Fishtown hired private security. Too bad other neighborhoods can’t do the same.

As someone who lived alone in an apartment in North Philly for 15 years, I used to feel at my most vulnerable when I was coming home.

I lived in a large brownstone, and frequently my back would be turned to the sidewalk as I jiggled the finicky front door lock. I worried that someone would try to approach me from behind and force an entry.

A similar situation reportedly happened on Aug. 10 around 5:22 p.m. to a woman who lives in Fishtown on Frankford Avenue. As she was attempting to enter her home during broad daylight, a man attempted to force his way into her home. Luckily for the resident, three men who had been patrolling the neighborhood heard her cries and came running. The suspect fled. Two of the men pursued him by foot until he stopped running. They waited with him until police arrived and took him into custody.

I learned about this incident from the Fishtown Kensington Area Business Improvement District, which hired the private security force. The Philadelphia Police Department independently verified the involvement of the security detail that rushed to the woman’s aid. Last month, I met the three men who monitor Fishtown’s streets — Griff, Justice, and Barry (their security firm asked that we not include their last names for safety reasons). They’re called the Fishtown “safety ambassadors.” Since August, they have been patrolling the commercial corridors of Fishtown, armed only with their cell phones and Narcan.

At first, I was a little leery when I heard that Fishtown had started its own security detail. Images flashed through my head of the vigilantes who brandished baseball bats and hammers “protecting” the neighborhood and police from rioters following the 2020 death of George Floyd, but ended up threatening and assaulting people instead. In recent years, Fishtown, long a majority-white, working-class neighborhood, has morphed into one of the city’s hottest neighborhoods. I wondered if private security would be a way to control who can walk its streets and enjoy its many amenities. Uniformed guards standing around can have an intimidating effect — and not always in the way intended.

I recently followed at a discreet distance behind the unarmed beefy trio dressed in black to watch as they made their usual rounds past the bars and other small businesses, taking note of all of the double takes their presence attracted, as well as the many smiles and nods of approval.

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Given how violent the streets of Philly have gotten in recent years, it’s clear why residents are happy to see them. The Philadelphia Police Department is grappling with a critical shortage of officers. More than 500 positions are vacant and hundreds more are out due to injury claims. Meanwhile, the city’s gun violence crisis continues unabated with no end in sight. The Center City District last week announced plans to significantly expand the number of uniformed bicycle patrols in the area.

I can’t help but think about all the areas that can’t afford private security.

The private patrollers in Fishtown should be “a deterrent to people that will probably steal catalytic converters and hang out on corners selling marijuana or whatever they may do,” said David Fisher, a 29-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department.

“I don’t expect [Fishtown’s private security] to jump out there and get involved in confrontations, but I expect them to be good witnesses,” added Fisher, who is president of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the National Black Police Association.

The Fishtown Kensington Area Business Improvement District contracted with Grayman Security to patrol the neighborhood’s commercial corridors, in much the same way that upscale neighborhoods in Chicago, New York City, and St. Louis are doing. This level of security isn’t new for the wealthy, but it is somewhat in less affluent areas. In March, I wrote about a middle-class mother of a Temple University senior who started a security patrol around her son’s off-campus housing after he witnessed an armed robbery nearby.

The Fishtown safety ambassadors — paid for by the Fishtown Kensington Area Business Improvement District, which is funded by assessments paid by local commercial property owners — are loosely modeled after services provided by the Center City District.

“They really are a help squad,” said Marc Collazzo, executive director of the Fishtown Kensington Area Business Improvement District. “We didn’t just go to a security firm and say, ‘Give me the biggest bodies you can find to sort of menace the neighborhood.’”

Collazzo declined to provide details on how much the firm is paid. I was asked not to reveal the exact hours the patrol is on duty for security reasons.

I hope that what Collazzo says bears out — and that the presence of private security in Fishtown provides peace of mind to residents and business owners.

If I lived there, I would appreciate knowing that security was making rounds, especially late in the evening as I made my way home. But if private security is a good idea in Philly neighborhoods, I can’t help but think about all the areas that can’t afford it. Will this be just another thing that drives gentrification in neighborhoods that can pay for extra protection, while further disadvantaging those who can’t?

Residents all around the city deserve the same sort of peace of mind — not just the ones lucky enough to live in a thriving, upscale area such as Fishtown.

The Philadelphia Inquirer is one of more than 20 news organizations producing Broke in Philly, a collaborative reporting project on solutions to poverty and the city’s push toward economic justice. See all of our reporting at brokeinphilly.org.