Privatizing Police Work in Small MN Town from a Security Company to "Save" Money

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Privatizing Police Work in MN Town
Nate Berg
The Atlantic Cities
Oct 21, 2011

Fighting crime is expensive. And if you’re a small town with diminishing resources, the price of public safety can often be a heavy but necessary burden. One small town in Minnesota is attempting to slash its costs by outsourcing their police work to a private security firm.

KARE-TV reports that the town of Foley, about 60 miles outside of Minneapolis, has handed over its police work to General Security Services Corporation, a private security provider that serves private homes, companies, commercial areas and government buildings. Full-time patrols will begin in January.

The town of about 2,600 had previously been relying on sheriff’s deputies from Benton County, who would patrol the city for 17.1 hours a day at a monthly cost of about $23,000 a month. The new deal with General Security Services will cost $98,500 for six months, or about $7,000 less per month than the cost of the sheriff’s deputies.

More at link..

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2011/10/privatizing-police-work/329/#disqus_thread

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Read the comments - they are right on! So many issues here!