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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, August
10, 2006
| Contact: |
Bob Drewett, Court Security Supervisor, 360-786-5573 |
|
Judy Lawrence, District Court
Administrator, 360-754-4102 |
Weapons
Screening Begins for Building Three of the Courthouse
OLYMPIA
– Visitors
to Thurston County District Court, the Sheriff’s Office, Probation and
Pre-Trial Services will soon have to go through a screening station.
The weapons screening station will be similar to ones already in
operation at Building Two at the main county campus and at the Family and
Juvenile Court facility (FJC) at the Mottman Industrial area in Tumwater.
Court Security Supervisor Bob Drewett says the new
station at Building Three at the main campus will provide additional safety
for courthouse employees and visitors alike.
“Since 1998, the screening stations at Building Two and FJC have
resulted in the securing of more than 36,000 weapons and other contraband.
That includes nearly 200 firearms, 29,000 knives, hundreds of cans of
Mace and 170 handcuff keys. We
expect that the District Court screening will have similar results.”
District Court Administrator Judy Lawrence says it may
take a little while to iron out all of the kinks for the new screening
station. “Space is somewhat
limited in the entryway to Building Three and that may mean some backup at
times. We do not expect big
problems but sometimes there may be delays of a few minutes and we are asking
folks to bear with us.”
Those with business in Building Three should refrain
from bringing any type of weapon with them, or anything that might be used as
a weapon. Because there will not
be an x-ray machine at Building Three, all purses, briefcases, backpacks and
other similar accessories will need to be searched.
Eventually, a central screening area will be set
up for visitors to all buildings at the main county campus.
In the meantime, visitors will go through screening at Building Two and
now Building Three.
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