DDA highlights safety ambassadors' 8-year effort, cites $2M-plus investment and new hotspot checks

The Downtown Development Authority on May 11 heard a detailed update on its Safety Ambassadors program, including coverage changes, new hotspot checks and monthly outreach statistics.

Laura Simon, speaking for DDA staff, framed the program as a seven-day-a-week operation that pairs foot patrols with golf-cart coverage and increased night staffing on high-volume Friday and Saturday nights. She said the district boundaries and shift structure have been adjusted to place officers where they can be most effective.

Board members and PSC Security staff described operational changes made since December, including dedicating two ambassadors to the Old School Square campus on busy nights and instituting a 19-point checkpoint system ambassadors scan during each shift. Anderson, a Safety Ambassador, described how the team documents incidents: "We put it in a group chat," he said, and officers attach photos and details so city teams can respond.

The board discussed program cost and duration. At the meeting the chair summed up the long-term investment: "It would be accurate to say we're, like, $2,400,000, give or take, over the past eight years," a figure the board treated as a gross estimate of total program spending. Staff confirmed the program's overall cost is above $2 million across that time period, driven by added shifts, overtime and higher pay for experienced officers.

Members pressed staff on results and next steps. Staff said ambassadors regularly coordinate with police, code enforcement and social-services outreach; they noted some formerly "hot" locations show fewer incidents after sustained check-ins. The board asked for continued monthly reporting and recommended a follow-up workshop to consider program enhancements, funding partners and options for engaging the city and CRA for expanded coverage.

The presentation concluded with broad board support for continued DDA-funded ambassador coverage while staff and PSC Security refine reporting and operational metrics for upcoming budget discussions.