PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County commissioners are considering turning to the private sector to shore up security at the county courthouse.
County Commissioner Phil Johnson, who has been monitoring efforts to better secure the Jefferson County Courthouse as he sits on the courthouse security committee, said steps are being taken to do that.
The effort is to prevent future courthouse break-ins such as one in late September, when an intruder threw a rock into a ground-floor window and entered County Administrator Phillip Morley’s office.
There are no security cameras at the courthouse, a restored 1891 Victorian brick, block and mortar building with a clock tower.
Johnson said county facilities Director Loring Bemis has contacted two security firms and plans to meet with Joe D’Amico, president of Gardiner-based Security Services Northwest — which provides patrol services for Jefferson Healthcare hospital in Port Townsend, Jefferson County Library in Port Hadlock and Washington State University Extension offices in Port Hadlock — about providing services.
Such services would likely require a request for proposals and a bidding process, Johnson said.
“It’s not as simple as it seems,” Johnson said.
The challenge is to preserve the courthouse’s historic character while making it safe during and after business hours.
“It’s in the hands of facilities [department],” he said. “They’re investigating a system that will work.
“I want to get a system in there as soon as possible.”
Port security team
Morley recently approached Port of Port Townsend officials about a contract with the port for its in-house security patrol team.
Port Executive Director Larry Crockett said at first he was hopeful that such a contract could be arranged until he came across an obscure state law dating back to the late 1800s.
Called the Dillon Rule of 1868, Crockett said it was originally adopted as an anti-corruption law in Iowa, and was later codified by all other states, including Washington.
“In short, what it said was, we have been given authority by state law to provide our own security, but not for other authorities,” Crockett said.
Whether a surveillance system or security patrol or both would be used is still subject to study, county officials have said.
Break-ins
Steps toward better securing the courthouse stem from an Sept. 25 break-in through the ground-floor window to Morley’s office, fronting the courthouse.
The intruder was believed to have walked upstairs to the Superior Court clerk’s office where two sheets of paper were set on fire, scorching the side of an office cubicle before it quickly extinguished itself.
The intruder attempted to break into a walk-in safe containing court documents, damaged a courtroom camera, and stole one of two scales from an “blind justice” antique in the Superior Court judge’s chamber.
The break-in so upset Court Clerk Ruth Gordon that she vowed to use money from her own department’s budget to install a security camera in her office, which has public access to computerized court records.
The break-in was reported by a janitor arriving for work at about 5:30 a.m. that Friday.
The glass security window on the door to the court clerk’s office also was broken.
Morley said that the courtroom video camera, which is not for security purposes, was found on the floor.
The courthouse also had been broken into December 2008. That attempted burglary was foiled thanks to county workers making a routine check of the courthouse.
D’Amico offered his expertise to county officials to add security at the courthouse.
D’Amico has approached the county more than once, offering security measures, including metal detector checks at the courthouse entrance.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies occasionally use metal detectors and check purses of those entering Superior Court during high-profile criminal trials.
While the sheriff’s office is not budgeted to provide courthouse security except for Superior and District courtrooms, Johnson said it was possible that some patrols could be worked out with Port Townsend Police, which already patrols the neighborhoods around the courthouse.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
