Sheridan reverses policy, says MCSO employees no longer will be scanned entering jails

PHOENIX — New Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan has reversed an agency policy that required employees to be scanned upon entering jails, he announced Tuesday.

The move means Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) employees will be able to enter facilities without needing to be scanned or have their property searched.

“We hire the best employees on the planet and I trust every single one of them,” Sheridan said in a press release. “We must have confidence in our employees and support what they do for our agency.”

MCSO body scanners: Why were they installed?

The body scanners were installed in 2023 as part of an initiative led by previous Sheriff Paul Penzone.

He made the decision to bring in the scanners as a way to deter inmates, visitors and others from bringing in drugs and other contrabands to jails.

An MCSO detention officer was arrested in January 2023 after being accused of attempting to smuggle fentanyl and methamphetamine into a jail.

“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 that idea that we should be checking them as they enter, as well as everyone else,” Penzone said at the press conference announcing the MCSO detention officer’s arrest.

Chris Hegstrom, MCSO media relations director, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Tuesday that the policy had not been well received by employees.

Russ Skinner, who replaced Penzone after he stepped down in January 2024, admitted last February that the policy “isn’t a popular thing.”

“The employees didn’t feel trusted by their bosses and this gives them an understanding their boss does trust them,” Hegstrom said.

Visitors, inmates and other non-employees will continue to be scanned upon entering jails.

The machines are valued between $150,000 and $200,000 each.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Balin Overstolz-McNair contributed to this report.

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