Article published April 19, 2003

Clerk planning sweeping change to court security

By TOM LANGHORNE, Staff Writer

Pronouncing themselves gravely concerned about the state of security at the Spartanburg County courthouse, heads of local criminal justice agencies gave Clerk of Court Marc Kitchens their blessing Friday to seek sweeping changes.

The Spartanburg County Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee asked Kitchens to blend elements of competing proposals for better courthouse security and present a plan to County Council for funding.

The proposals by Jail Director Larry Powers and Sheriff Bill Coffey each call for termination of the county's $90,302 annual contract with Carolina Security Service Inc. of Spartanburg, which provides five full-time guards and one part-time guard to man checkpoints at doors in the courthouse. Coffey wants to replace the private security guards with sheriff's deputies, while Powers wants to use a combination of deputies and detention officers.

Kitchens and committee members agreed

Friday that Carolina Security's stewardship of the checkpoints has been lax, and that uniformed officers with weapons and the power to make arrests would be significantly more effective. They also agreed that security inside courtrooms, which is provided by deputies, is excellent.

"I have seen multiple security breaches at (the door outside Magistrate Court offices)," Kitchens said. "People are not being screened or evaluated properly."

The court clerk produced a South Carolina Association of Counties study showing that Spartanburg is one of only two of 30 responding counties that do not use law enforcement officers for courthouse door security. The other is Darlington County.

Kitchens and committee members also agreed that several other reforms are needed:

• Reduction of public entrances from five to four, with access to the courthouse's three other entrances restricted to employees. Chief Magistrate Robert Hall said he often has turned back people trying to enter the courthouse through employee doors as those doors momentarily opened. "All it takes is that one mad person," Hall warned.

• A card key system for the courthouse's 100-125 employees in which the dates and times of card use could be documented by a computer program. Kitchens said the current master key system is vulnerable to terminated and possibly angry employees who may not turn in their keys. He added that too many of the keys already are in the hands of people who should not have them.

• A surveillance security camera system for employee doors and hallways. Kitchens said this may not be possible immediately "because of budget constraints."

• Issuing photo identification cards to attorneys. The attorneys would have to pass through security checkpoints like all other visitors to the courthouse. "One of us can wig out just as easily as anyone else can," said attorney and committee member Mike Rudasill.

Kitchens estimated after Friday's meeting that his final proposal could cost as much as $205,000 more annually than the county spends on its contract with Carolina Security.

Solicitor Trey Gowdy, chairman of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee, said the initiatives under discussion are intended to represent a change in Spartanburg County's thinking about public safety in a post 9-11 world.

"What we want to do is not fine tuning," Gowdy said. "It's a complete overhaul -- a philosophical shift from what is cost-effective to what is effective."