Welcoming and Safe: The New Business Improvement District

Business improvement districts help invigorate neighborhoods and stimulate economic development. These districts bring together businesses and other neighborhood residents such as schools and cultural institutions to create a positive environment that will attract more patrons. 

A critical component of achieving this goal is ensuring that business improvement districts are safe, clean and welcoming. 

To meet this need, business improvement districts are beginning to look more closely at the public safety aspects of their mission. The old paradigm that creating a clean space results in a safe one, has shifted; in order to maintain a clean attractive public space, we must first focus on safety and security. 

Today’s approach to staffing business improvement districts often includes security officers who serve in dual roles as ambassadors - delivering first-class hospitality services while maintaining a safe and secure environment. These safety and security ambassadors are an approachable resource for patrons and business owners, and a deterrent to crime. They provide directions, help find lost children, distribute event information, report safety issues, aid motorists and serve as an extra set of eyes and ears for police. They also act as safety escorts who walk patrons to their cars or guide them to a local bus stop. 

Ambassadors also address quality of life issues by discouraging panhandling and vagrancy through proactive outreach to offenders. Local laws surrounding these issues are often complex and highly charged, requiring ambassadors to be well trained in the law and policies of the district and the community. A highly trained and well- managed ambassador force can guide the homeless into the appropriate social services channel one minute and direct a family with small children to the nearest ice cream shop the next. 

This is a delicate balance of responsibilities and requires the recruitment of the right individuals, quality training and hands-on management support. 

Read more about security staffing for business improvement districts.

  About the Author
  Charles Bohnenberger is Vice President of Government Services Business Development for Allied Universal. He is a former senior advisor to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.