In Support of the Importance of Court Security
Resolution 5: In Support of the Importance of Court Security
WHEREAS, access to secure, safe courts promotes public confidence in the stability of government; and
WHEREAS, breaches of court security and violence towards judges, their families, court personnel and participants in the judicial process have resulted in serious injuries or death; and
WHEREAS, continued incidents of violence in state and territorial courts have highlighted the need for improved security for court facilities; and
WHEREAS, it is vital that citizens feel confident and safe in seeking access to their courts and that court personnel feel safe in the performance of their duties; and
WHEREAS, although there is a federal interest in ensuring that all government facilities are secure and safe, the additional federal and state resources made available through homeland security, estimated at $75 billion annually, have been unavailable to state and territorial courts; and
WHEREAS, the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators have established a Security and Emergency Preparedness Committee whose accomplishments include the development of the Ten Essential Elements for Court Security and Safety Planning, a monograph of court security information, and a compilation of best practices for use by state and territorial courts; and
WHEREAS, state and territorial courts have been upgrading their security policies, procedures, and equipment to respond, but are unable to bear the increasing cost of providing adequate security for court facilities;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators:
- Encourage Congress to ensure that state and territorial courts are included in the planning and disbursement of federal funding related to homeland and court security; and
- Urge the federal government to provide funding directly to state and territorial courts for court security preparedness and response; and
- Support federal legislative efforts to ensure that state and territorial courts are eligible to apply for security-related federal grants and that improving courthouse security is a stated purpose for use of existing funding in the federal homeland security programs and other federal grant programs; and
- Support federal legislative efforts to provide state and territorial courts with access to existing federal resources, such as federal security training programs, risk assessments, and excess federal security equipment.
Adopted as proposed by the CCJ/COSCA Security and Emergency Preparedness Committee and the CCJ/COSCA Government Affairs Committee at the 2012 Midyear Meeting on February 1, 2012.