City County Building receives an F for homeland security
Apparently the city is only worried about terrorists striking during the day. That's the impression I got after entering the City County Building last night around 6:30 PM and noticing that there was no one manning the security area. That's right, in the evening all of that expensive security equipment including the X-Ray scanner goes to waste. I waited for about 5 minutes in the security checkpoint area before the cleaning lady waived me in. I was able to walk right through the metal detector which failed to detect my pocket change, belt buckle and miscellaneous pointy objects (pens and pencils). What's the point of having the equipment if it's not going to be used. What's to keep someone from going in at night with a weapon, and hiding in the bathroom until the next day?
Photo taken by [urlhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/ocherdraco/]ocherdraco[/url]. Used with permission under the creative commons license.
Don't complain without a plan!
This topic is a common issue at budget time every year because there are several County Board supervisors who would like to do away with screening altogether. If you really are concerned about this issue, you should contact your Supervisor or a member of the Public Protection and Judiciary committee of the County Board with your comments. You can find your supervisor on their home page: http://www.co.dane.wi.us/coboard/default.asp or call 266-5758. I'd also encourage you to come to the CCB during normal business hours and talk to some of the screeners about this issue.
no plan is better than the one there is now
I don't have a plan but I don't see how only staffing it part of the day makes the building secure. Securing a building is one of those things you either have to do all the time, or not at all. I'm fine with them getting rid of the the screening altogether actually, especially since it would save money and get rid of the illusion of security that screening part-time provides.
is this an issue only with the county?
since this is the city/county building, you have to think whether or not the city will keep this service after the county moves to its new location a few blocks away. from what mayor dave always says about the council chambers kept up by the state, it seems like the county is responsible for these kinds of issues.
this really has nothing to do with the issue at large. it's true that i don't feel safer with the security checks, especially since most of the time i spend in that building is after the guards get off. if the service isn't there the entire time the building is open, then the service isn't really achieving its purpose, so why have it?
Security is there for the courts only
The reason the screening is in place is to protect the courts, not for the other offices in the building. As of right now, there will be screening in the new courthouse, but none in the CCB after the courts move in January. The screening stations were put in place in 1997, after someone brought in a loaded gun and fatally shot the county coroner and injured others. Because the main goal of screening is to protect the courts, screening is only available the hours court is in session, normally 7-5, but later if a trial goes later.
how much protection is that
I still don't see how that protects the courts if someone can go in with a loaded gun afterhours and hide until the next day.
I suppose but...
I suppose if someone is really determined to do such a thing, they could. But the bailiffs check everything every morning in and around the courtrooms to make sure that such a thing wouldn't happen. The courtrooms are locked when not in use, and...when the CCB is left open, there are limited areas that you can access. Gates are put up at night when the building closes to prevent access to the public. Of course, there's nothing stopping any person sitting in the hallway overpowering a bailiff to grab his or her weapon while transporting an inmate. There's nothing stopping a police officer from leaving a loaded weapon sitting on the counter in the bathroom. Both situations have happened recently in other courthouses. I think the county tries to protect the most people it can for the times those people would most likely need to be inside the courthouse with a limited amount of resources. It's not perfect.
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