RIPTA hires security firm for Kennedy Plaza presence

THE R.I. PUBLIC TRANSIT AUTHORITY has contracted with security firm AlliedBarton to add a uniformed presence to its Kennedy Plaza hub.
THE R.I. PUBLIC TRANSIT AUTHORITY has contracted with security firm AlliedBarton to add a uniformed presence to its Kennedy Plaza hub.

PROVIDENCE – Uniformed, private security staff have been hired by the R.I. Public Transit Authority and assigned to its Kennedy Plaza hub.

The employees of the private security firm AlliedBarton will not be carrying firearms and do not have authority to arrest. They are expected to work with existing RIPTA security staff and Providence police, and also assist customers, according to a RIPTA spokeswoman.

The presence of private security is intended to make the public feel more comfortable at Kennedy Plaza, where 32,000 people a day converge.

Under its hub system, all buses pass through the plaza, according to RIPTA CEO Raymond Studley.

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“The added security presence will promote a safer and more secure environment for everyone,” Studley said, in a statement via a news release. “We continuously work with our partners in the downtown area – both in the business sector as well as law enforcement – and we feel that the presence of well-trained, uniformed security personnel will make the public feel more comfortable and also help head off problems before they occur.”

The contract with AlliedBarton began July 1. RIPTA will pay $3,500 a week for the service, according to a spokeswoman for the transit authority.

The security personnel will be assigned to Kennedy Plaza seven days a week, and are expected to contact RIPTA’s security or the police, depending on the issue they encounter, according to a spokeswoman.

AlliedBarton is based in a suburb of Philadelphia, and has experience working with transit agencies nationally, including Amtrak, Phoenix Valley Metro and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York. The company personnel are trained in customer service skills. They also are certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, according to Studley.

The company has 60,000 employees, according to its website, and operates 120 offices in the United States.

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