Full throttle
Plans have emerged to cut VPA's force of sworn police officers by two thirds
You certainly can’t accuse Virginia Port Authority of half measures. In July, it replaced all of its board members bar one in a sweeping move to kick-start growth.
Since then, it has held four closed meetings – to public outcry - to bring the new commissioners up to speed.
And now plans have emerged to cut its force of sworn police officers by two thirds and replace them with contract security guards in an effort to save money.
The authority currently maintains its own police force of fully certified and sworn law enforcement officers. They take responsibility for physical security and law enforcement at the authority’s marine terminals. The exception is APM Terminals’ hub, where security is provided by Securitas Security Services USA.
The authority hopes to save $1m-$2m per year with the switch to private security at other terminals through early retirement offers and redundancies.
Currently, the port’s police officers patrol more than 1,000 acres inside the gates of port facilities in Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Front Royal. They are paid an average salary of about $40,600 a year, which is a massive drain on the port’s financial resources.
Unarmed security guards will replace police officers on the gates, while the remaining police officers will patrol the areas inside the gates.
It’s no surprise that the move has angered the force, with police chief, Andrew Engemann, threatening to leave his post if he’s asked to layoff officers. The fear is that security will be weakened at the port.
However, joint private/public security forces have proved themselves at many other US ports, and outside of the US, private security is the norm and arguably just as effective.
And with ever improving gate technology and processing, the need for a mob-handed visible port police force is becoming less important. Certainly, a port protection presence is needed, but perhaps not to the full complement that Virginia is currently hosting.
And once the policing issues have been addressed, one wonders where the axe will next land at this take-no-prisoners port. Staff will likely be wondering the same thing.
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