[Baltimore Sun] Baltimore neighborhoods rely on private security to fill policing gaps
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Private security guards have become increasingly visible patrolling Baltimore streets in efforts to curb crime as legislation sets new standards on the industry.
Some security companies are contracted by the city government as a first line of defense. Others are hired by developers or local companies through business improvement districts. In ritzier neighborhoods like Federal Hill, Otterbein and Guilford, residents pay their own way to hire a private security presence to patrol their streets as Baltimore Police struggle with nationwide staffing shortages.
Their presence is prominent in the neighborhoods where they operate. Flashing lights from security vehicles illuminate the nightlife near Cross Street Market in Federal Hill, and some street-patrolling guards in Harbor East don uniforms that look like those of a SWAT team member.
But while having visible guards can deter crime, it doesn’t necessarily stop it — a man was fatally shot last Saturday in heavily guarded Harbor East. As private citizens, those who work for security firms aren’t subject to the same training and regulations as sworn police officers — recent uses of force by security guards, sometimes fatal, have prompted Maryland legislators to regulate the industry.
In Guilford, annual homeowners association fees go in part to the neighborhood’s contract with Wolf Professional Security, which patrols the neighborhood and offers check-ins to homes when residents are on vacation. The same security company provides services in Otterbein, where those who pay dues to the neighborhood’s security board can ask guards for a walk home.
“What we’re doing, it’s not a slap at [the Baltimore Police Department]. They just don’t have enough manpower,” said Ian Neuman, president of Federal Hill Neighborhood Patrol, which contracts security from the Matcom Office of Public Safety for the neighborhood’s residential area.
The patrol was formed as a pilot in 2021 after a homicide at Federal Hill Park, as well as a carjacking over the span of a week. “Things didn’t seem like they were going in the right direction,” he said.
The patrol can work with Baltimore Police and fill in where sworn authorities “need another set of eyes,” especially during the bustling summer months.
“We’ve gotten along very well with the police so far,” Neuman said. But he noted that he makes it clear to his resident-funded initiative’s donors: “We are not the police.”
In many cases, security guards can be the “first responders,” said Derrick Parks, president and CEO of Metropolitan Protective Services. Baltimore City contracts with Parks’ firm for armed security at government buildings and public housing developments, and has also spent millions on unarmed security services from other firms, like Abacus Corporation, over the past several years, according to spending board records.
A member of a security detail walks across the circle at the end of President Street at Harbor East in the wake of a recent killing. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff)
The private guards in the city’s public housing developments have filled a gap left two decades ago when the 65-unit police force of the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, which did not return a request for comment, was disbanded due to budget cuts.
Private security firms are able to augment the duties of sworn police officers by providing deterrence — by more affordable means — through their uniformed guards’ presence, Parks said, noting that police departments are often the most expensive unit of city government to operate.
Parks said that his agency has a good working relationship with Baltimore Police, especially as far as working on public streets. There are differences, though. Most security guards on foot patrol can’t detain others beyond making a citizen’s arrest. Their jurisdiction is limited to only the properties they’re contracted for.
“There are some things people would do in front of a security guard that you wouldn’t do in front of a police officer,” said Parks.
Last month, Metropolitan Protective’s foot patrol officers stationed at a Cherry Hill housing complex were the first to respond to a shooting, pursuing a suspect who had fired at a man waiting at a bus stop, critically injuring the 33-year-old, according to court documents. The security guards pursued the suspect, who police say opened fire at them.
The 29-year-old suspect was eventually taken down and arrested by Baltimore Police. He was later indicted on five counts of attempted murder; three of those counts were for firing at security guards and another for a Baltimore Police officer.
“We were able to box him in, save a life and allow for the arrest to take place,” said Parks.
Encounters with the public don’t always go that smoothly. A former Royal Farms security guard is serving a 60-year sentence as she appeals her conviction on a second-degree murder charge after fatally shooting a man at a Southwest Baltimore store in 2022. Just over a week before that fatal shooting, a Harbor East security guard shot a suspected shoplifter, who had allegedly attempted to stab him in the face with a syringe, leaving the man in critical condition. Another security guard was charged the next month after fatally shooting a man at a Highlandtown bar, though that guard was found not guilty on all counts. Months later, another security guard shot a man at a Fells Point pizza shop.
Those incidents prompted Maryland lawmakers to pass a bill requiring all guards to get 12 hours of training and report uses of force. That bill was set to go into effect in July, though a bill signed by Gov. Wes Moore after this past session of the Maryland General Assembly delayed most of its implementation to January, a Maryland State Police spokesperson said. Currently, only guards who work for private security companies are required to be certified by state police. Those who are employed directly by stores are unlicensed and unregulated.
Parks said the law was good policy, noting that security guards should “definitely be trained” as part of the job.
The private guards contracted by Neuman’s patrol are Maryland Special Police officers — meaning they’re authorized to make an arrest — and are now armed, something he was hesitant about at first. But, he noted, the neighborhood’s regular security guard is not too confrontational and has been able to de-escalate situations, like kids playing with toy guns near Federal Hill Park, without incident.
“That’s a perfect outcome under those circumstances,” he said.
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