Private security to patrol Long Beach in crime suppression effort

Private security began to bike through downtown Long Beach this week, in an effort to provide an extra layer of security for businesses and residents in the area.

"When you have more of a presence on the street it makes a difference," business owner Orsa Modica said. "When you don't have that presence, you will see the riff-raff that comes through the city."

The Downtown Long Beach Alliance implemented the six-month program. The security guards, dubbed the "blue shirts," will cruise through the core of Long Beach Monday through Friday, especially on Pine Avenue, the Promenade, and the East Village.

"They are not armed," President of the Downtown Long Beach Alliance Austin Metoyer said. "They do have body cameras. They do have wrist restraints, and they do have pepper spray, but their main focus is to be able to act quickly."

The blue shirts will augment bike and foot patrols from the Long Beach Police Department. The additional patrols come after last month's disturbing incident where a man allegedly sexually assaulted a hairstylist as she walked near her salon.

The Clean and Safe team, seen in red shirts, continues to spruce up neighborhoods and act as ambassadors to downtown. 

There is a high concentration of female-owned businesses in the East Village, which is one reason the blue shirts are dispatched here. A full-time homeless outreach coordinator has also been placed downtown to help people find services.