DOWNEY - The City Council this week allocated $100,000 to continue to fund security in Downtown Downey.The vote was 4-0, with Councilman Mario Guerra abstaining. RMI International has patrolled the downtown district for the past year, providing security in the parking structure behind Krikorian Theatres and surrounding public areas. Since RMI began its patrols, "there has been noticeable reductions in auto and other related crimes in the Downtown area," community development director Brian Saeki wrote in a staff report. The report did not contain crime statistics. The city's contract with RMI requires the security firm to patrol downtown 24 hours a day, Friday through Saturday; eight hours daily, Monday through Wednesday; and 16 hours on Thursdays. RMI's fee is $16 per hour, per officer. Security officers are unarmed and patrol the area on bicycles. Equipped with an electronic scanning system, they are required to scan in at four different points each hour to ensure they are constantly mobile. An electronic report of weekly scans are e-mailed to Saeki every Friday.

********** Published: July 26, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 15