Washington County plans security increase, gets grant

The Washington County Courthouse, Tuesday, February 14, 2017 in downtown Fayetteville.
The Washington County Courthouse, Tuesday, February 14, 2017 in downtown Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Washington County wants to use a $15,000 state grant to pay for photo identification cards for employees, County Attorney Brian Lester said.

"We want to ensure that all citizens are safe in our buildings," said Lester, who spearheaded the project.

Fast fact

The Arkansas Legislature approved in 2007 a measure for the Administrative Office of the Courts to help cities and counties create court security plans, to provide certification and training for court security officers and to administer grants for court security purposes. This year, Washington County was among 35 counties awarded an office grant. The state gave counties about $431,300 for security upgrades, records show.

Source: Administrative Office of the Courts

Justices of the peace will vote whether to accept the grant from the state Administrative Office of the Courts during tonight's Quorum Court meeting.

The money is for the first phase to increase security inside county buildings, county officials said.

No particular incident spurred concern about the issue, Chief of Staff Carl Gales said during the Quorum Court's June 12 Finance Committee meeting. Security is a priority for County Judge Joseph Wood, Lester explained in email.

Wood plans to spend about $37,000 on security improvements, Gales said. Lester said the next steps "depend on various factors," and he didn't offer further details.

"We are working, with the advice of the Sheriff's Office, on some security upgrades," he said. "Security concerns are constant and ever evolving."

Washington County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Kelly Cantrell said in email the Sheriff's Office isn't part of Wood's security upgrade plans. She said she's unsure how or if the change will affect deputies who work at the courthouse or other buildings.

Gales said the grant will pay for identification badges employees will use to enter buildings. The badges will be safer and more useful than the fobs, which are small, automatic entry devices, used now, officials said.

"The idea is to have all county employees, excluding elected officials, wear the badges while working," Lester said.

Most employees use a fob, which tracks when they arrive and leave buildings, but the new badges would be similar to the badges Sheriff's Office employees use, Gales said. Those badges have identification photos and are worn as part of the Sheriff's Office uniforms, Cantrell said.

The new badge would use chip technology instead of needing to be swiped, Gales said.

"The photo ID badges will allow security and visitors the ability to identify county employees," Lester said. "Visitors can ask for help from county employees and security will be able to identify new employees as well as employees that are no longer working for the county."

The new policy will affect hundreds of employees in about 18 buildings. The new security is expected to be countywide, said Justice of the Peace Bill Ussery, a Republican representing northeastern Springdale.

Ussery, who's Finance Committee chairman, spoke in favor of the grant last week.

The state grant plus unspent money in various department budgets or an appropriation by the Quorum Court will cover the upgrade costs, Lester said. Money may come from the information technology department, Ussery said.

Justice of the Peace Eva Madison, a Democrat representing northeastern Fayetteville, said she's unclear how the badges are more secure than the fobs. But other justices of the peace, including Ussery, said more security is needed, especially in the wake of mass shootings nationally.

County officials plan to further explain the grant and security upgrade details at the meeting, Gales said.

NW News on 06/21/2018

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