Social housing organizations take security seriously

Monday, May 12: Four officers and a dog handler entered the underground parking lot of a council housing project in the ^19th arrondissement of Paris, driving away youths squatting in a car. Their walkie-talkies crackled on their navy blue uniforms, which were loaded with tonfas, tear gas, and handcuffs. If it weren't for the obligatory "private security" label on the back of their bulletproof vests, the untrained eye would mistake them for police officers. They were, in fact, among the 200 members of the Paris Inter-Landlord Surveillance Group (GPIS), including 170 "field" officers, available seven days a week, from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m., following a tenant's call; at the request of one of the 12 housing housing funding agencies; or on their own initiative.

"We intervene more in everyday disturbances—occupation of common areas, noise pollution—than in drug trafficking cases, which we only destabilize," describes GPIS Director General Alain Bessaha. "We stay on site until the troublemakers give up. In the event of verbal escalation, we call 17." Joint operations with the police are sometimes organized to put an end to recurring disturbances. According to Nathalie Chébaut, a caretaker at a council building on Rue Curnonsky, in the ^17th arrondissement, "the GPIS gets the young people out of the lobby, then they come back... But there are fewer occupations, less aggression. Without it, it would be a thousand times worse. My mother lives in a small private residence, you should see what's down there!"

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