The Cost of Crime-Fighting in San Diego
Posted by Don MacPherson on August 17th, 2009
Earlier this month, Eye on Comics posted an article on how smoothly Comic-Con International San Diego 2009 ran, strictly from a security/safety/crime perspective. As was noted, the San Diego Police Department only recorded two arrests it connected to the premier comics and pop-culture event, and it also reported four lost children were quickly reunited with their families at the convention.
Monica Munoz, media services manager with the San Diego Police Department, had commented that Comic-Con had a contract with the city for policing and traffic-control services, but she was unable at the time to provide information on the value of that contract. She’s since contacted Eye on Comics with the relevant figures.
Total SETC hours (1889.2) at $22.00 per hour — $41,562.40
(Note: SETC stands for special event traffic controller)
The total amount billed to the non-profit Comic-Con organization was $63,419.20 for those services delivered over the course of the July 22-26 event, she wrote in an email.
David Glanzer, director of marketing and public relations for Comic-Con, previously told Eye on Comics the organization doesn’t discuss specifics about security for the convention.
“Typically we don’t comment about security except to say that we take it very seriously,” he wrote in an email earlier this month.
Given the fact that about 120,000 people gathered in confined spaces and long, frustrating lineups for hours on end with no reported incidents of violence of theft, it’s safe to say that more than $63 thousand was money well spent on Comic-Con’s part.
Comic-Con International 2010 is scheduled for July 22-25, 2010, with Preview Night slated for July 21.
Follow Eye on Comics on Twitter.