Features

OAKLAND — The Oakland International Airport’s troubled security system is getting an overhaul. 

The Port of Oakland approved a plan Tuesday to increase the presence of law enforcement and decrease the role of a private security firm. 

Under the plan, guards from ABC Security will be removed from all security posts considered “critical.” They will only patrol areas outside the terminal, such as parking lots and the roads in front of the terminals. 

Oakland police will handle critical areas inside the terminals, such as security checkpoints. Alameda County Sheriff’s personnel will staff critical points outside the terminals, including vehicle gates to access the airfield. 

ABC Security has come under criticism for security lapses that included more than 30 instances of guards sleeping or abandoning their posts in late September. 

The added security will cost almost $7 million, according to Steve Grossman, director of aviation for the Port of Oakland, which oversees the airport.