Lake County demanding better performance from security company
A private security company in charge of screening visitors at metal detectors at the Lake County government complex in Waukegan is on notice that arrests of its employees and other problems won't be tolerated, officials said.
Lake County Undersheriff Raymond J. Rose said the second meeting within a week was held Wednesday with representatives from U.S. Security Associates Inc. Headquartered in Georgia, U.S. Security is a nationwide company with 160 branch offices.
Four U.S. Security guards assigned to Lake County have been arrested since May, officials said. In the most recent case, sheriff's police said, a 28-year-old Waukegan woman was fired after taking $100 from the courthouse's security checkpoint bin in September.
“From the county perspective, this is completely unacceptable and the demands we are making are not outrageous,” Rose told the Daily Herald.
Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor also expressed concern about U.S. Security. He said U.S. Security was vetted and deemed to be the lowest responsible bidder by the purchasing department and sheriff's office before the county board approved a contract with the company.
“We've had a huge problem with U.S. Security,” Lawlor said. “I think the public and our employees have a right to feel safe when they enter the building to be screened.”
Rose said officials have directed U.S. Security to tighten operations at the Waukegan complex, which includes courtrooms and administrative offices, and other Lake County buildings. He said the county also is demanding U.S. Security upgrade employees assigned to screen visitors at the Lake County government structures.
Lake County will start the second year of a two-year contract with U.S. Security in December, paying about $1.2 million annually to the company. The county has an option to extend the contract by three years after 2015.
U.S. Security Associates' vice president of marketing, Brian Dooling, didn't return a detailed message seeking comment.
In May, a U.S. Security employee was arrested after he purportedly held a novelty gun to the throat of a sheriff's deputy at the Lake County courthouse. Rose said another U.S. Security employee assigned to Lake County was charged with sexually abusing a child while off duty in Vernon Hills during the summer.
Another guard was accused of stealing a Lake County employee's makeup at the screening area, according to Rose.
In addition to the arrests, Rose said, county officials are concerned about whether the guards are treating visitors with enough courtesy. He said expectations should be high for the contract employees because they represent Lake County to the public.
“They have to improve the caliber of employee,” he said.
Lawlor said he expects the sheriff's office and U.S. Security to work together on improving how the checkpoint workers are supervised.
U.S. Security surfaced as an issue last week when Republican Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran and his opponent, Democrat Jason Patt, participated in a political forum in Round Lake Beach. While they disagree on several topics, Curran and Patt said at the forum they want sheriff's deputies back at the security checkpoints because of their concerns about U.S. Security employees.
Background checks are conducted as part of U.S. Security's hiring process. The company reports it has about 46,000 security professionals.