Supervisor Jane Kim Leads Effort To Disarm San Francisco Muni's Private Security Guards
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— There's an effort in San Francisco to disarm the private security guards who escort Muni fare box cash collectors.
Supervisor Jane Kim tells the San Francisco Chronicle there's no need to use armed guards for the job since it would make more sense for a Muni cash collector to simply hand money over during a robbery than have a guard engage in a gun battle on the streets of San Francisco.
The report says Kim wants to revise the Municipal Transportation Agency's (MTA) proposed six-year, $38.3 million contract with Cypress Security to eliminate the armed guards. Eliminating these armed guards would save the city about one-million dollars over the duration of that contract.
However, critics say without the armed guards, MTA cash carriers are sitting ducks for hold ups. The Chronicle reports Sup. Scott Wiener is among those critics and said Muni should have armed guards, not "unarmed chaperones".
Muni has a mostly unarmed private security force, unlike BART, which has its own police force.
The topic of armed guards has been on Sup. Kim's mind for some time, going back to when UC Hastings asked her support in the arming of their guards, which she refused.
The topic is up for discussion at Tuesday's board meeting.
