McDonalds Security Guard

A couple of weeks ago I was at the McDonalds in Winnetka ordering some Chicken Nuggets. As I ate my bland but filling nuggets, I looked around to see an intimidating security guard standing by the door. He continued to change his post about every ten minutes, from one side of the restaurant to the other. He was wearing all black, and looked rather serious. The scene was incomprehensible; why was a scary-looking security guard on duty at a McDonalds in one of the richest towns in America? I haven't heard of a single public violent incident happening there in my lifetime, and they have a security guard at the main thoroughfare for New Trier teens and busy parents.

One quick search of "arrests in McDonalds" brings up pages upon pages of cases involving police at McDonalds. The rate of crime at McDonalds restaurants could be attributed to the people it caters to. McDonalds offers incredibly cheap and convenient food, even if it isn't the best for your health. While this could appeal to upper-class people who need a quick meal on the way to work, lower class people tend to use McDonalds as a primary food source. In less affluent populations, crime is almost always more frequent. Instead of having security guards at McDonalds in more urban and poorer communities, we have one in a town with a ridiculously low crime rate.

So why do we have a security guard? My guess is that, although however unnecessary, the security guard makes higher class people feel safe in the fast food restaurant environment, which many people aren't used to in this part of the country, since the zining laws make it near impossible to build fast food restaurants.

Do you think the security guard at McDonald's is necessary? Should fast food chains in less affluent areas have access to these sorts of securities?