Agenda 09/13/2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MUNICIP AL BUILDING SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS The Martinsville Municipal Building was constructed in the late 1960's to the appropriate code and security standards in existence at that time. The building is a combination of court facilities, constitutional offices, and municipal offices and is accessible to the general public during normal business hours from anyone of three main floor entrances. Two of the entrances (south/rear and police-side/west) are isolated and lead directly into building hallways; the front (north) entrance comes into the building entrance lobby that is staffed by the City's customer service representative. Metal detectors are not used at any of the three entrances although detectors are used at entrances to the courtrooms, The majority of foot traffic entering the building comes through the rear/south entrance due primarily to the fact that the building parking lot is to the rear/south ofthe building, In May, 2005 a committee consisting of representatives from the Martinsville Police Department, Sheriffs Office, the City Attorney, the City's Safety Officer, and Public Warks Director met to discuss security issues related to the operation of the courts and building, During the initial meeting, several areas of concern were identified: . Access to the building is unrestricted and unchecked from the three public entrances, No metal detectors are used. . Anyone can come through the side or rear entrances to the building and immediately be at the entrance to the police department, beside of the courtroom or judges' offices, or in isolated areas of the basement. . One primary/public entrance should be designated where all incoming visitors can be visually checked and passed through metal detection equipment. The primary entrance should be the front of the building (facing Church Street), . The rear/south and side/west doors should be secure entrances with access only through a controlled or regulated system, i,e, an employee ill card reader. . Security cameras should be considered for areas not readily visible. . Building signage and directions need improving. . Signage (wording) for reserved parking for judges, attorneys, etc, should be changed to eliminate the ability for the public to link a specific parking space with a particular individual. As a result of the discussions, a number of recommendations were made for improvements to building/court security, however, recognizing that complete security control will be difficult if not impossible to achieve due to building layout and design, as well as the many different functions that occur within the building. The following are the recommendations made by the committee, each more fully explained in detail later in this document: . Designate the front (north) building entrance as the public entrance. The rear (south) and police-side (west) should be secure/restricted entrances with access only via a card/employee ill system. This change allows the possibility of metal detection/visitor screening at one location, rather than separate metal