CTA Tattler

maybe carole brown would have an answer for this?

Securitas was recently mentioned in the Milwaukee Journal:

"A guard from Securitas, part of the Pinkerton corporate family, was accused of befriending, defrauding and then slaying an elderly couple whom he had met on his detail at a U.S. Bank branch on Milwaukee's west side."

Makes you wonder just what sort of backgrounding they do and whether the CTA cares about the quality of the "rent-a-cops" they contract for.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/may05/322903.asp

Seen one at the Grand Ave stop a few months ago. She was talking on her cell phone completely ignoring the guy who was smoking and the other guy who was play-acting like he was gonna throw his girlfriend on the tracks.

When I used to work in the south loop, I would encounter a huge crowd of the employees around the Roosevelt stop (assume that is where they checked in for work eacy shift). They all were pretty, erm, unenthusiastic about where they were. Considering they get paid poverty wages while the CTA board gets to ride around in SUVs paid for by us, this isn't a surprise.

The Securitas guards are a joke. On the Blue Line at the Clinton Station the guards chat up the girls waiting for the el (if the guards are men) and the women sit at the far end of the station on top of milk crates and huddle in their coats. One day the guard was sitting with his back to the entire el platform and a guy was at a bench about 30 feet away mixing cocktails out of his duffle bag (vodka soda mix). One guard just sits and reads magazines while on duty getting up every 10 minutes (or whatever the time is) to touch the checkpoint thing on the way.

They are pretty much useless.

I'm sure this travesty will get fixed once the RTA funding formula gets fixed. More funding for the CTA = better service for everyone.

Gosh Shoulda, you're such a cynic!

Every so often (I don't know how often), you see the Securitas walk around the station with a blue plastic hand grip. At a few places around the station, they place the end of the hand gripe against shining metal thing that is attached to a wall, a vending machine, a sign or something else. When they do that, there is a beep, and they move onto to find another shining metal thing. I assume this is the way they ensure the guards aren't just sitting in the booth for the entire shift.

The dog teams at least ride the trains and seem to be aware of what is going on. Are they all formerly National K-9?

The CTA is paying $20/hr. and the contractor is only paying the employee $8.50? This is an item that can be cut from the budget.

Securitas = worthless. People sitting in glass boxes = worthless.

Cut costs like a business. GO.

"Star Security" is what it says on the uniform patches of those guards who sit at the south end of the Grand Red Line platforms.

I happen to be one of those "worthless" securitas guards, one in the k-9 unit. Just wanted to let you all know there are 8 of us on 211 miles of track at any time yet the 8 of us account for more arrests on cta than cpd in any givin month. Think about that next time you want to whine about how we keep you safe

Hate to tell you, Mr Entirely-Too-Proud-Of-His-Job, but Securitas' presence on the CTA is, at best, the equivalent of a pat on the shoulder and a lollypop for the passengers, to assure us that "everything's gonna be just fine". For all of us who have found ourselves needing quite a bit more than a rent-a-cop on the CTA, that just doesn't work.

Would it be at all possible for the K9 people to give their dogs a bath on occasion? I know that just the rank smell of those poor dogs is enough to deter most criminals, considering the car empties out pretty quickly once one of the 'teams' steps on board...

Hey Bw the dogs are bathed every 2 weeks...any more than that would affect the dogs skin in a negative manner we do our best to keep the dogs smelling good but because of all the homeless fucks who ride the trains and the fact that we spend 8 to 16 hours on board said trains its quite hard...sorry bout the odor.

I USED TO WORK FOR SECURITAS AND I AS AN EMPLOYEE WAS THREATENED, SPAT UPON,AND I ALSO FEARED FOR MY SAFTEY,BUT I REMAINED VIGILANT, AND DID MY BEST!!!!! OH AND YES I FORGOT TO ADD THIS TO BY ABUSE LIST, UNDER PAID!!!!I WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY REGARDLESS SO DONT BE SO QUICK TO DOWN ALL OF THE GUARDS BECAUSE I WAS A GOOD APPLE!!!!

About Securitas;For those of you complaining about the bill rate ($20.) to guard salary ($8.50) you don't grasp basic business expenses. It costs money to buy dogs, train dogs, train k9 handlers, feed dogs, house dogs (most boarding kennels charge $20.per day or more per dog), medical expenses for dogs, not to mention k9 handler insurance benefits, salary, workmens comp and the list of taxes involved in doing business from city, county, state and federal gov't.
The k9 team is dedicated to the job not the paycheck. I for one know that most of the K9 handlers are exceptional people doing their best to deal with the criminal element and nusance riders so prominent on the lines they are protecting.