Security plan development and implementation

Drafting a Security Plan

A Security Plan for Baltimore County Courthouse

In this document, I will present a modified security plan for the Baltimore County courthouse. Before proceeding further, it is sufficient to note that the inputs and cooperation of those using the courthouse, those responsible for court security, in addition to that of those professionals that has the responsibility for designing the courthouse (that is, the architects, engineers, and so on) are needed to achieve an effective court security. In addition, risk mitigation, protection against the loss of critical functions, and reduction of casualty and property damage should be the objectives of the professionals involved in the design of the building system and other elements that constitute the courthouse1. Furthermore, the designers should put security at the forefront of every design decisions, ranging from courthouse furniture selection to its electrical systems.

A useful perspective to begin this presentation is to discuss the primary goals of this plan. This will be the topic of the following section.

Goals and Objectives

Baltimore County Courthouse can meet the following objectives by implementing this security plan:

1. Any actual or potential threats to the courthouse will be effectively deterred. In addition, the opportunities for such threats will be eliminated;

2. The courthouse can promptly detect every breaches of security;

3. All the incidents that a perpetrator needs to pull off quickly will be delayed from progression;

4. The courthouse can competently halt or control any threat-related event when it has already started;

5. The damage that may arise as a result of a threat event can be minimized or effectively eliminated by the courthouse security personnel.

Having presented the goal of this security plan, I will now proceed with the presentation. I will begin by examining the courthouse environment.

Baltimore County Courthouse Environment

Baltimore county courthouse is located in Towson, Maryland. The Towson area of Baltimore County is an area with a population of approximately 53,151.2 It is a neighborhood that is made up of a vibrant suburban housing community, in addition to a mixture of a shopping and entertainment district together with large number of office buildings. Located between the northern boundary of the Baltimore City and Baltimore Beltway (otherwise known as I-695), Towson is an area that has a flourishing government and financially-related industry.3 The crime index in Towson is higher than that of the national average as was reported by the FBI.4 This means that the courthouse is located in an area that is more dangerous that most American cities as can be seen from table 1 below. This calls for more vigilant and protection to the court building.

Table 1: Various Crime Statistics (Crime Incident Per 100,000 people)

Type of Crime

Towson

National Average

1. Violent Crime

1,512.9

2. Murder and Non-Negligent Manslaughter

37.26

4.96

3. Forcible Rape

24.74

28.69

4. Aggravated Assault

5. Property Crime

4,566

3,036

6. Burglary

1,221

7. Larceny Theft

2,621

2,061

8. Motor Vehicle Theft

Source: Homefacts, "Local Crimes and Statistics," (Homefacts, 2011), http://www.homefacts.com/crime/Maryland/Baltimore-County/Towson.html

(accessed May 20, 2011)

This also brings to the limelight the relevance of a security plan. In the following sections of the plan, I will present the general form of the plan. In the discussion, I will equally discuss issues related to perimeter security, internal security, personnel security, evacuation and other response procedures.

Baltimore County Courthouse Security Plan -- From Design to Execution

In this modified security plan of the Baltimore County Courthouse, I will divide the courthouse into four zones -- the public zone, private zone, prisoner zone and the interface zone. The aim of this zoning is to facilitate the grouping of the individuals coming to the court house on the basis of their functions as well as to separate them prior to their meeting in the courtroom.

Accessing and Securing the Four Zones

By using well-monitored doors, access between the four zones can be effectively controlled. The door locks will be released through two methods -- they will be remotely controlled from a central security station and by the use of card access readers. Discouraging admission to restricted areas is very important and this can be achieved by using motion detection sensors that will activate audio warnings. These audio warnings will prevent unauthorized persons from accessing designated areas. To provide direct an easy access throughout the courthouse, and from the court house to the service areas, freight services should be provided.

The Public Zone Security

This is the area of the courthouse where offices and support services needed by the public are located. As such, the main entrance to the court building, the reception areas of all court-related offices, as well as the circulation paths to courtrooms are the main components of the public zone. Other areas that make up the public zone include the courtroom, fine collection rooms, public restrooms, public lobbies, and certain service and security functions. In order to handle large volumes of people without compromising security, public access to the court building should be through a single primary public entrance. Also, to make provision for queuing, the screened entry point should be located inside the weather vestibule. To enhance security, everyone using the public entrance (including the court employees, excepting the judge) will be screened using a metal detector or a weapon detection system.

