Statewide Workshop on: Court Security for Mississippi Sheriffs

• NCJ Number: 204458
• Author(s): Lawrence Siegel
• Date Published: January 2000
• Length: 67 pages
• Grant Number(s): 97-DD-BX-0074
• Sponsoring Agency: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
• Corporate Author: American University Criminal Courts Technical Assistance Project
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services; American University Criminal Courts Technical Assistance Project
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Technical Assistance)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Criminal Courts Techical Assistance Project Report No. 98-037.

Annotation

This report presents materials for a statewide workshop on court security for Mississippi sheriffs and recommends to the Mississippi Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) the next steps in the process of providing adequate court security in the State's various jurisdictions.

Abstract

The day-long workshop for all Mississippi sheriff departments was held in Jackson on November 19, 1999. At the workshop, consultant Lawrence Siegel discussed with the sheriffs and their deputies the results of his many years of experience in court security projects for State courts across the country. A supervisory deputy U.S. marshal addressed security issues in the Federal courts. The most pressing issues identified by workshop attendees were how to obtain information to help sheriffs convince county supervisors of the need for court security, how to fund court security operations and attendant capital costs, and where to receive court security training for officers. Currently, the need is to develop next steps in building on the impetus generated by the workshop. This report recommends creating a statewide court security committee to be chaired by an appellate judge and facilitated by the AOC; the committee would be charged with developing the policies that will best assist localities in improving their court security. The report also recommends establishing a source of security information that can be accessed by local officials when they need assistance in court security. Another recommendation is that a comprehensive statewide assessment of court security be developed, along with a strategic plan for security improvement, both short-term and long-term. The strategic plan should include a training component, a proposal for developing a statewide security incident reporting system, and an estimate of future security costs and methods of developing funding. Appended workshop materials