Volusia County, FL - Update: The Volusia County Sheriff's Office (VCSO) plans to replace deputies at the front doors of County courthouses with private security guards from the same security company that had hired the Pulse night club shooter.
In their plan, the VCSO would place Level 3 armed security guards with a company called G4S at several courthouses throughout the County. The outcome of this plan going through would be around $330,000 in savings for the County in the first year.
This contract with G4S is controversial because the company has come under fire in the past year due to issues with their hiring and employment practices. Volusia County Sheriff, Mike Chitwood, brought up that Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people and injured more than 50 others at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando last year, worked with the company as a Florida State Corrections Officer.
According to several news outlets, including the Orlando Sentinel, during his employment with G4S, Mateen was investigated by the FBI twice, made threats towards coworkers and claimed he knew terrorist organizations. The company also falsely listed a psychologist that was no longer practicing on Mateen's mental health evaluation.
Sheriff Chitwood assured the council that any new hires would be safe and would go through similar background checks as any VCSO deputy would.
"When we get this hiring pool after they go through background and the screening by G4S, in which we're going to be a part of, we are then going to make them go through about the same exact background that any deputy sheriff goes through," says Sheriff Chitwood. "So there's a safety buffer there. Just as we do to hire our officer or deputies, we're going to do the same thing with these folks."
The proposed contract was passed unanimously by the Volusia County Council.
Earlier Reporting:
At their next meeting, the Volusia County Council will decide on whether to move forward with their plan with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office (VCSO) to hire private security at the entrances of several County courthouses.
If approved at their Thursday meeting, a $376,480 per year contract will be initiated with G4S Inc. that will put a total of 8 private security guards at the entrances of the following courthouses:
The goal of this 2-year contract is to be able to place the deputies currently arming the front entrances at several different areas within the courthouse. This switch is expected to save about $330,000 in the first year.
Currently, a VCSO deputy is paid $48.56 when you include wage, benefits, equipment, training and personal leave. A G4S Level 3 armed security guard would only cost $23.23 to $25.63 an hour.
The amount of VCSO deputies at the entrance will be reduced from 3 deputies to 1. The deputy will oversee screening and will guard the security bypass line used by law enforcement and court workers. The plan is expected to place 7 deputies in different areas of the courthouse where there are currently 14 vacancies.
“This plan keeps our courthouses safe, puts deputies back into positions that have gone vacant and saves us money in the long run,” says Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood. “It’s a win-win. We’re protecting our court system and safeguarding the taxpayers’ money at the same time.”
Every year, around 600,000 individuals are screened at Volusia County courthouses with 711,000 in 2012 and 560,000 in 2016. A security screening includes an X-ray, walk-through magnetometer and if necessary, a hand-wand.
Flagler, St. Johns, Putnam, Brevard, Jacksonville, Lake, Pinellas, Orange, Broward, Hillsborough, Polk, Collier, Hernando, Sarasota and Sumter Counties all use private security at their courthouses. G4S has contracts with 11 of those counties excluding Flagler, St. Johns, Putnam and Brevard. G4S also services 5 of the 7 largest courthouses in the State.
The contract allows the VCSO to perform background checks on all candidates on top of the screening GS4 already does.
“We won’t accept anything less than quality people in these positions – and we’ll have strict processes in place to make sure we take a hard look at every one of them,” says Sheriff Chitwood. “Every single person who steps inside one of our courthouses has to know they’re in a safe place. They are today, and they always will be. This plan will only make us better and more efficient.”
Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2017.
