Daniels County commissioners approve court security committee, review courthouse security upgrades

Daniels County commissioners reviewed a security assessment and agreed to create a court security committee and pursue a set of low-cost, practical security upgrades for the county courthouse.

A Montana Supreme Court–appointed courthouse security coordinator visited the Daniels County Courthouse and recommended measures including locking unused interior doors during business hours, replacing or upgrading problem locks with keypad/fob/fingerprint systems, adding deadbolts where doors have blown open, restricting public access to the courtroom when it is not in use, installing a ballistic panel at the judge’s bench, and placing cameras with a live feed at dispatch. Commissioners discussed grant funding that could pay for some changes and formation of a court security committee to unlock access to those grant opportunities.

The commissioners and court staff described an existing $10,000 grant previously allocated for courthouse security that will be shared across three courthouses; county staff said a roughly $3,300 portion had been discussed for Daniels County and that additional small grants through the court administrator’s office may be available. County staff told commissioners the grants require a named security committee, and a committee meeting convened recently at the judge’s request with attendance by the judge, clerk staff and county staff. Creating the committee was treated as a step to qualify for and prioritize grant-funded work.

County staff and the security coordinator recommended changes that would not require large outlays by the county, including: - Locking and minimizing public-access points during the day and after hours, and standardizing which doors remain available to the public; - Replacing at least one problematic interior lock on the second floor with a deadbolt and evaluating keypad or fob locks that can be managed centrally; staff said candidate locks cost in the tens of dollars to low hundreds per door in retail pricing and have mobile-management options; commissioners emphasized that county employees should not have to put work credentials on personal phones if an app-based fob option is used; - Installing duress / phone-based alarm options and exploring motion-detection camera coverage placed to record public entrances and the stair base, with video routed to dispatch for faster situational awareness; - Considering a ballistic drop panel at the judge’s bench paid from court grant money; final design and procurement would depend on grant awards.

Commissioners discussed Montana law on weapons in courthouses and said Daniels County has not had a district court order declaring the courthouses “weapons free,” a status that other larger courthouses have obtained where dedicated security staff are present. County staff noted the practical differences at Daniels County, where sheriff personnel are located nearby and uniformed presence is often available for court days.

The county agreed to keep the committee active and to pursue grant applications and modest capital work to implement the coordinator’s recommendations. County staff said contractors could combine multiple tasks—locks, cameras and limited wiring—into a single vendor visit to reduce travel charges. The commission discussed the need to make some courthouse doors keycode-locked during the day and to lock basement and stairway doors when not in use to reduce hiding places.

Commissioners asked staff to circulate a clean copy of the coordinator’s written recommendations, identify grant timelines, and return later with cost estimates and a recommended list of near-term purchases and installations.