COCAINE INCIDENT PROMPTS TBI TO BEEF UP SECURITY WITH ARMED GUARDS

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has created a new armed force of
uniformed officers to replace private guards that provided security at its
Nashville headquarters.

The TBI says the change was prompted after a private security guard last
year stole 50 pounds of cocaine and after TBI officials pointed out other
security needs since the $20.5 million facility opened in August 2000.

The new, 10-member force, which reported to duty in February, already has
those in the TBI building feeling more secure, said Jeanne Broadwell, TBI
spokeswoman.

"It's a much better situation for us because if something happens, they're
on the front line, at the front gate and at the front desk," Broadwell
said. "It made more sense to have someone there who is trained to use a
weapon and in general police tactics."

The state Department of General Services had signed a five-year contract
with a Florida company, Meridian Management Corp., to provide all services
to the TBI building, from cleaning to lawn care to security, department
officials said last year. The most the state was to be charged under the
contract was about $5.3 million.

Meridian subcontracted the private security work to U.S. Security.

That contract had called for two security guards to work during each
eight-hour shift at the TBI building, which is open 24 hours a day, seven
days a week, officials said. The portion of the contract providing private
security no longer is in force.

Broadwell said the TBI is stepping up other safeguards, such as adding a
6-foot fence, topped with electronic motion detectors, around its 13-acre
campus. She declined to provide details of other steps to ramp up security
at the complex, off Ellington Parkway in east Nashville.

The new TBI headquarters houses the state crime laboratory and offices for
investigators and provides storage for evidence in criminal cases.

The new TBI officers have duties and requirements beyond those of the
private security guards.

For one thing, they now must undergo evaluations and background checks that
are similar to those for TBI agents.

The officers patrol the grounds, staff the front gates and monitor
visitors. Unlike the unarmed security guards, the new officers carry
weapons and have all the powers of law enforcement officers. They make
about $21,000 a year, officials said.

State officials estimate the cost of the new TBI officer program this year
will be $322,625, including all equipment, guns and clothes, according to
state estimates. That's about $100,000 a year more than the cost of private
security guards.

Jack Bare, a member of the new TBI uniformed force, has 12 years'
experience in law enforcement in Wilson County and with Lebanon police. He
said the new officers' extensive training in areas such as advanced medical
situations will benefit the state.

"As a contract employee with arrest powers, we're better equipped to
protect the property and the lives of the people here at the facility,"
Bare said.

Jody Mark Tolar, 28, a security guard at the complex, pleaded guilty in
connection with the theft of cocaine from the TBI evidence room last year.
He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and must serve 30% of that.

He told authorities he went into the evidence room two separate times,
stealing a total of 50 pounds of cocaine.