Frustrated Parents at UC Berkeley Raise $40,000 to Hire Unarmed Security Guards Amid Rising Crime Concerns
A group of concerned parents at UC Berkeley has taken matters into their own hands by raising $40,000 to hire unarmed security guards to monitor city streets around the California campus. The move comes after continued concerns of rising crime in the area.
The nonprofit organization, SafeBears, which was started in 2022, successfully raised the funds at the end of 2023 to launch a pilot program aimed at implementing security guards in the surrounding area of the college. The pilot program was officially launched on March 6, with six security guards from Streetplus, a private contractor, patrolling five routes around the campus on foot and by bicycle from 6:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. daily.
SafeBears emphasized that the security guards will not be armed during their patrols but will have radios to call the Berkeley Police Department if needed. The organization stated that the guards’ role is to provide a physical deterrence to any threats against students and that they can call for backup if a situation escalates.
While the initiative has garnered support from concerned parents, a spokesperson from UC Berkeley raised concerns about the effort, highlighting the campus’s own efforts to keep people safe. The spokesperson emphasized the importance of coordinating any security efforts with the campus police department and suggested that university funds would be better spent on hiring more officers for standard daily response efforts.
Despite the concerns raised by the university, SafeBears remains committed to their mission of enhancing safety in the area surrounding UC Berkeley. The organization hopes that their pilot program will spur the campus to take action and implement a similar security program in the future.
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