ABC 15 News Report at wpde.com
wpde.com - by Liz Cooper - Friday, December 30th 2016
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Advanced Protection Services, LLC provided security for the local New Year's Eve at Market Common Southern Times Square event Saturday night at Myrtle Beach, S.C., on December 31, 2016.
As originally reported from ABC 15 News wpde.com - by Liz Cooper - Friday, December 30th 2016 — Thousands of people are expected to attend The Market Common Southern Times Square event Saturday night.
They’ll be streaming New York City's New Year's celebrations on a jumbo screen starting at 9 p.m., with live music and fireworks to ring in the new year, according to The Market Common event site.
As they get ready for the event, Capt. Patrick Sousa of Advanced Protection Services says that's where his security officers will be for New Year's Eve, too.
"New Year's Eve is a busy night," said Sousa.
APS is a local private security company. Sousa said they were hired last year by The Market Common for the New Year's Eve event. He said they work with their clients' requests for these types of events.
"They give us the number of officers they want. We get the officers lined up, and sometimes they call and say, " Hey, can you give us a couple of extra officers?" said Capt. Sousa. "And we have a list of our temps who have other jobs but like doing this on the side. Well, call them, bring them on in."
Sousa said that because they worked the event last year, they had a leg up in planning for this year.
"As soon as it was over, we did an after-action report, reviewed all of our officers' reports, and saw where the hot areas are on the property and be proactive," said Capt. Sousa. "All of our officers know the layout of the property. We've done it before, so we know what to expect."
He said their company has also been hired for other major events, such as the Carolina Country Music Fest. So that experience helps with planning to keep people safe in large crowds. He said ASP also focuses on hiring former military and retired police officers. Sousa himself was a police officer in Detroit for nearly 20 years. He said their officers bring that experience to their clients.
"Just like law enforcement. I mean all of our procedures, how we run the company, is just like law enforcement," he said. Sousa said they're bringing in additional resources for The Market Common event. He said they have temps on standby for large events like this, and that's who they call in. He said about 25 security officers total will be at The Market Common New Year's Eve event.
"We try to keep a dozen on standby where we just pick up the phone. And throughout the year, we will bring them in and train them on new exercises and new paperwork. As I said, on our devices, we do our electronic reports. So some aren't too familiar with it, so we will bring them in, give them a quick class, and download the program on their phone for their reports," said Sousa.
With thousands of people expected to celebrate the new year in the area, people said it's great to hear of the additional officers.
"Those who serve in public service, the police officers, they're there for our safety, for our support, and there's a sense again of security and knowing that you can focus on the event knowing you are in good hands. I don't see any negativity around that," said Eddie Parrish, who is visiting for New Year's. Sousa said they didn't have any major issues last year at the event and anticipate the same this year.
He said their officers and Myrtle Beach police will meet before the event starts on Saturday to get everyone on the same page. Lt. Joey Crosby with Myrtle Beach Police said they will have additional officers at the event as well.
The Southern Times Square event starts at 7 p.m. Saturday. We reached out to The Market Common officials about their safety plan, but they have not responded for comment at this time.