Hillcrest business owners hire private security to patrol streets

Wanting more protection, business owners in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood have hired private security to patrol the streets.

This comes as police have investigated pellet gun attacks and hateful vandalism in the area over the past year.

You might say there is a new sheriff in town: a private security firm by the name of Citiguard. It’s based in Los Angeles. Citiguard Officers John and Keith have been walking the Hillcrest beat since Sunday. 

“We’ve had good feedback from the business owners,” John said. “We assisted someone in need having breathing problems. We got an ambulance to come.”

Four officers in teams of two will walk the community seven hours a day, every day. They carry radios and phones, and have a mobile command for a faster response.

“We look for anything unusual,” John said. “If there is any damage to property or graffiti. If there are people hanging around where they are not supposed to.”

Gioia’s Room Boutique is a popular women’s clothing store on Fifth Avenue. Gioia Marino and her mother have been in the business in Hillcrest for nearly 13 years.

“We shouldn’t be in the position where we should have to self-police or self-security the neighborhood,” Marino said.

Marino says Sundays are sometimes the worst. She expects at least one altercation with someone having a mental breakdown or causing trouble in or near the shop. This past Sunday, though, was different.

“I didn’t have an incident all day,” Marino said. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘I wonder why that is?’ Then I remembered it was December 1st, the very first day this security started.”

Hillcrest raised more than $800,000 this summer by a vote of the commercial real estate owners. It passed overwhelmingly, more than 61%. It will pay for the security, street cleanup and beautification. Because it is a per-square-footage tax, the bigger you are, the more you pay. With all of the development going up in Hillcrest now, the security force will be permanent.

“To have a presence with security guards walking the district, not just standing in one location, but walking and engaging with people, that really is a change of tone,“ said Benjamin Nicholls, executive director of the Hillcrest Business Association.

Three teenagers accused in a string of hate crime related attacks in Hillcrest pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors say they committed the crimes with a fourth teen who was already charged back in September. NBC 7’s Shandel Menezes has the latest.

Nicholls says the trouble last summer motivated business owners.

The VIP host at Rich’s nightclub was shot in the eye with a gel pellet. That same night, others outside Hillcrest clubs were fired on. Vicious hate-filled tags showed up on several utility boxes and murals. Vandals destroyed property.

 “People had a sense that we were under attack,” Nicholls said. “People had a sense of unease on the street.”

The LGBTQ law enforcement summit in June lead to a greater police concentration in the Hillcrest business district. Assistant Police Chief Mike Holden says private security is a welcome next step.

“They can see and report what they are seeing to us, so we can increase our ability to be responsive to the community,” Holden said.

The city increased the number of smart cameras in Hillcrest. Some business owners even put up a few of their own. While they are effective in solving the crime after the fact, Nicholls says this is a proactive response.

“When you see someone in the neighborhood who is just keeping an eye on things, they have the logo on the back, they have the badge, that presence goes a long way,“ Nicholls said.

The director of the business association says the security program could expand to more officers working day and night shifts. The community is also considering homeless engagement teams to get people the services and help they need.