Civicity, a new security organization founded in March by the Kentucky-based Block by Block and SMS Holdings of Nashville, reportedly joined law enforcement patrolling downtown Nashville over the weekend, amid the suspension of the city’s last private security partner over allegations its security guards posed as uniformed police, whose five-year contract just expired.
Originally reported in April to be the new choice of the Central Business Improvement District (CBID), which collects a portion of revenue from downtown businesses and directs them to the nonprofit District Management Corporation (DMC), which in turn is operated by the Nashville Downtown Partnership (NDP), Civicity has reportedly already been contracted to provide services for the remainder of the year.
Additionally, within its current 2027 budget, the Central CBID Safety Services will be allocated $2,812,684 for Safety Services, though it remains unclear what portion will be paid to the company for security.
When NDP announced the agreement with Civicity last month, it described the company as a “national provider” of security services in public, and said the Kentucky-based group would,”create a more interconnected workflow throughout NDP’s safety initiatives, including a more seamless connection with Outreach services.”
According to Fox 17, Civicity will continue working to place off-duty Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) officers on Nashville’s downtown streets, but the company website suggests that the standards for its employees may be different from other Tennessee law enforcement.
Civicity calls its front-line employees “Community Response Officers,” and the company’s workforce includes officers, “carefully vetted for their temperament, people skills, and their drive to make communities better.”
The company explains, “Each is trained in our compassionate response model focused on intentional engagement, problem solving,and positive outcomes.”
Additionally, when Civicity was founded earlier this year, Block by Block president Blair McBride was interviewed by Lane Report, and the outlet reported that the company’s officers are, “trained extensively in deescalation, trauma-informed engagement-situational awareness and customer service.”
It is unclear whether Civicity has hired or trained Community Response Officers in Nashville. Its website only shows available positions for dispatchers and dispatch supervisors.
Concerns over the effectiveness of law enforcement in downtown Nashville have proliferated since at least 2023, when Councilmember Jeff Eslick described a disturbing decline in policing, and described a revolving door where repeat offenders are released back onto the streets.
Last year, Mayor Freddie O’Connell objected to claims by U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) over safety in Nashville, even as the city continued to rank eight on an FBI list of the nation’s most dangerous cities.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Civicity Patrol” by Civicity.
