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Thursday, November 09, 2006
Ind. Courts - Daviess County receives $50,000 federal Homeland Security grant
Sally Petty of the Washington Herald-Times reports:
In only a week, the sheriff’s department and local emergency management applied for and received a $50,000 federal Homeland Security grant to put cameras and metal detectors in the courthouse.Sheriff Jerry Harbstreit told council members at their meeting Wednesday morning that [Daviess Circuit Court] Judge Robert Arthur approached him about applying for the grant after learning that Martin County got one. But the deadline was in one week, so he worked quickly to write and submit the grant through Emergency Management.
The grant, which required no matching funds, was used to install more than 25 security cameras and two walk-through metal detectors at the courthouse.
Through a fiber optic cable connecting the courthouse to the jail, the operating equipment and monitor for the camera system have been located at the security center, where dispatchers can see the monitor as needed, explained Harbstreit.
Courthouse offices already have panic buttons which automatically page the sheriff’s department. But now when deputies are called, dispatchers can use the cameras to see what the problem is and notify deputies of the situation.
They can also describe to deputies suspects who might be fleeing as deputies arrive and can track suspects with the cameras.
The cameras are located in various offices where trouble might arise, in courtrooms, in hallways, in the lobby and outside.
They are focused on doors, counters and areas where the public might go, not on employees’ desks, and the monitors are not watched constantly, only when needed, said Harbstreit. The cameras do not record sound and in courtrooms do not show the jury.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 9, 2006 02:52 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts