In 1995, Susana Remerata and Phoebe Dizon were murdered inside the Fourth Avenue entrance after a domestic violence hearing in the King County Courthouse. The Superior Court immediately issued an order requiring courthouse weapons screening. Judges, jurors, witnesses, and the public rely on safe courthouses to ensure access to justice. The Sheriff’s Office spends nearly $7 million per year to screen weapons at the entrances to 11 courthouses in King County that serve more than 1.8 million people per year. Courthouse facilities include the King County Courthouse in downtown Seattle, the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, the Youth Services Center, the Involuntary Treatment Act Court, and seven District Court locations across the County. Security screeners check for weapons using magnetometers and X-ray machines, and marshals are limited-commission law enforce-ment officers who can collect and store any weapons found.

We observed thousands of patrons entering King County's courthouses during this audit, and the security screeners and marshals consistently carried out their duties as described in their standard operating procedures. While screeners have a limited ability to reduce lines, efficiency has not been a clear priority when setting screening policies. Changes to signage and procedures could help speed up the lines. Employees were not significantly faster than the public, so employee-only entrances may not increase efficiency. The physical layout of entrances can limit the effectiveness and efficiency of screening, since most courthouses were built before screening began.

We did not find records of any instance where a weapon had been used to attack another person inside a courthouse, since screening began in 1995; however, the effectiveness of the Sheriff's Office Court Protection Unit is rarely measured using random testing after a screener's initial training. The Washington State Supreme Court mandates security standards, but it is unclear who is responsible for implementation.

With current staffing, our model predicts the Fourth Avenue entrance to the King County Courthouse could remain open around 88 percent of the time. This is because an entrance cannot be open without a marshal, and marshals can be called away to perform other duties. Our model predicts that the County has hired sufficient screeners to keep the Fourth Avenue entrance open around 97 percent of the time, but additional marshals would be required to achieve this level of service.

We recommend implementing statewide standards, increasing testing rigor, and identifying equipment needed by screening staff. We also recommend improving signage to help speed up how long it takes to get through screening, and consistently using procedures that keep the line moving.

Currently, there are no related reports to this project.