Confiscated weapons illustrate imminent courthouse security needs

Confiscated weapons illustrate imminent courthouse security needs By Greg Chandler

The Grand Rapids Press
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Everything Michigan-mlive.com

ALLEGAN COUNTY -- Allegan County Facilities Manager Brett Butler passed around a number of weapons, including a Swiss Army knife, a round of live ammunition and a set of brass knuckles that had a knife attached to it, to county commissioners Thursday.

The weapons, which were stored in a cardboard box, have all been confiscated from visitors to the county courthouse in recent months, an illustration of the county's continuing need to improve security at the building. Butler told commissioners that officials are pressing ahead in implementing interim measures to reduce security risks, as they work toward a permanent plan that is expected to be presented in the next three to six months.

While the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks heightened public awareness of the need for improved security of government buildings, Butler said the issue of security at the county courthouse dates back years before that. He handed commissioners copies of newspaper clippings detailing incidents of courthouse violence that go back 15 to 20 years, in some cases, to illustrate his point.
"(Courthouse security) is not about Al-Qaeda," Butler said. "It's about our total risk."

Of the measures that have been undertaken so far, the most visible occurred last fall, when the county limited public access to the courthouse to a single entrance on the west side of the building.
"The idea is to make our target more difficult than the next target," Butler said.

Now, the county is looking at additional ways to further keep an eye on people who enter and leave the courthouse building. Officials on Thursday reviewed a conceptual plan for relocating the main entrance to the east side of the courthouse and building a second entry in a new lobby that would lead to the parking lot west of the building. Both entrances would be monitored by a single security team, Butler said.

"We think this is a neat design," he said. "It has real potential."

A courthouse security proposal put together in 2000 recommended the addition of a walk-through metal detector, hand-held metal detectors and a package X-ray machine, among other things. While they are not yet present as you walk in the building, other items are being added, including an electromagnetic door locking system that allows courthouse doors to be locked from the inside.
County Commissioner Jon Campbell said courthouse security needs to continue to remain a top priority with the county, and that he does not mind the complaints about the security changes.

"I would rather face Mike Wallace on '60 Minutes' to explain the inconvenience of people having to go through security, rather than the lack of security that causes people to get hurt," Campbell said.

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