DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Daytona Beach businesses say they need more security urgently as safety concerns rise with homeless panhandling and confronting customers on their properties.
City leaders are stepping in to help address the issue.
The Daytona Beach Police Department is set to lease an office at the Hilton Beachfront Resort. Officers will be specifically assigned to patrol the boardwalk area and businesses along A1A beachside.
Business owners say this is a great start to making them feel safer.
“The issues with the homeless, the camping, sometimes they can be aggressive. I can see how it creates issues down there for the businesses as well as the visitors,” Chief Jakari Young said.
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Young says now that he has the staff, it’s time to bring back a satellite office and a strong law enforcement presence in the area. Officers assigned to the office will patrol 24/7 and build relationships with local businesses.
“I currently have 17 new recruits that are going through the field training process. They’re slated to be out on their own around April. Once that happens, I have the staffing to bring back the Boardwalk Unit,” Young said.
According to a notice on the city’s website, the lease will cost $0 — essentially the hotel is providing the space for free.
Business owners say it’s a great move by the police department, but they want even more security to match the city’s efforts mainland.
They are considering hiring a security company to also patrol the area.
“They’ve done a great job on Beach Street, and that’s the same vendor that we’re looking at currently,” said Tom Caffrey, a Main Street business owner.
Last fall, the city extended its security officer program on downtown Beach Street Daytona and added officer patrols there. The security company on Beach Street costs the city about $130,000 a year.
Caffrey says beachside businesses want the same extended presence in case boardwalk officers are called elsewhere. He says the businesses are pushing the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency to fund this.
“It’s a dedicated system at that point that is only accountable to that area, and if something comes up, they’re on it or can call police to respond immediately. While they don’t have weapons or anything like that, they can do little enforcement techniques,” Caffrey said.
The lease and the decision on whether police officers will work here will go before the city commission Wednesday night.
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