BILLINGS — Downtown Billings Association hosted a meeting on Wednesday morning at the Northern Hotel, discussing the hiring of a security team to help crack down on crime.
The decision comes as Billings police said they can no longer assign three officers to the downtown area at all times and instead will provide two officers. That's when Downtown Billings decided to contract a security team as an alternative option.
Watch this video to hear about that decision:
"We needed to fill that gap somehow," said Downtown Billings CEO Katy Schreiner following the meeting. "We partnered with SK Security and really the idea is just to get more eyes on the street, more bodies on the street and patrols happening downtown."
A large focus of the security team will be to help relocate the homeless, which many business owners in the area said is a growing problem.
"I would have to say there are issues," said Northern Hotel owner Mike Nelson, who is running for mayor. "Big city issues in downtown Billings now."
Pub Station President Sean Lynch agreed with Nelson, adding that the issue has evolved over the years.
"Billings has always experienced a homelessness issue in downtown for forever," Lynch said. "But downtown Billings is an entirely different place than it used to be."
The increase in the homelessness population has generated safety concerns for Lynch and Nelson.
"That safety is the number one consideration for us," Lynch said.
It's something Schreiner said her team is focused on as well, adding that the cost of contracting SK Security is basically the equivalent to what one patrol officer would cost at $7,000 to $8,000 per month.
"It's always a number one concern for our community," Schreiner said. "We want people to come to downtown and be able to enjoy it and feel safe."
SK Security has headquarters in Kansas City but recently opened an office in downtown Billings. Chief of Security Michael Anderson said their goal is to help fill the gap.
"Plain and simple, it's all about safety," Anderson said. “We’re not here as law enforcement, we can’t act as law enforcement, we can’t do what law enforcement do, but what we can do is bring a sense of safety and security to these businesses."
It's an effort appreciated by business owners, who want to help prevent this problem from growing.
"I think if we weren't doing what we're doing now, things could get bad," Nelson said. "They're not bad now, but they could get bad."
