Residents Concerned Police Outsourcing May Jeopardize Security

Over a dozen people who spoke at the second town-hall meeting on police services on Saturday in the Chetcuti Room worried that outsourcing to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department will compromise safety.

Millbrae expects to save about $1.5 million a year if it decides to contract public safety to the sheriff. Or, it must invest an additional $410,000 to maintain its own police force.

Although the sheriff’s proposal shows significant savings, many residents complained that is only because it would drastically cut services – from 30 police employees to 16. The Sheriff’s Office would staff only two officers compared to the three Millbrae cops that currently patrol the city during a 24-hour weekday shift.

“Property values may go down, business may not want to come because it will give people the impression that the city is not safe,” said Baron Suen, president of the Peninsula Chinese Business Association.

Several current and retired Millbrae police officers that spoke at the town-hall meeting said that at a minimum, a functioning department needs three cops on duty.

“A simple shoplifting arrest at Safeway would leave only one officer,” said Millbrae Traffic Sergeant Ron Gleeson, adding that it would take a cop a significant amount of time just to transport the suspect to Redwood City jail.

It would cost approximately $250,000 a year to hire an additional officer, and council members – who are expected to vote on Nov. 15 on whether to retain the Millbrae Police Department or outsource – will continue to negotiate on the specific details of the sheriff’s proposal.

“This is why we decided to have the town-hall meetings,” said Mayor Dan Quigg. “So we can go back to the Sheriff’s Office with community input.”

Gleeson, who is adamantly opposed to outsourcing, said that the sheriff’s proposal “is just a sales pitch.” 

“They’re not doing this out of the kindness of their heart,” he said.

Regardless of the intentions, outsourcing does not affect services negatively, according to Half Moon Bay city council member Rick Kowalczyk, who spoke at the meeting regarding Half Moon Bay’s experience, which has contracted services since June.

“The sheriff was a very good partner, before and after the deal,” he said. “I am very comfortable with the coverage we have.”

However, with about half the population, Half Moon Bay is not comparable to Millbrae, some residents said.

, with a similar population to Millbrae’s, outsourced its police services over a year ago.

“San Carlos went exactly through the same turmoil,” said Randy Sahae, former president of Millbrae Community Television.

She said that in the several San Carlos city council meetings she’s attended, as MCTV films throughout the Peninsula, not once did she hear a resident complain about the sheriff’s services.

The results of two studies the city conducted found that the San Carlos Police Department had a better property crime solving rate, while the Sheriff’s Office was more effective with violent crimes. And, felony arrests increased about 35 percent since the transition.

San Carlos also conducted two surveys measuring resident’s satisfaction with the Sheriff’s Office. Out of the 102 surveys completed, citizens were 98 percent satisfied with services. 

When Millbrae resident Joe Chin spoke at the town-hall meeting, he asked the room of about 80 people how many would be willing to pay $30 or $40 a year to fund the department – and about two-thirds of the audience raised their hand.

Several people encouraged city council to place a measure on the next ballot to let residents instead of the council decide the fate of the police department.

The city would need to hold a special election, which requires at least two-thirds of the vote to pass.

“Our top priority is to ensure public safety,” said councilwoman Gina Papan. “And we still need more information.”

The council is expected to vote on the police department’s future on Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. in the council chambers, located at 621 Magnolia Ave.