https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/video-shows-private-security-guards-administering-narcan-in-downtown-austin/
“We administered 23 doses of Narcan between 16 people so far this week, with Monday being the busiest,” said a representative for Nxt Lvl Security, the firm hired to work downtown. “A normal week for our downtown team is 1-5 people with 1-2 doses each.”
ATCEMS said it’s grateful groups like private security guards carry Narcan, and the agency said on several occasions – because someone else administered Narcan – patients are already starting to wake up by the time medics get there. However, ATCEMS also said many overdose cases require more than one dose of Narcan, so medics often also deliver subsequent rounds.
“With this surge, they’re not necessarily attempting to take opioids. They’re using K2, crack cocaine, Xanax, a number of other substances,” ATCEMS Captain Christa Stedman said. “Whatever is doing this is making its way into everything, and that’s why we need people to be alert.”
Private security hired last summer, in part, to deter illegal drug activity downtown
The company was hired last year to patrol the following streets amid a staffing shortage at the Austin Police Department:
The intersection of Sixth and Brazos Street
The intersection of Sixth Street and Congress Avenue
The 400-700 blocks of Sixth Street
These private security patrols began last summer. The businesses who hired them said the primary goal was to deter illegal drug activity and unruly behavior downtown.
“Some building managers and owners have expressed needing constant security in these areas,” APD said in a statement when KXAN first asked about the security patrols last year. “APD cannot commit these resources to certain areas 24 hours a day/seven days a week, and is aware that some business owners and managers are opting to hire private security to ensure their businesses are protected.”