The DeWitt County Board last week approved the purchase of a new security machine for the County Courthouse.
On the WHOW Morning Show, Thursday, Sheriff Mike Walker told the Hart Media Group that County Building security personnel have utilized the same X-ray machine as people entered the building for almost 30 years, but it recently bit the dust, and an emergency purchase for a new machine was approved by the County Board last week.
The new machine will cost roughly $34,000, which - by County ordinance - means the project would have had to be bid out; however, they were able to avoid this by declaring the lack of a machine an emergency.
Sheriff Walker is excited for all the new features they will have access to, like making weapons detection easier, in addition to an AI component to the machine that will detect other hazards an individual may have on them.
The Sheriff estimates that the new machine will arrive in 90 days. In the meantime, security personnel are forced to hand-search bags and purses, which could put them in harm's way and slow down the flow of traffic into the building.
This was not a budgeted expense for the Sheriff’s Office or the County. He hopes, though, they can include a new metal detector in their budget in the future.
