police department and hired private security guards. The experiment was disbanded not long after it began. After a series of mishaps, the prosecutor for the municipality concluded that:
"The hiring of a private security firm in lieu of municipal police department not only circumvents a longstanding statutory framework. It also constituted a giant step backward in terms of law enforcement professionalism."
[…]
There are considerable statutory and constitutional issues which arise from such a use of a private security firm. Many of these issues could result in financial exposure for the municipality.
[…]
I should note that public safety is the first priority of government. The Minnesota Constitution begins by stating that the object of government is the "security, benefit, and protection of the people...." Minn. Const. Art. I, § 1. Whereas the primary mission of a police officer and a municipality is public safety, the primary concern of a private corporation is profit and the financial bottom line.
In response to the letter, the mayor and sheriff will meet on Friday to discuss the situation. The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office will be there to mediate the meeting, the St. Cloud Times.
"Money, not safety, wins in Foley", a St. Cloud Times editorial stated.
This move will save each Foley resident the whopping total of about $3.20 a month, or about a dime a day... Instead, a for-profit company’s staff will drive around town, issue parking tickets and other violations of nuisance ordinances...
We question the logic and priorities of elected officials who choose to lower their community’s public-safety presence (and overall image) instead of — gasp — raising taxes to do what’s right...
But hey, it saves each resident about a dime a day.
Yup. You betcha.