When Denver first signed its contract with Securitas, the company dedicated 175 guards to the city’s needs
The Denver City Council authorised up to $24 million in additional spending on private security services across the city on Monday. This move, expanding contracts with three different companies, is aimed at addressing Denver’s evolving security needs, particularly around 24/7 shelters for migrants from the southern U.S. border and people who are homeless.
The council approved increasing the maximum amount of an existing contract with Securitas Security Services USA from $25 million to $43 million. This contract, which began in early 2022, is set to expire at the end of this year, but the city and the company have options to extend it for two more years.
Additionally, the council expanded contracts with two other firms, Advanced Professional Security and Denver Metro Protective Services. These on-call contracts, originally capped at $400,000 each, are now authorised to draw up to $3.4 million in taxpayer dollars before the end of the year.
Nicol Suddreth, the city’s contract supervisor with the Department of General Services, explained to council members last month that these three companies provide security at more than 30 municipal facilities across Denver.
The demand for these services has grown significantly over the past two years, city officials said, largely due to the need for more 24-hour services at an expanded number of city shelter facilities for migrants and the homeless.
When Denver first signed its contract with Securitas, the company dedicated 175 guards to the city’s needs. That number has increased to 250 earlier this year, Suddreth noted.
Securitas provides on-site security for three former hotels that have been converted into homeless shelters as part of Mayor Mike Johnston’s All In Mile High homeless initiative.
