RICHMOND, Va. — Security leaders from across the commonwealth met in Richmond this week and discussed a big problem impacting private security workers. As CBS 6 has previously reported, guards, officers, investigators, and business owners who rely on the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) to be properly credentialed to do their jobs have faced long delays getting their licenses.
“Do I believe that there were many frustrated constituents? Absolutely," said Corinne Mastronardi, who owns a private security company and chairs DCJS' Private Security Services Advisory Board.
CBS 6 has been hearing from many in the industry complaining that DCJS licensing delays have caused staffing conundrums and hindered the ability for some to find employment due to not having a proper, current certification even after completing and paying for the required training.
While the agency has made several announcements month after month to extend the validity of licenses in an effort to keep people working, some like Zachary Young, who attempted to upgrade from an unarmed guard license to an armed guard license, have reported that the issues prevented them from getting further job opportunities.
“It's been a huge setback, especially because it's just money I threw into a hole and lit on fire at this point," Young previously told CBS 6. "This is absolutely ridiculous on how this system is being handled right now.”
At the root of the issue, according to officials, is DCJS' transition back in December to a new online credentialing system called Lotus.
“With the old system, there definitely was a data migration issue when you have old data and an archaic system. Moving to a new system with modern technology, different new modern applications, caused difficulty with the data," Mastronardi said.
On Wednesday, DCJS' regulatory division director Aubrey Granderson gave the board an update on its progress to address system challenges.
"Replacing the credential management system has obviously been painful. While we expected that a change of this scale would be difficult, especially considering the significant challenges of the system we left and that vendor, this has been more trying than any of us anticipated," Granderson said. “Every one of us is experiencing this frustration. The DCJS team certainly is experiencing frustration, and they are working very hard.”
Granderson said DCJS typically processes 2,500 applications per month but saw a great reduction in January through March with only 2,800 applications processed in a three-month timespan. In April, she said the agency made significant progress to catch up on the backlog that was building up since the launch of Lotus.
She said the department has been working to restructure data, correct records, and recently hired a data analyst to resolve outstanding issues.
Though some have argued that DCJS should have done more testing before the rollout, Granderson said, “We did test this system to the extent that we were able to test it in the time that our current vendor gave us.”
But the problems are also highlighting the constraints of an under-resourced department.
While DCJS regulates more than 60,000 professionals and businesses, it has 24 full-time employees and just four staff members to answer calls and emails from the public.
Additionally, the regulatory division solely relies on licensing fees to cover operational expenses, and fees for private security workers have not increased in 25 years.
Granderson told the board that she's working with the governor's office to make a request to increase licensing fees and is considering asking the legislature for more money for Lotus development. She said the department did receive an initial $500,000 allotment from the General Assembly to help fund the $1.3 million Lotus project.
“I've told [Granderson] that you can't carry this on your back. Your hands are tied by so many things, such as not having the proper funding, not having the proper staffing," Mastronardi said. "Legislation is vital in regard to funding for the DCJS and the private security entity.”
Mastronardi said she's optimistic that once DCJS irons out the kinks, the industry will have a reliable and effective credentialing system.
When asked when she'd like to see a full resolution, she said, “My expectation would be yesterday. I mean, it impacts us all.”
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