Counties work to improve security

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TEXARKANA — Counties across Arkansas must have security at their courthouses meet a new state standards by the end of the year.

The Legislature mandated the change with a law passed in 2007 after a string of violent episodes at courthouses across the country. The counties were given more than two years to bring about the improvements.

By the start of 2010, counties must have certified law enforcement officers providing court security. Those officers will need a specialized training course, which focuses on protection of judges, jurors and all others in the courthouse.

Counties that complete courthouse assessments and emergency preparedness plans are eligible to receive added security funding. Those receiving money now are using it to install better locks, metal detectors and other equipment.

Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts is offering training to the counties. Last week, one of the classes was held for counties in southwest Arkansas.

Pete Hollingsworth, director of court security for the Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts, said the class in Texarkana was the second time the seminar had been given.

"We're really paying attention to the evaluations we get from participants at the end of the training to fine-tune the instruction. So far, the feedback has been pretty good," Hollingsworth said.

Members of the sheriff's offices in Miller, Lafayette, Hempstead and Columbia counties, officers with the Texarkana, Ark., Police Department and adult and juvenile probation officers took part in the session at the Bi-State Justice Building in downtown Texarkana.

Hollingsworth's position was created by the 2007 legislation. The class was led by local court security chief Tom Harness and Hollingsworth, with Deputy Prosecutor Attorney Carlton Jones of Miller and Lafayette counties.

Current security staff must complete the class by Dec. 31. New hires have 12 months from their first day on the job.

The class covered the obvious threat of an unstable individual under pressure from pending court action, such as a divorce or criminal charges. Participants were also taught the importance of securing a courtroom and judge's chambers before a court session begins.

"Ultimately, Arkansas law puts the burden of court security on the county sheriff," Hollingsworth said. In Miller County, Harness oversees the security of Miller County's two courtrooms in the courthouse, one in the Miller County Jail and another in the juvenile lockup.

Miller County sheriff's deputies and retired members of law enforcement regularly serve as security in the courthouse.

Although the training focuses largely on the threat of human violence, it also includes natural or man-made disasters.

Counties are supposed to create and regularly update assessments of their courthouses. For practice, training participants walked through the Bi-State and made notes about their observations that were later the basis for a discussion on how to complete court security assessments.

The assessments are used to identify potential trouble spots, analyze equipment and staffing needs and provide strategy to deal with human volatility, Hollingsworth said.

As part of the assessment process, an emergency preparedness plan that details ideal responses to everything from floods to fires is also mandated. Continuancy plans are meant to keep the legal system moving even if a courthouse is rendered unusable by a disaster.

For more information see Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.