A recent survey conducted by the Washington Superior Court Judges’ Association found problems with security measures at more than half of the state’s county courthouses. But visitors to the Clark County Courthouse needn’t worry.
Since 2000, visitors have been required to pass through a metal detector and have their belongings scanned upon entrance. The same safety protocols are employed at the Robert L. Harris Juvenile Justice Center, 500 W. 11th St., and Family Law Annex at 601 W. Evergreen Blvd.
There are metal detectors and X-ray scanners at the front and west entrances of the courthouse. Everyone is screened, including employees, judges and attorneys. The county makes no security-screening exceptions for anyone but on-duty law enforcement officers with business at the courthouse.
If the metal detector goes off while passing through, entrants are often pulled aside and screened with a hand wand.
Last year, 376,000 bags were screened at the courthouse, according to Kerri Lind, site director with G4S Secure Solutions, a private security company that the Clark County Sheriff’s Office uses. Lind said that 3,894 items were seized — primarily tools, pepper spray, sharp objects such as knives and scissors, and flammable material, such as hair spray.
Occasionally, someone with a concealed carry license will bring a firearm to the courthouse, but they are instructed to take it back to their vehicle or lock it up in one of the lockers at the west entrance, Lind said.
G4S currently holds a two-year contract with the sheriff’s office, Undersheriff Mike Cooke said, but the agency is in the process of moving the contract to county general services. The company also provides security at the Public Service Center, parking garage and community health building, he said.
The county has used private security companies to monitor the courthouse entrances and security-screening process since the metal detectors were installed. Deputies are also usually posted at or near the entrances.
There are a total of 18 private security officers stationed at various buildings within the county government campus, Lind said, or who patrol the surrounding area. Security officers routinely patrol the floors of the courthouse and check each courtroom. They also stand in the weekly protection order and anti-harassment dockets, she said.
Cameras monitor the outside of the courthouse, both entrances and each floor, District Court courtrooms and the clerk’s offices, Lind said. The footage is monitored by security officers from a control room.
The county in its 2017-18 budget approved the installation of additional cameras and some upgrades to current security equipment at the courthouse. The control room will also receive a makeover, with new monitors. The security system at the juvenile detention center was also approved for upgrades.
