IT STARTED SMALL, way back in 2006. After Portland officials agreed to pay a little more than $1 million a year to a controversial security company known, then, as Wackenhut, uniformed private security guards took up visible posts at the entrances to city hall and the Portland Building.
And—to the consternation of some—discreetly armed guards also began stalking the corridors of city government. The move was led by council members like then-Mayor Tom Potter, who worried their workplace wasn’t safe enough.
Over the years, however, that initial million-dollar contract with Florida-based Wackenhut, since renamed G4S, has grown and grown.
Private guards now preside, among other places, at city parks, the city’s water treatment plant, and at Union Station. As of last year, they also now guard the mayor, replacing a police detail that had traditionally taken on the role.
And on Wednesday, March 30, in what’s likely to be a routine discussion by Portland City Council, the scope of G4S’ work is expected to grow again.
Under a new amendment to the city’s contract, an armed guard will be deployed to the hearing room where Portlanders argue against code violations and parks exclusions, and other guards will be stationed, for the first time, at the Bureau of Emergency Communications and at more of the garages and parking lots where the city’s vehicles are stored and maintained.
At a time of austerity, the ongoing annual cost of the contract, even after G4S agreed to find cost savings, would swell to $1.5 million—bringing Portland’s total costs since embarking on the deal to nearly $9 million. The G4S deal is in addition to the city’s contract with the Portland Business Alliance for extra patrols downtown.
“Every time the contract is renewed, we assess business needs,” says Bob Kieta, the city’s facilities services manager. “The city has used private security services for over 20 years, and we balance the openness of our buildings and the safety of those who use them.”
Kieta says the growth in the G4S contract hasn’t been part of any master plan: Services are added to the contract only after a bureau or office requests the guards for their buildings or lots. Typically, he says, “vandalism and theft are often the two issues that begin the discussion” at places that aren’t office buildings.
Officials in the city’s hearings room, inside a building at 1900 SW 4th shared by the city and Portland State University (PSU), did not return a message asking whether any recent incidents prompted their request for an armed guard. The city auditor’s office, which oversees the hearings room, referred questions to Kieta.
Abby Coppock, a spokeswoman for the Office of Management and Finance, says PSU is sharing some of the costs associated with patrolling the SW 4th building. She also stressed that the contract’s actual expense over the next year could be lower than the city’s estimate.
G4S has had, at times, something of a controversial reputation. Not long after it won its current contract, it bid against the Portland Business Alliance for the downtown patrol contract and lost. At the time, it was battling with the Service Employees International Union over its safety practices and worker treatment. Their dispute has since been resolved.
Ben Blair, G4S’s local manager, was tight-lipped when it came to questions about the expansion. He wouldn’t say how many or how often armed guards patrol city property. And while he did acknowledge some complaints about his company’s guards over the years, he characterized them as few and minor.
Kieta, when asked whether the city tracks complaints, also said, “There have been no significant complaints or issues.”
And the money is expected to keep flowing.
Says Blair, “It’s business as usual.”
The country’s broke, but we have money for more wars. The city’s broke, but we have money for more security.
More security, more guards, more patrols, more cops, more armed forces, more jails & human-warehousing & consentration camps/centers. More weapons. More military hardware. More cops. More for defense. More profits for corps. More cops. More money for political ads. More cops. More money for political fund-raisers & waste. More cops. And even more cops.
Damn, i though we were broke. Hell knows, there’s no money for anything else. Yet, there’s all this money for more of all this shit we don’t need. There’s even more money for on-line ads on how to become a fucking cop. Maybe that’s how the Merc. gets it’s money. More, more, more… for every goddamned thing… but the shit we actually NEED.
word.
I’d like to know why in the Library you find members of the Oregon Sherrifs Dept pulling guard detail.
Even if you think the libraries need guards, to use actual Sherrifs instead of rent-a-cops has to be the most expensive way to go.
Totally un-needed. And from what I’ve seen, a place to put members who are out of shape.
I know! If someone feels that the fucking dt library needs guards, why ARMED SHERRIFS?!
An additional financial consideration of this privatization model is that the City of Portland contracts with a business based in Florida. Consequently, millions of dollars are being funneled out of Portland’s local economy and into the pockets of business people with no ties to the Portland community. Privatization of public service is a tricky endeavor, at best. I would feel (slightly) less uncomfortable with the arrangement if the City contracted with a locally operated business. That would compel the contracted security firm to hold itself accountable to the local community it is hired to serve, and would keep more of Portland’s money in Portland. If privatization is inevitable, Portland should at least try to stick with the “keep it local” principal to offset some of the ethical concerns that arise when public services are no longer administered by the public sector.
Nicole Dobrow
City officials aren’t the only ones who are investing in security forces in this town. As a wealthy merchant, I employ a full team of very nasty security guards who keep the rubbish out of my place of business. They’re not too bright, but they work for cheap and they do the trick. The fact is that times are hard right now, and while the peasant class is jobless and idle, there is a need for plenty of protection in place to keep them under control. There are many that were unaffected by the recent economic misfortunes of America, and they just want to continue being able to frequent their favorite shopping spots without being harassed, or feeling unsafe. Although a small few would think otherwise, this town isn’t a hippie utopia where you can carry on any way you like in any place you like. Embrace it or not, cities are built around business. In order for business to continue as per usual, funds must be secured and order must be maintained. If it was within my power, I would double the presence of security forces in Portland, and maybe finally rid this city of its last bit of “weirdness”.
Love your sarcasm, Mick. Golden.