Businesses that want individual service from the Police Department contract with the city. The gigs always count as overtime, so they don't take away from the department's time or budget, and the businesses are likely paying top dollar for the police security. Jennifer Wood, a criminal justice professor at Temple, said that police-for-hire is just a fact of life. "The Police Department does their very best to provide equal protection to all," Wood said. But the truth is that certain groups can afford to get a better chunk of that protection. "It's simply a reality."