Divided Raleigh City Council keeps armed, private security officers downtown
City leaders want armed, private security officers to remain in downtown Raleigh long term.
The Raleigh City Council voted 5-3 Tuesday to approve a three-year contract with Capital Special Police to patrol near the downtown transit center.
The security officers are “force multiplier” for the Raleigh Police Department, city officials said. The contract also expands their patrol area to include nearby Moore Square.
“We have heard from numerous businesses very positive things,” Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said. “And they are appreciative, as are the bus drivers as well. This is what they’ve been asking for: improved security. Staff looked at this carefully and we’ve moved forward with an organization that is very well respected.”
The $3.3 million contract will pay for two officers to patrol the transit center 20 hours a day, 4 a.m. to midnight, the same hours GoRaleigh buses run.
Business owners packed City Hall last fall complaining of violence, drug deals, harassment, needles and human feces in downtown.
Council members Mary Black, Christina Jones and Megan Patton voted against the contract.
“I have a little bit of heartburn over the length of the contract,” Patton said.
The city of Raleigh hired Capitol Special Police for a short-term contract last fall after business-community complaints
“I sort of got comfortable with it as a stopgap,” Patton said. “And a three-year contract certainly shifts my thinking from a stopgap to a more permanent element in how we manage our transit system.”
Jones asked for a report on how many interactions the private security force has had with the public and how many interactions led to arrests or citations. City staff will bring back that information at a later date.
Reported crime in the downtown area and Glenwood South was up in the last three months of 2023 compared to 2022. But police said that reflected their heightened presence in those areas and the “zero-tolerance” approach they’ve taken.
