Court Security
Senior inspectors, deputy marshals and contracted court security officers
(CSOs) provide security inside federal courthouses in each of the 94 federal
judicial districts and in the District of Columbia Superior Court. The
Marshals Service protects more than 2,000 sitting judges and countless other
court officials at over 800 locations where court-related activities are
conducted throughout the nation.
In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of threats
against members of the judiciary, U.S. attorneys and other court officers.
Explicit threats against the judiciary are assessed by court security
inspectors to determine the level of danger. On average, about 700
threats/inappropriate communications against judicial members are logged
each year - many of which result in round-the-clock protective details.
Marshals Service court security personnel provide the latest in
state-of-the-art protective techniques and equipment in all phases of court
proceedings, threat situations and judicial conferences - thus ensuring
quick and safe responses in emergency situations as well as unobtrusive
surveillance and protection during routine operations.
Court security inspectors conduct surveys of local court facilities at the
request of local jurisdictions in order to review their equipment and
security procedures.
The Marshals Service’s Judicial Security Division counts the following as
highlights from Fiscal Year 2002: coordinated and provided 163
instances of personal protective services to Supreme Court justices;
provided security services during 165 judicial conferences and 20 other
significant gatherings of members of the federal judiciary; coordinated and
provided personnel and additional security resources for 117 trials
including the African Embassies Bombing Trial in the Southern District of
New York; reviewed and processed 565 inappropriate communications; monitored
and managed 21 protective details for federal judges and assistant U.S.
attorneys as a result of inappropriate communications or potential threats -
and six of these details were 24 hours a day;
performed 26 physical security surveys of federal, state and local
facilities.
The Marshals Service has four ongoing, long-term details - two judicial
details and one U.S. courthouse security detail in the Southern District of
New York as well as one U.S. Courthouse security detail in the Eastern
District of Virginia.
Judicial Security Systems
In fulfilling its primary responsibility of providing security services to
the federal judiciary, the Marshals Service’s Judicial Security Systems (JSS)
group designs and coordinates the installation of complex electronic
security systems to protect federal judges, courthouse staff members and the
physical court facilities.
JSS designs low-profile weapons-screening stations used at the entrances of
most court facilities. These stations are designed so CSOs can identify and
seize unauthorized weapons in a setting that provides protection for them
while also blending aesthetically into the lobby architecture. These
stations include X-ray equipment procured and maintained by JSS with
state-of-the-art detection software at more than 400 court facilities.
JSS develops standards for the installation of ballistic-resistant armor
protection for courtroom benches and for those judiciary-related activities
located in facilities where no weapons screening is performed. JSS also
designs CSO communications systems such as base and repeater stations to
ensure comprehensive radio communications throughout local facilities. JSS
recently procured 175 explosive trace detections systems. These new
machines, maintained by JSS, will serve as an additional tool for CSOs in
primary courthouses across the country.
Judicial Protective Services (Court Security Officer Program)
The Marshals Service administers contracts for approximately 3,800 CSOs who
secure building entrances at more than 400 court facilities in the United
States and its territories. Many CSOs have extensive law enforcement
experience with state and local police departments.
Marshals Service statistical data for Fiscal Year 2002 indicates that CSOs
detected thousands of guns, knives and other items that may pose a security
risk or are prohibited in the courthouse. Of these items, 2,971 were
permanently confiscated or abandoned at the courthouse; the rest were
returned to their owners upon their departure from the courthouse.
Judicial Security Contracts
Under an inter-agency agreement between the Marshals Service, General
Services Administration (GSA) and the Administrative Office of the U.S.
Courts (AOUSC), the Judicial Security Contracts staff awards and administers
all contracts for CSO services as well as contracts for the installation and
maintenance of security equipment.
Central Courthouse Management
The Central Courthouse Management Group (CCMG) serves as the center of
expertise concerning prisoner movements and detention facilities. The group
works with Marshals Service district personnel, GSA and the AOUSC when
planning the construction of new federal courthouses and the renovations of
existing courthouses.
CCMG staff members are responsible for the programming, planning,
acquisition, budgeting, design, construction and electronic physical
security of: all Marshals Service office space; prisoner movement space;
operations areas; prisoner detention space; and any other physical areas
associated with the security of Marshals Service space within U.S.
courthouse facilities. The CCMG ensures the safety and evaluates the
vulnerability of Marshals Service facilities as measured against
established, objective physical security criteria, and it provides the
physical security necessary to make safe and efficient prisoner movements. |
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