Magic Mountain LLC will pay the total $820,430 cost of the five-year contract for the sheriff’s “Tourist Oriented Policing Team)” which provides a full-time, on-site law enforcement presence at Magic Mountain in order to “deter crime, enhance safety, and reduce the risk of terrorist activities.”
The sheriff has been providing the supplemental service since 2003, when state law first allowed such services to be provided on an ongoing basis to “critical facilities.” The law defines a “critical facility” as “any building, structure, or complex that in the event of a disaster, whether natural or manmade, poses a threat to public safety, including, but not limited to, airports, oil refineries, and nuclear and conventional fuel power plants.”
Before Sept. 11, 2001, the law allowed such services to be provided only on an occasional basis, i.e., for special events. After 9/11, the law was amended to allow for those services to be continual, and the scope was broadened to encompass more types of facilities.
The new contract with Magic Mountain would run from Dec. 1, 2013, through Nov. 30, 2018. The contract specifies that the officers provide regular law enforcement services, not security guard functions. Part of the rationale is to free up SCV Sheriff’s Station personnel to do other things.
County to Renew Magic Mountain Policing Contract