The task of supervising and monitoring the public entrance, elevators, stairs, and hallways will be accomplished using two main approaches -- by the use of closed-circuit video equipment that will be located at the building control center and through direct observation by the courthouse security personnel in the court's security station. A public corridor system that provides access to courtrooms and waiting areas will be used to limit public circulation on courtroom floors.

Walls and counters will be used to separate public areas from the employees' offices. The waiting rooms and public areas will be designed in such a way that they are properly separated from the receptionist's areas and cashier stations. All necessary measure should be taken to limit public access to clerk staff areas to only counter access. Such access can also be via well supervised public desk locations. To limit unintentional access to restricted areas, such areas should be located in places that are remote from the public entrance.

Private Zone Security

Spaces made for the court employees and other authorized users, judges, jurors, and so on constitute the private zone. Since the private zone is made for the court employees only as well as for only the invited visitors, they are treated as the restricted access areas. This zone can be protected as explained below:

1. Individuals in this area should be properly screened;

2. Access to the offices of the judges and judicial support staff should be constantly monitored and supervised by the court security;

3. Access to judicial entrance should be via special card devices or other devices that can unlock doors. The doors to the judicial entrance should be fitted will alarms to prevent forced entry and to alert court personnel when the door is not closed properly. A CCVE system should be used to monitor the judicial entrance or door.

4. The private circulation system should be restricted to visitors. When the judge has a visitor, the court employee or security should announce the visitor to the judge first. If the judge permits it, then the visitor should be escorted to the judge's chambers.

Prisoner Zone Security

Broadly speaking, those spaces provided for the movement as well as for the short-term detention of the individuals in custody constitute the prisoner zone. It is necessary for the courtroom to have direct linkage or access from the prisoner zone provided that that courthouse is planned to accommodate appearances or trials that will involve in-custody defendants or parties. It is equally important to visually and acoustically separate all prisoner areas (which also include all elevators and corridors that ensure a secured prisoner circulation) from the private, public, and interface zones. Except when the prisoners are brought into the courtroom, any encounter between the prisoners and the judges, jurors, court staff or the public must be prevented at all cost. Other measures that can be applied to ensure security at the prisoner zone include the following:

1. Monitoring and control equipment, in addition to appropriate security access and control points, should be provided at the prisoner circulation, access and detention areas. The reception of in-custody defendants and their processing for transport to specific courtrooms should be done in a central holding and prisoner distribution area;

2. Duress alarms, modern communication equipments, and closed-circuit video equipments should be installed in all prisoner holding cells to ensure effective monitoring and security. All the various classifications or categories of in-custody defendants (for instance, adult females, special cases, adult males, and so on) should be physically, visually, and acoustically separated to ensure maximum security.

3. The courtroom holding areas, the central holding or cell block areas, and other areas that are included in the prisoner system should be surrounded by a secure perimeter system. Interlocked doors which should be monitored at the courthouse's controlled center should be used to monitor and secure all points of entry and exit through this perimeter.

4. In order to meet the current design standards for short-term detention areas, all ceiling systems, floors, walls, and so on should be designed to reflect this standard.

Interface Zone Security

The meeting place for the attorneys, judges, court staff, jurors, the public and those in custody, is the courtroom, otherwise known as the interface zone. Thorough staff training, sound operational procedures, and proper designs are some of the strategies for securing the courtroom. Other measures for securing the interface zone (that is, the courtroom) include:

1. Provision of appropriate separation and unobstructed view between the public, witnesses, parties, and the judge;

2. The distance between the defendants and other courtroom participants should be appropriate;

3. Provision of bullet-resistant liners within the witness box and the courtroom millwork personnel stations;

4. Both the judge's bench and the clerk's desk should be equipped with duress alarms.

5. All moveable furniture, especially those that can be easily grasped or lifted, should be fixed to the floor of the courtroom.

Perimeter Security

The "building envelop"(which consists of windows, doors, exterior walls, other openings, including the roof, and so on) is the main component of a free-standing courthouse such as the Baltimore County Courthouse. When designing the security perimeter of this courthouse, it is necessary to include devices that will not only restrict and delay unauthorized access but also to include more devices that will promptly notify security personnel whenever unauthorized entry is attempted. Other important security measures necessary for ensuring effective perimeter include:

1. Intrusion detection systems equipped with central monitoring capabilities should be installed in the doors and windows of the courthouse;

2. To protect the judges, court staff and the prisoners in the event of emergency, places of refuge where they can gather during such events should be included in the courthouse. While they are taking refuge in such places, the security personnel can then decide if evacuation of the building is required;