Downtown Huntington Beach to get extra security for 4-month pilot program

Extra security will soon patrol the area around Huntington Beach’s Main Street for a four-month pilot public safety program funded by the Downtown Business Improvement District.

Four uniformed guards from Yorba Linda-based Executive Event Services will act as “extra eyes” for the Huntington Beach Police Department from about 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. four days a week starting in July and continuing through October. The detailed schedule will be “fluid,” according to BID President Matt Peterson.

EES guards will not be authorized to make arrests but will call police if necessary, Peterson said.

Peterson said the program is an effort to “help change the perception of downtown” and “improve the neighborhood.”

He recently took the helm of the Downtown Business Improvement District, a public-private partnership that aims to revitalize the commercial neighborhood. The group presents events such as the Surf City Nights street fair and Chili at the Beach.

Police regularly patrol the entire city, and four officers work a daily foot patrol in the downtown and pier area from the late afternoon to 2:30 a.m., according to Police Chief Robert Handy.

Because Main Street is the city’s center of tourism, police have a wide variety of safety concerns in the area, ranging from violent crime to reminding people that skateboarding is prohibited in the business district.

Having an extra uniformed presence in the downtown area will help with lower-level concerns, Handy said.

Peterson, who co-owns Legends Sports Bar, which has a location on Main Street, said the BID set aside $53,000 from its reserve account for the security program.

At the end of the pilot period, officials will seek feedback from businesses and other community members about whether it’s worth continuing, Peterson said.

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