Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to note that San Clemente’s beaches open to the public at 4 a.m.
More than two weeks after the city’s contractor for private security services began patrolling San Clemente’s North Beach and Pier Bowl areas, it continues working with city officials to streamline the new operation.
The San Clemente City Council authorized in late June a six-month contract, worth roughly $300,000, with Allied Universal Security Services in response to growing public concerns about safety.
Since July 15, residents and visitors have seen trucks marked with the city seal and the Allied Universal logo patrolling the area. Security personnel are tasked with operating in 12-hour shifts, with two officers for each shift.
City Manager Andy Hall told San Clemente Times on Monday, July 31, that he joined a phone call with Allied Universal officials to discuss the current operations and provide information to help Allied Universal move officers around “as the need exists.”
“We’re trying to make sure that we’re touching base and make sure that the private security is hitting the areas that we’re hearing about from (residents and visitors) that they see when they’re out walking or out in the community,” said Hall.
The officers will have random hours, he added, to ensure people don’t know when the officers are gone. There will be two shifts throughout the day with some overlap during the busiest parts of the day.
“They will vary those hours so that people can’t say, ‘Oh, we can get away with it (because) they’re off at midnight,’ ” Hall said.
The private security will monitor behavior at the designated areas with the intent of compelling people to obey the city’s Municipal Code, such as the recent ordinance that extended beach closure hours. San Clemente beaches now close at 10 p.m. daily and reopen at 4 a.m.
While Allied Universal patrols the areas, the city is asking the public to call the Code Compliance Hotline for reporting code violations and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for emergencies and non-emergencies.
Hall said the Code Compliance department will either pass on information from calls to the security officers or other Code Compliance staff. Regardless, the city is being deliberate in building up to a more permanent law enforcement system with the addition of one full-time OCSD deputy position and an expanded Park Ranger program, according to Hall.
“We didn’t want to confuse people by having another new number to call, so we thought it would be best to just go with the numbers that we have traditionally used,” said Hall.
He also reiterated the officers’ lack of citation authority, saying the security would be the “eyes and ears” for the city and be present to stop situations from getting out of hand.
The security does have a direct line to both Code Compliance and OCSD, Hall confirmed.
The public can call 911 for emergencies and OCSD’s non-emergency dispatch number at 949. 770.6011 for non-emergencies. Municipal code violations can be reported at 949.366.4705 or at san-clemente.org/complaints.
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