Raleigh Police Association Criticizes Use Of Guards Outside Building

Randy Miller, who heads the Raleigh Police Officers' Benevolent Association, said the department is using three officers to guard the building everyday, and it is costing taxpayers money.

"It's Raleigh-Wake County PBA's belief that this is the biggest waste of manpower within the Raleigh Police Department," he said. "These officers are costing at a minimum of around $100,000 a year to just stand there.

"Basically, these officers are not provided with the essential tools necessary to prevent any type of terrorist act," Miller said.

However, City Manager Russell Allen defends the use of guards.

"The physical presence of police officers, we think, is part of a state of readiness and alert in a very unusual time," he said.

Durham's police and sheriff's departments as well as Wake County's sheriff's departments do not have guards outside of their buildings on a 24-hour basis.