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Foley To Be Patrolled By Security Guards

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FOLEY, Minn. (AP) – Security guards — not police — will patrol the streets of Foley.

WJON-AM reports the City Council has voted to sign a six-month contract with the private security firm General Security Services.

Earlier this year Foley officials voted to end their contract for police protection with the Benton County sheriff’s office. Deputies have been patrolling the city since 2003.

Interim City Administrator Sarah Brunn says the security guards will be responsible for general ordinance enforcement, but will not be able to investigate crimes or make traffic stops

The security firm is charging the city about $16,000 a month for 24 hour-a-day service. Benton County was charging Foley about $24,000 a month for 17 hours of protection.

State aid cuts and tighter budgets are main reasons for the switch.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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  • Kevin

    Umm….OMG!!!!

    • Reality sucks

      OMG!!! is right. What? So, the rent-a-cop will call the sheriff for a crime in progress? I know Foley, it’s tiny and quaint but…come on! I have a cabin in Benton County— I had to call the Sheriff once when my friend’s dog ran off. I called, AND GOT A MACHINE! No one ever called back. Nice.

  • angus

    So what do the security guards do if they see a serious crimg? Armed with a baton, taser, and a whistle. Yess:

    “Halt! or I’ll toot!”

    • A Voter

      They place there hands around their mouths, and yell HELP!

  • Rags

    Where’s John Candy when you need him?

  • Jason Carle

    SO now I guess all the felons will be flocking to Foley…

  • Mike Jacobson

    What a joke of a council. I’d be moving straight the hek out of that dive real quick. I guess saving a life or lives isn’t worth 8 grand a month.Good luck Foley!

  • Bob

    Mall cops running wild in Foley. Want see my badge. LOL This is a big huge waste of money to spend on mall cops. They can’t do anything. Can’t arrest any one if they try I can see it going to court and get throwen out right away.

  • Jake

    Good thing we have CONCEALLED CARRY in Minnesota. Geez, with that fancy new courthouse, you would think that the county could at least protect their county seat. Didn’t all of those DUI fines cover the costs? Maybe the cops need to do a better job.

  • http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2011/10/19/foley-to-be-patrolled-by-security-guards-2/ Foley To Be Patrolled By Security Guards « CBS Minnesota

    [...] [read the article] Share this No comments // [...]

  • As jack said…

    This company is notorious for wanna be cops! They have had contracts in the past for juvenile transports for Dakota county and lost them thru employee misconduct. You would do better Foley by establishing a constable force of citizens due to the fact that Rent a cops have no more authority than the private citizen. I’m not even going to start on the disparity between the qualifications between a Contract security officer and a State Licensed Peace Officer. This is a very scary situation for the people of Foley!

  • A Voter

    Gee, I was counting on Foley to help pay for a new Vikings stadium.

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