Division asks for appropriations for bulletproof glass

Monday, Feb. 10, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

During an Assembly Ways and Means budget hearing, state Consumer Affairs chief Patricia Morse Jarmon said her division collects thousands of dollars in registration fees from credit reporting agencies, health clubs and other businesses.

Jarmon said telemarketers, who usually pay in cash, particularly worry the division. The registration fee for telemarketers is $6,000.

"If people are casing the office and see one person after another walking in with $6,000 in cash, there's going to be trouble," Jarmon said. "There's always a possibility that we'll need that extra security."

Jarmon said the collection office has a safe and that cash is removed every day in an armored truck. Still, Jarmon said she worries about employees, particularly during slow times when only two are working at a time.

"But if someone is coming in with a gun, it doesn't matter if you have 30 people in there," Jarmon said.

The three windows at the office are now covered with regular glass, Jarmon said. Gov. Bob Miller's budget allocates $5,885 from the state general fund to replace the windows with bulletproof glass.

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