Universal Protection Service Dumped From Contract Worth Up To $15 Million

August 16, 2013

What you can do: sign the petition

To: North County Transit District Board

Launch an urgent investigation into reports that your transit security officers are exposed to blood born pathogens without training or hepatitis B vaccinations. Choose a responsible contractor for the North County Transit system and keep security officers and the public safe!

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Universal Protection Service recently lost its multi-million dollar security contract with the San Diego County Department of General Services after its first year on the job. The Department of General Services contract covers nearly fifty locations providing vital services to the public ranging from courthouses and community centers to juvenile halls and libraries. Universal acquired the taxpayer-funded contract when it purchased Heritage Security Services in 2012. Heritage, a locally based San Diego contractor, had held the contract since 2008.

The loss comes as no surprise given the number of problems Universal Protection has had in the San Diego market. Cal/OSHA, the California-state health and safety agency recently fined the company for repeated violations of regulations meant to keep workers and the public safe, including work that exposed security officers to blood borne pathogens. On another tax-payer funded contract, this one with San Diego's North County Transit District, audits of Universal Protection found:

Training files were lacking in organization, uniformity, and all of the files were missing training documentation in one or more required areas.
28 files with missing or expired first aid and CPR cards
17 were missing chemical agent certifications
There was no documentation in any of the files that the security guards maintained valid California drivers licenses
Nor was there any indication the guards received Peace Officers Standards in Training (POST) 832 PC training.

North County found Universal was "failing to meet the contractual requirement," and "communicated specific corrective actions to UPS...by way of a Notice of Intent to Terminate" the contract... The North County Transit District serves over 12 million passengers a year and is an integral part of the San Diego Regional transit system. The North County Transit District recently put the security contract out to bid, and a decision on a new security contractor may be forthcoming before the end of the year. If Universal Protection Service cannot prove itself to be a responsible contractor, it risks losing more contracts in the San Diego area and beyond. Taxpayers, transit users and the security officers that protect them deserve a responsible security company that is willing and able to meet its contractual demands. What you can do: If you believe that security officers and the public deserve better, then support our petition calling on North County Transit Authority to investigate the failings of its contractor, Universal Protection Service, and use a responsible contractor.