By reporter Steven Smalley
One of the companies showing distinct interest in providing services to help facilitate private security patrols in Magnolia is a company called CopsForHire(.com). Magnolia Voice spoke with company president Andrew Finley about security patrols in general and his company?s offerings in particular.
Unlike companies which act as temporary employment agencies for off-duty officers, CopsForHire is software that allows police departments and officers who want moonlighting jobs to interact with those who wish to hire them. In this hypothetical case, the customer is the Magnolia Patrol Association.
CopsForHire software lists jobs in an easy-to-use format, keeps track of hours on the job, and automatically issues checks from funds held in escrow, according to Finley.
The following is an edited conversation to shed light on the subject of private patrols.
Magnolia Voice: Tell us specifically about the services a company such as yours provides?
Andrew Finley: We are a complete management software company that allows police departments, officers, and entities such as private companies to manage all police off-duty resources. The needs of all parties come together in one system to allow them to manage the officers, and officers to manage their own off-duty opportunities. It allows companies to hire cops, pay for cops, manage the cops who are working for them, and pay them through an escrow system.
We don?t get paid until the officers do the job. It?s an online, cloud-based software.
You have (1) officers who are logged-in and profiled on the system, (2) police departments, and (3) companies wanting to hire for shifts, in this case the Magnolia neighborhood.
Magnolia would set up jobs and shifts and post them. Once they’re posted, at which point Seattle Police Officers in our system will see them.
We?re simplifying and facilitating the process so there is no middleman. All this is is a management software to give Magnolia complete control over what the officer is doing and not doing.
MV: What is your background?
Finley: I?m a retired Pierce County deputy. I also worked for the King County Sheriff?s Department after that. We are also the founder of the 911 driving school system. We had 750,000 kids go through our system using our software. We make it easy for neighborhoods to manage police on private patrols.
MV: How is your company paid?
Finley: We have a set fee of 15% of the job. That?s our standard fee. We don?t get paid until the job is done. For the Magnolia neighborhood, because of its non-profit nature, our offer is to cut that fee in half in perpetuity.
MV: What is this private security patrol going to cost residents? Where is the money going?
Finley: The monies raised would constitute a budget. The Magnolia Patrol Association would then allocate the budget to pay for services. We have an agreement with an escrow company. Once Magnolia lists the patrol and the requirements for it ? times, days, shifts ? the board deposits the money in escrow. It doesn?t belong to the company. The officer comes out and performs his shift. He enters his times automatically into the system. It calculates all the hourly rates. He gets paid directly into his account, and then we take our fee.
MV: Do you think that Magnolia has the kind of property crime that can benefit from a service such as yours? How do you know we have the level of crime to justify your service?
Finley: The fact that so many people showed up at the first meeting Saturday tells me there?s a serious problem. There is a solution to it. We are hoping to be that solution. It?s about the community and how they feel or perceive their safety.
MV: Does that turn out tell you there?s a problem here?
Finley: People get burglarized or they get their car prowled and people don?t report it. If the only people who were to show up actually had a police report written, there would not be that many people there.
MV: The levels of service and the numbers of patrols will be secret. Why?
Finley: Loose lips sink ships. You don?t want the bad guys to know when the patrols are working or how many. But you do want them to know that they are there. Criminals do their homework. They are not that stupid.
MV: You provide actual police officers in uniform with weapons. Is that better than a regular security guard who is not a sworn officer?
Finley: Do you want someone out there who can call 911 and hope to get a response, or do you want someone who can actually act as a police officer and make arrests?
MV: How do we know the officer on duty is taking care of business and not slacking?
Finley: Our recommendation is to have a car that?s assigned to the Magnolia Patrol Association. You might be able to acquire an old patrol car from the City of Seattle. That means they?ll have the shield and the radio. Our recommendation is to give the officer a cell phone that?s issued by the Magnolia Patrol Association. A cell phone will give subscribers direct access to the officer on patrol. They can text requests for patrols, vacation requests, or suspicious person activity. The premium members who are paying for the service get these extras. The non-paying part of the community benefits with the extra patrols. Not everyone will pay.
MV: Please elaborate. What about those who don?t pay versus those who will?
Finley: Premium members who pay receive added benefits. They will have direct access to the officers on patrol, for example. Subscribers will be issued the phone number. They can use the phone number for GPS tracking. Residents can see where the officer is located. Non-subscribers benefit because of the presence of patrols, but subscribers have additional benefits. Those who don?t pay can still call 911. The whole community benefits by having police on patrol. Everyone benefits from an increased police presence.
MV: Can you cite successes elsewhere with your program?
Finley: We are a new company. We launched in November. We are currently in talks with several departments to include Kirkland Police Department.?We have departments in Cincinnati. We have police in Pennsylvania. We are bidding for a contract in Tampa. We are growing.
MV: Are there neighborhoods outside of Seattle that are considering private patrols? Is this a trend?
Finley: Yes, it?s very much a trend. They are all over the country. Police can?t deal with property crimes if they?re out there dealing with stabbings.
MV: There are those who question the need for these patrols. Would you expect success that would lower the rates of property crimes in Magnolia?
Finley: Yes, it?s a no-brainer. It?s a commonsense approach to solving a problem. If you have a lot of crime in the area and you put additional police there, crime will go down. If you take police away from an area, crime goes up. If there are too many police, bad guys aren?t going to go there. It?s very simple.
MV: How is your company different from others in your field?
Finley:? We are not a temp agency. We are not involved in hiring, firing, or who gets to work. The neighborhood would have complete control over who is hired. Officers can be rated. If they don?t show up on time, or if there are other problems, the neighborhood association can rate officers? performance. The neighborhood is not stuck in one contract. In fact, we don?t even use a contract. We have a good service. If you like it, use it. You can cancel anytime.
We feel we have great software that will benefit this community. We have solutions to make sure the concerns of the community are met.
MV: Is there a difference between patrols in actual police cars versus private vehicles? Which is better?
Finley: A fully-marked patrol car is best. If an officer makes an arrest, where is he going to put him? In his personal car? Is the bad guy going to dump drugs in the backseat of his personal car? It?s just not a good idea to use personal cars. If you want a patrol car, and the city allows it, you can pay an additional rate for the car itself. That?s based on the department?s cost. If the neighborhood wants the patrol car, the department charges an additional fee. Our software can take care of the invoicing.
MV: Your company has its hat in the ring to provide services. It?s not a done deal, is it?
Finley: No, we are just an option. We are an option for the Magnolia Patrol Association for how much they spend. They can have as many police as the budget will allow. You?re not set with one company saying, ?our fees are $60 an hour.? It?s not like that. You can hand select the officer you want. Or you can open it to all of the officers in Seattle. Whoever is in our system. Most entities that hire police officers want the patrol vehicle to go with the deal. It?s a big billboard reminder that there is a cop there. That?s the impact you want.
Additionally, for your consideration, CopsForHire will donate $2,000 toward the purchase of a MPA patrol vehicle.
Contact Andrew Finley: drewfin@copsforhire.com