The Pulaski County Council wants more discussion before making any decisions about courthouse security. The county commissioners recently implemented a single point of entry and agreed to support a request for the council to approve the addition of security guards.
Sheriff Jeff Richwine told council members Monday that he’s willing to try a staffing plan based on the one used by Cass County. “I’d been saying for a long time that I think it would take two people and a part-time person to man a security point at the courthouse or at the Justice Center,” Richwine said. “But I think, looking at this guy’s plan, he does it with one full-time person and about seven part-time people.”
That means the number of security guards could be flexible, based on the court’s schedule. The plan would cost almost $85,000 a year for personnel and supplies. The current budget has $60,000. County officials are also in the process of trying to get grant funding for metal detectors.
But Circuit Court Judge Mary Welker said the courts and other department heads haven’t been asked what they think is needed for security staffing. There are also a number of new rules in place for courtroom security.
Sheriff Richwine noted that the courthouse renovation may increase security on its own, since many of the offices would be rearranged to restrict public access. Richwine felt that alone might be good enough for some department heads, allowing his office to focus on securing Superior Court and the relocated Circuit Court in the Justice Center.
In the meantime, Council Member Jay Sullivan said the county can continue to provide security to Circuit Court on an as-needed basis, as was done during a jury trial last month. “If she does need security, I think we’re obligated to supply it to her and we should supply it to her, but I don’t know that we want to go ahead at this point and hire full-time people or part-time people to operate a security system at the courthouse, when she’s going to be over to the new addition in the Justice Center anyway,” Sullivan said. “And then we can look at what we want to do at that point in time for security at the courthouse.”
Council members agreed to give more county officials a chance to weigh in and revisit the issue during their joint meeting with the county commissioners in April.
