As a nonprofit community service and on-street security organization, over the years The Hartford Guides, Inc. has grown and adapted to address the needs of the Hartford community. As Hartford has acted to meet a wide variety of challenges, so the Guides organization has evolved to support the increasing security needs of civic, municipal and nonprofit organizations.
Today, as an organization specifically designed to serve these constituencies, we look forward to enhancing the partnerships we have developed along the way and forging new ones to meet the dynamic security needs of Metropolitan Hartford. Some key dates and developments along the way include:
April 21, 1991 – Incorporated as Connecticut nonprofit corporation
May 8, 1991 – Full time executive director hired
September 3, 1991 – On street program introduced; program operations began
January 8, 1992 – Determined to be tax exempt under section 501(c )(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, retroactive to date of incorporation
December 14, 1992 – Designated central business district’s formally recognized block watch by the Court of Common Council
May 16, 1994 – Forged strategic partnership with Hartford Police Department; collocated with Hartford Police in central business district headquarters
January 5, 1995 – Entered into contract with Jones Lang LaSalle to staff and operate Civic Center Mall Information Center. Contract remained in effect until February 2001 when Mall operations were curtailed in preparation for property sale
January 1, 2000 – Introduced complimentary mobile roadside assistance to the central business district
September 11, 2000 – Assumed program sponsorship of the Security Communications Access Network (SCAN), the city’s corporate electronically linked association of security organizations
December 3, 2001 – Licensed by State of Connecticut as an incorporated contract security service
December 3, 2001 – Entered into contract with the Hartford Parking Authority to provide security at Hartford Parking Authority facilities.
March 5, 2004 – Entered into collaborative partnership with 3 other civic organizations to explore creation of a business improvement district in Hartford’s central business district and adjacent Asylum Hill resulting in the creation of the Hartford Business Improvement District (HBID) effective January 1, 2007.
May 2, 2006 – Entered into contract with South Hartford Community Alliance to provide mobile security patrols in South Hartford commercial areas. Contract ended May 1, 2008
January 1, 2007 – Initiated strategic shift in direction from traditional nonprofit model to nonprofit entrepreneurial model. Adopted mission statement: Enhance communities by rendering security and hospitality services to individuals and organizations.
April 4, 2007 – Entered into contract with the Hartford Business Improvement District to provide security patrols, both mobile and on foot, within the District covering some 13.5 linear miles on a seven day per week basis. Contract renewed for 3 years effective July 1, 2010.
March 20, 2009 – Entered into new 5-year contract with the Hartford Parking Authority to provide security at Hartford Parking Authority facilities effective January 1, 2009.
July 1, 2010 – HBID contract renewed for 3 years
May 15, 2011 – Completed comprehensive strategic planning process. 5-year Strategic Plan approved for implementation
December 14, 2012 – Entered into contract with Laz Parking to provide mobile security and hospitality patrols to various surface parking lots
August 1, 2013 – Entered into contract to provide security to the Morgan Street Parking Garage upon transfer of the facility from City of Hartford to State of Connecticut ownership.
September 1, 2014- Entered into additional contract with the Hartford Parking Authority to provide security at Hartford Parking Authority surface parking lots.
January 5, 2015- Introduced complimentary light service roadside assistance citywide.