Court Security: A Guide for Post 9-11 Environments

In recent years, there has been a sharp rise in acts of violence in the courts. These acts range from minor disturbances and physical assaults to murder and mass destruction. The potential exists for violence to occur in any court system regardless of location. Unfortunately, many courts at all levels of the judicial system have been slow or even reluctant to implement adequate security measures. This book is designed to prove the folly in such denial. It provides hard statistics and observations that highlight this unique visceral security environment. The text is specifically designed to help those charged with developing and implementing security measures to reevaluate current methods for safeguarding the judicial process. Presented in four sections, the first discusses perpetrators planning an attack and reviews types of perpetrators, target selection, tactics, operations styles, the mechanics of violent attacks, and thwarting attacks. Section two discusses in much detail a multitude of integrated security systems now available for court facilities. The third section presents effective response mechanics for courthouse violence, and the final section reviews tactical considerations for training, containment, and responding to explosive devices. The text serves as a substantial resource in providing the most current state-of-the-art information on security operations and technologies in a very clear but in-depth format. The ultimate goal of this book is to emphasize that court security in today’s world must be constantly reexamined, revamped, and upgraded to protect human and physical assets. This unique and comprehensive text will be invaluable to courthouse adminstrators, security professionals, law enforcement personnel, judges, lawyers, and college-level students of security.