Visitors to any office at Shreveport's Government Plaza are subjected to a full fledged security checkpoint to get more than five feet into the foyer.
First a visitor must sign in on an electronic board and have a headshot taken for a visitor sticker. As a part of this process one must identify their destination--be that the permit office, the chambers, water bill payment windows, etc.
Then visitors must go through a metal detector after emptying pockets of belts, keys, cell phones, metal writing pens, coins and presumably a metal tie clasp. The tray with these items goes through a scanner along with any belt that person has on clothing.
After clearing these hurdles a city employee(s) will then push the elevator button for the floor the person will be visiting.. This system allows a visitor to only go to the designated floor and return to the lobby.
This system requires several persons to operate.
Usually there is one/sometimes two SPAR employees at the check-in kiosk. The metal detector screening usually entails 2 or 3 CSPOS deputies. And then there are one or two deputies in a glassed command center that presumably monitors the entrance process. And add to that are the elevator access persons.
GEEZ...is all that necessary for a person to go pay their water bill on the ground floor lever? How about someone going to the city permit office on the ground floor? And what about all the FED EX persons delivering packages to various floors at Government Plaza?
Before Sheriff Henry Whitehorn and his gungho security guru made these draconian measures, access to the government offices was accessible without a virtual strip search at the front door. The CPSO office did man a station outside the chambers on the ground floor to inspect briefcases and purses. And any visitor was then "wanded" with a hand held metal detector before entering the chambers for meetings of various government bodies.
Compare this system for all visitors to Shreveport's Government Plaza to the more efficient and less costly system utilized at Bossier City Hall.
Initially, visitors can only enter the front entrance that faces Benton Road. The side entrance facing Beckett Street is only accessible by city employees and Bossier City elected officials.
Upon entering the front entrance a visitor walks through two panels that are monitored by one Bossier City marshal. The panels electronically scan the individual along with a briefcase/purse to detect ANY object that resembles a weapon. In that instance the city marshal will do a more enhanced search of the briefcase/purse and "wand" the person.
This scanning machine is manufactured by Evlov Technology. This scanning machine provides a layered solution for concealed weapons detection. The scanner is designed for high-traffic screening to efficiently scan people and bags, providing alert images to help pinpoint potential threats.
With Evlov the security machine/system is simply a walk through of the two panels. No need to unload pockets, take off belts, remove your hat and even safety pins holding your pants together. And then to put all these items back into pockets, etc. Needless to say it's much, much faster with Evolv.
To enter the chambers at Bossier City Hall or the Bossier City Courtroom in that building, one must go through the standard empty your pockets into a tray and walk through a scanner. This is similar to the security at Shreveport City Court and Caddo Courthouse.
Maybe all this extra CPSO manpower needed to run the Government Plaza entrance is one of the reasons Sheriff Whitehorn rolled forward ad valorem taxes to cost Caddo property owners more money. Presumably the City of Shreveport must eat the costs of having two or more employees tasked with assisting visitors to get a visitor sticker and to access the elevators.
This is just another example of what most people say--it's easier to do business in Bossier City. Without a doubt it is much easier to visit offices in Bossier City Hall than in Shreveport's Government Plaza.
