State adds private security to Barre courthouse

There usually were two deputies at the entrance to the courthouse: one working the scanner and the other with the handheld metal detector. For the past year-plus Michael Stevens, the former Barre Town police chief and now a deputy with Lamoille County, had been doing screening at the courthouse along with a Washington County deputy. That changed this past summer when the state added a second Lamoille deputy for screening due to the lack of staff from Washington County.

Who handles screening changed again earlier this month when the state hired two security guards for the job from Securitas Security Services, which has an office in South Burlington.

Gregg Mousley is the chief of finance and administration for the Vermont Judiciary and oversees security at the courthouses statewide. Mousley said the courthouse now has one Washington County deputy stationed there, two Lamoille deputies, and the two security guards.

He said previously there had been four security officers assigned to the courthouse, but the state decided to add a fifth due to four officers being insufficient. The courthouse also houses the state’s attorney’s office, the Department for Children and Families, and the probation and parole office for the Department of Corrections.

“All it took was one sickness (from a security officer), and we were having to reschedule hearings,” he said.

He said the state turned to a private company because both sheriff’s departments in Washington and Lamoille counties couldn’t fill the two open positions the state had for courthouse security.

For now, Mousley said the security officers only handle screenings at the entrance. But he said the plan is to get them trained in the coming months so they can also work as a court officer.

But he said he doesn’t want the security company to take over security at the courthouse. That’s what happened in Windham County years ago because the sheriff’s department there felt it wasn’t getting paid enough to work security for the courthouse.

“Secuirtas are the only ones in the building. There is no sheriff contract down there. And so we do sometimes have people surrendering, they might have an arrest warrant out for them. They come to the courthouse to surrender and we can’t arrest them because there is no law enforcement in the building,” he said.

Mousley said those people are told to turn themselves in to the nearest police station.

He said, ideally, there would be at least one law enforcement officer in every courthouse in the state because they do have the ability to arrest and detain people, an ability private security guards don’t necessarily have.

eric.blaisdell

@timesargus.com