Suburban neighborhood considers private security

Greencastle Lakes residents say companies would deter crime, add to county patrols

At the Greencastle Lakes Community Association’s meeting April 23, the association’s treasurer, Richard Jones, said the community should hire off-duty Montgomery County Police officers to patrol the neighborhood of 822 single-family homes and townhouses bisected by Greencastle Road east of Route 29.

He recommended hiring ones who already patrol Greencastle Lakes because they have ‘‘a vested interest in the area.” Off-duty police officers would wear their uniforms and drive their squadron cars, he added.

After some discussion, the dozen community members in attendance agreed private security of some kind was necessary, even after Ruchita Patel, vice president of The Management Group Associates Inc., which oversees the neighborhood, said its cost would bump up residents’ monthly assessment fees by $2.50.

‘‘I would pay $5 more a month,” one resident said.

Patel manages five other communities in Montgomery County, two of which have private security. ‘‘It does not stop crime, but it helps deter it,” she said.

Keith Galster, vice president of Montgomery Security Services, agreed, despite having mixed feelings about neighborhoods hiring private security firms. Galster spent nearly a decade in law enforcement and now works weekends as an officer in a small town in Prince George’s County. Montgomery Security Services, which offers private security to 10 residential neighborhoods in Montgomery County.

‘‘It’s unfortunate they have to rely on outside means but, on the flip side, I understand why that is,” he said Thursday. ‘‘I wish there could be police officers everywhere at once, but there is too much going on out there.”

Patel told residents at the meeting that hiring private security would cost between $23,000 and $27,000 a year for 16 hours a week based on bids from security companies, including Montgomery Security Services. She suggested staggering the hours throughout the week. ‘‘As long as you have the element of surprise, you keep people on their toes.”

The cost of private security varies by firm and services provided. A security officer can cost from $14 to $30 an hour, Galster said. The price for an off-duty police officer varies but is usually more expensive than a security officer. Galster’s firm uses both off-duty police officers and security officers.

Montgomery County Police officers can work while off duty as long as they fill out secondary-employment forms, according to the Montgomery County Fraternal Order of Police. The FOP posts secondary-employment listings on an internal, online board. Many of those listings come from private security firms. Community members often contact officers directly about working security at special events.

While security officers and off-duty police can patrol neighborhoods, a security officer’s power is limited to the equivalent of making a citizen’s arrest. Otherwise, ‘‘they can be the best witness police have,” Galster said, monitoring a crime scene until police arrive or documenting potential suspects.

Security plans are tailored to each neighborhood, Galster said, with some wanting officers every day at the same time and others preferring the times to fluctuate to keep criminals guessing. All neighborhoods usually ask for officers during ‘‘busy times,” such as Friday nights, he said, and often request shifts to overlap to increase the security presence.

The reasons for hiring private security are also similar from neighborhood to neighborhood, Galster said – loitering, problems with teenagers, graffiti, vandalism, car and car-related thefts.

‘‘Every community is unique in needs, but also very similar,” he said.

While private security cannot prevent all crimes, it provides a ‘‘visual deterrent” for would-be criminals, Galster said, and gives a community an extra set of eyes and ears. That is beneficial to the shifts of 105 police officers in the Third District patrolling a 32-mile square area, including Greencastle Lakes, their commander said.

‘‘I wish we could provide an officer in every neighborhood all the time,” Capt. Betsy L. Davis said. ‘‘I wish I had the numbers [to do that], but I can’t.”

Davis said she understands why neighborhoods would want to hire extra security. ‘‘If you pay condo fees, you want your community to be safe.”

Judy O’Malley, who is on the board of directors of a community association in the Silver Spring area she did not want named, said her neighborhood has used private security for 16 years, most of those years with Montgomery Security Services.

The community hired private security after experiencing trespassing, vandalism and auto-related thefts trickling over from a nearby community, O’Malley said. Her community now uses association fees to pay for 40 hours a week of patrolling by security officers and off-duty police.

The amount of crime in the neighborhood dropped after private security was put in place, O’Malley said, and residents have said the extra security is reassuring.

‘‘We consider it an amenity for our homeowners,” she said. ‘‘We want good people to stay in the community.”