New security measures at Sarasota County Jail

SARASOTA - New security measures at the Sarasota County Jail have deputies tight lipped.

This comes after two loaded guns were found in the jail in less than a year.

It started with inmate George Dupree, sneaking a loaded gun into his jail cell last September. That gun went unnoticed for three weeks. An investigation resulted in no changes to the jail security procedures.

Then, just a few weeks ago, another loaded gun was found in the intake area of the jail. Deputies are still investigating how that one got there.

In the last week, however, we have discovered new security measures at the jail, and when we asked the sheriff's office about them, deputies told ABC 7 they didn't know anything about them.

Jimmy Fowler has been a bail bondsman in Sarasota County for more than 20 years. In that time, he's brought hundreds of people to jail for skipping out on court, with the most recent late last week. "I take them to the intake area of the Sarasota County Jail, and this area is where they take custody of them from me."

This time, however, Fowler noticed intake procedures had changed. "At the point, where I turn them in, they have a detention officer pat them down physically then take a scan wand and go specifically on each person."

The newest addition to the jail's intake area are metal detecting wands. In the past, corrections officers only patted down inmates before putting them behind bars. That procedure resulted in two loaded guns turning up in the jail.

We also talked to a woman arrested just two days ago, and she also confirms the use of metal detecting wands in the jail's intake area. "I was patted down, then they used a metal wand to search me down."

We also spoke with a man named David Bennett. He is an independent consultant working with the sheriff's office to make changes to the jail's intake area. He said news of the wands didn't surprise him one bit, especially since two loaded guns have been found inside the jail in less than a year. Bennett says there are plans to completely remodel the jail's intake area by the end of this year. He says that area of the jail is too small for the number of bookings each year and that more space will certainly help with the jail's recent security issues.

Also, the jail's accreditation is expected in just a few weeks, with security one being one of the criteria.

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