MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. - The new Maricopa County Sheriff said employees will no longer have to pass through body scanners or have their property checked.
"We hire the best employees on the planet, and I trust every single one of them," Sheriff Jerry Sheridan said in a Jan. 14 news release. "We must have confidence in our employees and support what they do for our agency."
The office said that in 2023, when Sheriff Paul Penzone was in office, he implemented body scanners and checks.
"In early 2023, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office implemented a policy where all MCSO employees entering a jail facility were treated the same as any other person and would be required to pass through a security scanner to enter. The policy adopted by a previous administration applied to any employee going to work as well as the public who was visiting the facility for any reason. In addition to the full body scan, all property, including personal property and food items, were also inspected," the news release said.
The policy is effective immediately.
The sheriff's office says the scanners will still be used for non-employees.
In the past, the sheriff's office had issues with drugs being smuggled into the Maricopa County jail system.
In January 2023, Penzone announced a now former detention officer had tried to bring meth and fentanyl into the jail. That's when he also announced the body scanners would be installed at the county's five jails.
He said the machines would cost more than $165,000 each.
"If we truly want to be a drug-free safe jail system, we have to take every step possible and that means demanding that our employees become comfortable with the idea that we'd be checking them, too, as well as anyone else," Penzone previously said.
Related reports:
- Inmates accused of smuggling drugs into Maricopa County's prison system
- Lake Pleasant deaths, jail drug seizures: MCSO Sheriff Paul Penzone makes department announcements
- Maricopa County detention officer tried to bring meth, fentanyl into a jail, sheriff Penzone says
- Ex-detention officer sentenced for smuggling meth, fentanyl into Lower Buckeye Jail