Reproduced by permission of
The Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette.
A man hurled a firebomb into a crowded courtroom April 8 at the Champaign
County (Ill.) Courthouse. Damage to the court (to the right) was extensive,
but no one was killed. The courthouse had no security at the time, but has
now added guards, an x-ray machine and walk-through metal detectors.
On the morning of Tuesday, April 8, a man carrying a bottle and a can of gasoline walked through an unguarded door of the Champaign County Courthouse in Champaign County (Urbana), Ill.
Minutes later, on the third floor of the building, he stepped into a courtroom where he hurled a firebomb, made from the bottle and gas, at Circuit Judge George Miller. The judge was lucky to escape with only a cut to his scalp. But the man fled the courthouse - again, through unguarded doors.
The incident made county officials sit up and take notice about the lack of security at the courthouse. In fact, that very afternoon, Sheriff Dave Madigan ordered an x-ray machine and five walk-through metal detectors. Price tag: $68,741.90.
A walk-through metal detector starts at about $3,000; an x-ray machine can run from $16,000 to $50,000, according to Brett Bader, director of U.S. sales for EG&G Astrophysics Corp.
Madigan said the county was in the process of looking at security equipment, but "we were a day late and a dollar short," he said.
The almost-100-year-old courthouse has "about 10 ways to get into it," the sheriff said. Currently, it's restricted to just one entrance and exit.
The county could have opened itself to lawsuits if anyone had been injured in the firebombing. "When you see smoke rolling out of your courthouse, that's what goes through your mind," Madigan said.
Incidents like this "tend to put people on notice," said John Rockwell, research associate with the National Center for State Courts in Williamsburg, Va. Rockwell said courthouses in urban areas are "more likely" to have security than courthouses located in rural areas.
Although there's often a rush to add security after something tragic happens (many government buildings added security after the Oklahoma City bombing), courtrooms across the country are not getting security in place as fast as they want. They see the costs and then change their mind.
"I hate to blame it all on dollars, but a lot of it hinges on funding - you can only do what you can afford," said Bobby Moser, executive director of the National Sheriffs' Association in Alexandria, Va.
Security is expensive, he said, "especially for equipment and employee manpower and training and cross-training of your court people."
Because of downsizing and rightsizing, many counties have to figure out how to best spend their budgets - and sometimes, education, fire and police might come first, Moser said.
"They might ask if they can afford it. But then you have to say, 'Can we not afford it?'" he said.
Moser said family, juvenile and bankruptcy courts are now seeing more violence because of the nature of the litigation.
One way your county might save dollars is by asking the U.S. Marshall Service for some free assistance. One of their 94 offices, or someone from their headquarters, will conduct a security survey of your county courthouse. Counties should contact their nearest U.S. Marshall regional office.
What sort of things does the U.S. Marshall Service look for in its surveys? "They would take a look at the number of entrances, the number of people who have access - it varies from place to place," said a spokeswoman from the U.S. Marshall Service Court Security Program.
They would also look at the layout of the building, noting the location of the judges' chambers, cloakrooms and the path that "various categories of people use," she said.
Generally, three areas of a courthouse should be identified: Areas where the general public has access; limited access, for courthouse personnel only; and a secure area, where prisoners come and go without any contact with the public. You also have to have clear pathways for juries, she said.
At a minimum, a courthouse should have two uniformed guards, metal detectors and an x-ray machine, she said.
In February, Montgomery County, Md. heralded the implementation of an enhanced courthouse security system by saying it will "give up its dubious distinction of being the last courthouse [with at least four courtrooms] in the state of Maryland to have electronic security systems installed." The facility has 18 courtrooms and four domestic relations courtrooms.
Metal detectors were installed at each of the four public entrances to the Montgomery County Judicial Center. With four entrances, delays to enter the building are no longer than two minutes.
An employee identification system was also begun, with each employee required to wear a county-issued photo ID.
The 16-year-old building, with about 20 entrances and exits, was not built "with security in mind," said Jo Ann Ricchiuti, management and budget specialist for the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department.
The building has four x-ray machines (cost: $28,000) and six metal detectors (about $150,000).
Cameras record the comings and goings at each entrance.
A number of arrests have been made of people entering the building carrying concealed weapons, she noted. "I never knew so many people carried knives."
In all, the county pays about $500,000 to staff its security for the courthouse - that's for full-time contract labor to staff the entrances and for two deputies who deal with problems as they arise. (The deputies' activities are separate from those assigned to keep watch inside the courtrooms.)
In Henderson County, N.C., volunteers are used to man the metal detectors at the county courthouse.
"They're trained by the deputies in the proper way to do things," said Bob Noble, director of the volunteer program called Volunteers in Partnership, or VIP. The volunteers who work at the courthouse metal detectors also wear uniforms.
Deputies working inside the courtrooms are just a radio call away, Noble said, adding that someone from the sheriff's office also keeps tabs on goings-on with the use of surveillance cameras. "They respond immediately," he said.
"We tell them [the volunteers] not to get too confrontational," he said.
Retirees compose a large segment of the 60-member group. Many are former lawyers, engineers, teachers, accountants and clergy. The group contributes nearly 1,000 free hours to the department, in a variety of duties, each month.
Another way to maximize your court security operation: provide the county's warrant list to deputies assigned to fixed posts in the courthouse, in case they enter the facility. That's advice from Sheriff James Plousis, of Cape May County, N.J., writing in the latest edition of Sheriff Times.