Private Patrol to Hit Oceanside Streets : Law Enforcement: With police force stretched thin by tight city budget, a security company will patrol the downtown.

In a move that reflects police services stretched to the limit, Oceanside today turns to its newest notion in law enforcement--armed private security patrols.

By any other name, rent-a-cops.

City officials on Friday unveiled details of a 90-day trial program in which six security officers from a private company will patrol downtown streets 24 hours a day as an adjunct to regular police protection.

If all goes well, organizers say, area residents and business owners will contribute $5 to $50 a month to pay for full-time patrols in areas plagued by drugs, prostitution and gang violence.

In a city strapped by continued budget woes, the newest uniformed officers will augment the patrol duties performed by Oceanside police at no additional cost to taxpayers, according to business and community members who spearheaded the plan.

Oceanside agreed to contribute $9,000 from city redevelopment funds to help cover the 90-day trial period, during which officials from Bel-Air Patrol will approach homeowners, apartment dwellers and business owners in an attempt to solicit additional funding through contracts.

Beginning at 8 a.m. today, the patrolmen will hit the streets in a 2-square-mile area around downtown Oceanside, armed with the same .38-caliber revolvers issued to many police officers.

A total of six security officers are involved in the project, but only as many as three will be on the street at any given time. The cost of the patrols are $12,000 a month, officials said.

Robert Sundeen, a general manager with the security firm, said his officers will not only report crimes but actively step in to prevent others as well.

“If we see a crime being committed, but no one’s life is in danger and there’s no great bodily harm, then it’s our responsibility to report it,” he said. “If there’s a life in danger, then we’ll get involved.”

On Friday, Oceanside Police Chief Bruce Dunne said he welcomed the extra eyes and ears on his city’s streets.

“It’s back to a basic philosophy of patrol, the turn-of-the-century cop on the beat,” he said. “But today, with the growth of cities and shrinking revenues, officers are being pulled in different directions in their efforts to arrest the bad guys. Hopefully, this effort will be a way to fill the void of neighborhood patrols. I feel comfortable with it.”

The idea for such patrols arose in March when businessmen met to discuss ways to beef up citizen protection in downtown Oceanside, an area known for its transient and prostitution population.

Planners said the key to the program was citizens helping to report crimes. “This is all about citizens getting together with government,” said Jim Young, president of the South Myers Street business owner’s association. “No more finger-pointing. No more accusations about who’s doing enough to fight crime. Let’s join together.”

Bel-Air Patrol executives said Friday that it will take help from the community to make the program work, with financial support and reports of crimes in progress.

“The idea is visibility,” Sundeen said. “The key is to get people involved in the community, residents and business people alike.

“When everyone gets involved, things start to happen. That way, we can an instant response to crime in this town. That’s what we’re here for.”

Sundeen said the officers involved in the program all have specialized police training of at least three to four weeks and that some are former officers.

Wearing his neatly pressed gray uniform, Bel-Air officer Phillip Beaty said officers want to get away from the much-maligned image of security patrolmen. “We’re officers,” he said. “We’re not some guy off the street to whom you give a gun and a badge, some guy who guns down the first person he sees he doesn’t like.”

Oceanside city officials were quick to point out that their contract with Bel-Air Patrol alleviated them from any liability in the event of a wrongful death or other potential lawsuit. Security officials said they hold insurance policies totaling $33 million for just such occasions.

Meanwhile, as the new patrolmen hit the streets, most involved admit they will be holding their collective breaths: Oceanside police hope the patrols ease their own workload; security officials hope enough residents support the program, and residents hope they can find a cop when they need one.

“I’ll be watching,” said Ruby Fish, an Oceanside apartment owner. “I just have questions of whether how readily available these new patrols will be when I need them.”