IrvinePilot
New member
SANTA ANA ? Downtown merchants are offering a new service in the uneasy wake of a deadly shooting earlier this month: free security escorts for their patrons.
Those escorts ? on foot, on bike or in a car ? are now available at almost any hour of the day or night at downtown's bars and restaurants, shops and art galleries. The program is being run by the business group Downtown Inc.
The group had quietly offered security escorts to downtown workers as part of its $200,000 annual security budget. It decided to publicize the service ? especially for visiting patrons ? after an Irvine man was shot and killed during a robbery attempt near the Artists Village.
"We really just want people to feel safe," said Vicky Baxter, the executive director of Downtown Inc. "It doesn't matter what we do down here if it isn't safe."
Baxter compared the security escorts ? by unarmed security guards ? to similar protection services offered on college campuses after dark.
The downtown district generally includes the Civic Center area, the galleries and restaurants around the Artists Village and the shops along Fourth Street. Patrons can request a security escort to or from parking lots and other locations in the district by calling 714-818-9538 ahead of time.
Contact the writer: 714-704-3777 or dirving@ocregister.com
http://www.ocregister.com/news/security-272386-downtown-escorts.html
Those escorts ? on foot, on bike or in a car ? are now available at almost any hour of the day or night at downtown's bars and restaurants, shops and art galleries. The program is being run by the business group Downtown Inc.
The group had quietly offered security escorts to downtown workers as part of its $200,000 annual security budget. It decided to publicize the service ? especially for visiting patrons ? after an Irvine man was shot and killed during a robbery attempt near the Artists Village.
"We really just want people to feel safe," said Vicky Baxter, the executive director of Downtown Inc. "It doesn't matter what we do down here if it isn't safe."
Baxter compared the security escorts ? by unarmed security guards ? to similar protection services offered on college campuses after dark.
The downtown district generally includes the Civic Center area, the galleries and restaurants around the Artists Village and the shops along Fourth Street. Patrons can request a security escort to or from parking lots and other locations in the district by calling 714-818-9538 ahead of time.
Contact the writer: 714-704-3777 or dirving@ocregister.com
http://www.ocregister.com/news/security-272386-downtown-escorts.html