Grant County installs metal detector, X-ray machine
Charles H. Featherstone/Columbia Basin Herald Security guard Jessica Lewis gets ready to talk a county employee through the new metal detector at the Grant County Law and Justice Center, part of the county’s efforts to improve workplace and courtroom security.
EPHRATA — People heading to court or needing to pay a visit to the Grant County Sheriff will now have to pass through a metal detector and get their bags X-rayed.
“It’s going really smoothly,” said Jessica Lewis, a security guard with Spokane-based Phoenix Protective, as she stands outside the newly installed metal detector. “We’ve not found anything yet.”
Lewis and fellow guard Joe Kruis started work guarding the entrance of the county’s Law and Justice Center on Monday, the first official day of the county’s push for tighter security.
“It makes sense to have somebody to scan bags and look for weapons,” said Chief Deputy Darrik Gregg. “It makes it more secure for law enforcement, jurors and elected officials.”
The guards, along with the metal detector and X-ray machine, were installed in part because several judges expressed concern with a lack of security in their courtrooms. Currently, according to Kruis, the guards are only mandated to look for weapons, drugs and drug paraphernalia, though they expect that will expand over time as other kinds of threats are identified.
“In Yakima, they don’t allow lighters after a defendant burned his paperwork in a courtroom,” Lewis said.
According to Tom Gaines, director of Central Services for Grant County, the X-ray machine cost $17,000. The county also bought two metal detectors for $2,600 each — one set up, and one kept as a spare — and the contract for two full-time guards at the Law and Justice Center as well as two part-time guards in juvenile court is costing the county about $150,000 this year.
“We did this because of employee and public concerns,” Gaines said. “This helps keep people safe.”
Funds to pay for both the equipment and the guards came out of the trial court budget, according to County Commissioner Tom Taylor.
Gaines said county officials are still considering how to improve security in the courthouse proper without taking away from its openness and making it less accessible to the public.
“We still want people able to use the front steps,” he said. “It’s not an easy campus to do this with. It’s a difficult thing to get right.”
Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.