Official: Court safety a concern

DOVER-FOXCROFT – Until a solution is found to alleviate the overcrowded conditions in District Court, a local official wants the state to step up security.

That need is not based on any situation that has occurred; rather, it is to prevent what could occur, Mike Henderson, Piscataquis County’s manager, said Thursday.

“We’re lucky we have not had a violent incident before now with people waiting for court, and I think that if we don’t do something about it, it’s only a matter of time before we do have a violent incident,” Henderson said.

To avoid that, Henderson fired off a letter last week to James Glessner, state court administrator, requesting that extra security be provided while court is in session.

Glessner said Friday that his office is working with Piscataquis County commissioners to find a solution to the overcrowded district court facility. An architect is going over previous drawings for an addition and renovation to the existing Superior Court building.

“From the court’s perspective, we have not seen the merit of building a new [district court] building,” he said.

While he said he understood Henderson’s concerns, Glessner said he does not have enough money to add staffing for entry screening except on a sporadic basis.

However, “we’re on the same page in terms of the needs,” he said.

During most court sessions in Dover-Foxcroft, one court security officer is in the courtroom to provide protection for the judge assigned to hear cases for the day, Henderson said.

There is no court officer to monitor the crowded 160-square-foot waiting-room area that is filled with plaintiffs, defendants and witnesses waiting their turn in the courtroom on court days. Nor are any of these people screened for weapons upon entry.

The county has a metal detection X-ray machine that is sitting in a box in a county facility, but there is no place to install it in the small waiting area nor is there money to staff it, according to Henderson.

“If we had a place to put it, I’d find them a way to get the training,” he said.

The proposed expansion of the Piscataquis County courthouse should provide a welcome long-term solution to the safety issues and overcrowding, but until then safety should be increased, Henderson said.