If you’re in downtown Providence and you get the feeling you’re being watched, you may be right.
The Downtown Security Network is keeping an eye out and a radio ready to contact the police about any suspicious incidents, in an effort to make the city safer.
A public/private initiative started by The Providence Foundation, the Downtown Security Network is composed of about 25 security agencies, schools and other organizations and directly linked to the Providence Police Department by short-wave radio.
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Daniel A. Baudouin, executive director of The Providence Foundation, said the network’s formation at the beginning of this year marked a commitment to keeping downtown safe for pedestrians and businesses alike. And the network’s role is only going to get stronger, he said.
"Basically, it’s a way to put more eyes and ears on the street," he said. "We each have a radio communication system where each organization is directly tied to the police radio channel, and we’ve been talking about running seminars for companies and employees about doing business in a safer way."
Charles Meyers, owner of MetroPark Limited, which owns 14 different parking lots around Providence, elaborated.
"Each parking lot has a pretty steady clientele," he said. "I know it’s hard to believe, but with the exception of an occasional transient we know most of our customers. If anything looks suspicious we radio in, and if somebody goes to break in to a car, our men are there."
Touting such partners as Amtrak Security, Pinkerton Security, Providence Place, Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, the Rhode Island Convention Center, and security forces from the city’s six major colleges, the group meets monthly to discuss how they can further fulfill their mission.
"When we have our monthly meeting we go over what’s been going on in the city, and if somebody has a business near the Trinity Rep and there’s been a lot of broken glass on the streets, they know somebody’s been breaking into cars," said Meyers. "And at the meetings they can spread the word around to the people in other areas of the city. It’s all stuff that’s never big enough to make the newspapers, but it’s important enough to beware of."
Baudouin said the radios were the first big step in aligning the network.
"The Providence police really made this happen," he said. "And the idea is not that every single security officer has a radio, but they have communication back to their supervisor who has access to the radio."
Baudouin said the cost of the radios and connecting all participants was under $800.
Another advantage to the program is that the Providence Police Department may have information on chronic offenders that will be shared with security personnel and business owners.
Providence Mayor Vincent A. Cianci, Jr. said at the beginning of this year that businesses downtown will not truly thrive unless the area is safe.
"No amount of urban revitalization, no amount of money spent, no amount of building refurbishings and construction is going to be effective if people have a perception that it’s not safe to come downtown," he said.
