A recent study by the Washington State Board for Judicial Administration (BJA) provides guidance related to protecting our courts from violence.
In July 2007, the BJA adopted standards that provide guidance for courts of all sizes in all parts of Washington for implementing security training, screening, weapons policy, use of force, alarm systems, key card access, threat assessment and facility design.
Additionally, the Administrative Office of the Courts assisted in reporting and tracking security incidents across the state. The incidents that have been reported in the past two years are striking, both in number and scope of threat and attack, according to a recent article by Judge Steve Gonzalez, the BJA co-chair. According to Judge Gonzalez, increased presence of law enforcement, including armed security at the metal detectors, is one of the primary issues on which our courts need to focus.
Federal Way Municipal Court has one unarmed security guard at the metal detectors. Two armed bailiffs are usually busy transporting prisoners. Federal Way personnel with whom I have spoken are concerned for their own safety, the safety of judges, attorneys and other parties such as defendants and witnesses, as well as the public.
As the situation now stands, an occasional uniformed law enforcement officer inside the courthouse is armed. Nevertheless, an armed intruder that can force his way past an unarmed security officer will be in an almost gun-free environment. Judge Gonzalez exhorts that every kind of threat is common, including threats to prosecutors and judges that are on the upsurge.
Judges, attorneys and other persons have been gunned down in courtrooms all over the United States, including King County. Federal Way’s Municipal Court handles domestic violence calendars, a specific category that increases the likelihood of an attack at the court. The present situation makes the uniformed attendant guarding the courthouse (and everyone else that enters the premises) a soft target.
If we ask folks to disarm in order to enter the courthouse, we need to take reasonable precautions against foreseeable threats. The presiding judge should take leadership on such issues.
King County Superior Court and the King County District Courts station have armed sheriff’s deputies along with unarmed security guards at the metal detectors. Police officers are in short supply and armed security costs considerably more than the alternatives. Many judges have already armed themselves.
The city has a greater duty to protect my life when I am required to disarm in order to enter the courthouse. Our city’s leaders recently completed a cost analysis that weighed the risk of liability against the unpredictable cost of contracting with King County for court services. Protecting against court house violence, on the other hand, is a process of weighing even greater risks of liability against predictable costs.
One prosecutor in a neighboring city is always armed in the courtroom. Most prosecutors seem adverse to wearing a weapon. The Federal Way Police Department is 30 seconds from Federal Way courtrooms, but a great deal can happen in 30 seconds. It is time to reassess our approach to courthouse security.
