How much security keeps a courthouse safe?

When a man walked into the Ottawa County Courthouse in Port Clinton on Friday morning, he took off his backpack and handed it to the security deputies.

They ran the backpack through an X-ray machine while he walked through a metal detector.

This has been standard procedure at the only accessible door at the courthouse for a little more than a year.

At the other end of the security spectrum, a man who was upset with the government recently walked unchecked into the Sandusky County Courthouse, carrying a backpack, then went to the commissioners’ office in the building next door.

There are three entrances to that courthouse, and they are not armed with metal detectors.

“He carries that backpack all the time,” Commissioner Terry Thatcher said. “We don’t know what’s in it.”

Ultimately, the man didn’t create a problem, but such incidents have prompted the county to begin looking at upgrading its courthouse security.

The Supreme Court of Ohio also has made security recommendations for courthouses. That’s one of the reasons Ottawa County upgraded its security last year, Sheriff Steve Levorchick said.

“We’re really fortunate nothing has happened,” Thatcher said. “We don’t want to sit back and wait for something to happen.”

Sandusky County is putting together a courthouse security committee, and members will discuss possible security issues and how to address them.

The committee is led by Judge Brad Smith, of the juvenile/probate court, and comprises the 12 elected officials in the courthouse. Its first meeting is in June.

“People’s opinions vary greatly on what security is appropriate,” Smith said. “Everyone believes in security.”

There has been a courthouse security committee in the past, and the courthouse does have security measures, Smith said. In the past five years, it has added more security deputies throughout the building, and there are surveillance cameras.

Anyone in the courthouse also can be searched, Smith said. Heavy security, including checks of bags and pat-downs, has been used during high-profile trials at the courthouse.

“I think the current system has done a nice job in handling the minor things that do happen,” Smith said. “I personally am comfortable with the security at the courthouse.

“I think we could make some improvements. I’m going to let the committee hash out what some of those improvements might be.”

The commissioners will use county money to fund any security upgrades, and some might have to be done over time because of cost, Smith said.

Ottawa County’s security

The Supreme Court of Ohio requires courts to have a written security plan and a security committee.

Beyond that, it gives recommendations that counties can implement to keep employees and the public safe, Smith said.

Having one building entrance for the public is one of those recommendations. The court also recommends having an X-ray machine at that entrance.

Ottawa County, after years of on-and-off discussions on courthouse security, spent months looking at security in surrounding counties, Levorchick said. It took ideas it liked and reviewed employee surveys on security before coming up with its plan, Levorchick said.

“The courthouse employees were open to it because they wanted it,” he said.

The upgrades cost the county an estimated $143,789. The equipment — X-ray machines, metal detectors, radios, alarms for secured exits — cost $60,000, and the pay and benefits for the six part-time deputies are budgeted at $83,789 this year, Ottawa County Assistant Administrator Rhonda Slauterbeck said.

Ottawa County has not had any problems with using one entrance for the public, Levorchick said. Deputies take knives and box cutters and keep them until their owners leave the courthouse.

“Almost everyone from our community understands it,” he said. “This is not an international airport, and our guys are not treating people that way.

“We’re just trying to make it a safe place to work and for all visitors.”

Since the front-door security started, Deputy David Barnes has seen plenty of folding knives and box cutters. He’s also had someone inadvertently bring in a loaded magazine with ammunition for a handgun and another person who had a marijuana joint.

The person who brought in the magazine returned it to his car, and the man who brought in the joint received a ticket for possession of marijuana.

Levorchick said he hand-picked the part-time sheriff’s deputies who man the X-ray machine because he knew they would be the first people visitors see and wanted them to have a positive interaction with deputies.

What should Sandusky County do?

Sandusky County has discussed having one secure entrance a few times over the years, Smith said. Inconvenience, the layout of the building and parking issues have kept the county from implementing it.

“The group ultimately decided it wasn’t the direction they thought they should go,” he said.

Smith expects the idea will come up again in discussion with the committee, and members will decide whether that is something they want to implement.

“One secure point of entry would make the courthouse more secure,” Sandusky County Commissioner Dan Polter said.

He and Thatcher said they would like to see metal detectors at the doors. They said they didn’t know whether their building at the historic jail would be included in security upgrades.

Six years ago, when Smith was a county commissioner, the county was discussing plans to build an annex behind the jail. The annex would have connected the three buildings and had one entrance to them.

Smith became a judge in 2009, and the commissioners decided not to move ahead with the project because of the recession and financial concerns. The commissioners said they still have the plans for that building.

“I’m assuming the courthouse security committee will discuss it,” Smith said. “I don’t know that it’s any more realistic than it was six years ago when they shelved it.”

The committee doesn’t have a deadline for coming up with recommendations. Ottawa County’s committee took about eight months to decide what security upgrades it wanted, Levorchick said.

mksmith@gannett.com

419-334-1044

Twitter: @kristinasmithNM

Ottawa County security upgrade costs

The county spent $60,000 on an X-ray machine, radios, metal detectors and alarms for secured doors. It also hired six-part-time sheriff’s deputies to handle security.

This year, pay and benefits for those deputies is budgeted to cost $83,789.

Source: Rhonda Slauterbeck, assistant Ottawa County administrator