LAKEPORT — Starting Wednesday, a trip to the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport will mean waiting in line to file through a metal detector while bags and briefcases go through an X-ray machine on a conveyor belt.
The security screening equipment arrived Thursday and will be set up Tuesday morning for a voluntary dry run, according to Lake County Superior Court Executive Director Kip Rodda. Screening will not be mandatory until Wednesday. Security personnel from Universal Protection Services and an armed Lake County Sheriff”s Department deputy or bailiff will direct people coming in through the courthouse”s main entrance.
“Less than 10 courthouses now in California don”t have screening going into the courthouse, so we”re just bringing up the tail end. It”s taken a while to set everything up and get everything approved,” Rodda said.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors approved the screening in February, and Lake County Superior Court Judge Arthur Mann signed a court order Wednesday allowing the court to put it into action. The project was fully funded by the state.
“It”s very similar to what goes through an airport,” Rodda said.
In addition to checking for guns and knives, the metal detector and X-ray machine will look for common objects that could be used as weapons, according to Rodda. He gave the examples of metal forks, scissors, tweezers and glass drink containers.
“If we find a sharp object in someone”s pocket, we won”t confiscate it immediately. They will be given the option to leave it in their car,” Rodda said.
Approximately 290 county employees work in the courthouse, not including court employees, according to Lake County Human Resources Director Kathy Ferguson. They will also be required to come in through the main entrance and undergo security screening, but will be allowed to bring common objects such as forks and glass bottles into the courthouse that the general public will not be allowed to bring. Elected officials will not be subject to the screening.
“It”s nice that we”re starting this before someone gets hurt in the courthouse. I was in a municipal court in Seattle, and there was a district court across the street from us. There was a divorce trial where the guy came in and shot his wife. That”s where a lot of the trouble is ? family law ? because emotions run very high,” Rodda said.
Security screening began in the South Civic Center in June 2007. Rodda said an average of 300 people go through the screening daily.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
