(BizPacReview) Dozens of families living in San Francisco have been forced to hire private security firms to patrol streets in their neighborhoods amid spikes in brazen crimes as some have said they don’t feel secure any longer.
“We don’t feel safe in our neighborhood,” one resident, Katie Lyons, told KPIX-TV. “And we have an alarm, we have cameras on our property, but we want the extra security of having someone have eyes on our place.”
The outlet said that more than 150 families have turned to private security companies for protection.
Patrol Special Officer Alan Byard was hired by Lyons and some other families to help guard and protect streets in the Marina District following a series of home robberies and vehicle break-ins.
“It’s a nice area down here, people are afraid of what’s been going on,” Byard told the local CBS affiliate. “They want a safe place to raise their kids. In the last year, I’ve had 10 of my clients move out of the city.”
A police commission in San Francisco oversees Patrol Special Officers as they work in private security, the outlet said.
Byard said he patrols the Marina District in his vehicle, beginning at 8 p.m. and remaining on duty until 5 a.m. He said part of his job is to be on the lookout for anyone suspicious while charging $65 per residence per month.
Allan Brown, another resident in the district who has lived there for two decades, was asked whether he believes crime has gotten worse.
“Oh absolutely, absolutely. This place used to be – nothing would ever happen here,” he told the local outlet.
Lyons said that it is not at all unusual to see stolen property near her home, adding that when she is outside at night she does not carry a purse.
“Especially at night, I don’t walk with a purse, I’ll drive, or I’ll take an Uber, and it’s beginning to become a daytime problem, too,” she said.
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