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Polk County to host courthouse security pilot with private screeners funded by OJD
Summary
Oregon Judicial Department officials told Polk County commissioners that a statewide $2,000,000 one‑time appropriation has funded a courthouse security pilot that will place private screeners and equipment at the Polk County Courthouse beginning June 1; commissioners pressed officials on oversight, staffing authority and data collection to justify permanent funding.
The Polk County Board of Commissioners heard a presentation on May 19 from court staff and Oregon Judicial Department officials about a courthouse security pilot that will place private screening staff and equipment at the Polk County Courthouse.
Chuck Kim, trial court administrator, told the board that the pilot stems from a one‑time $2,000,000 statewide allocation to the Oregon Judicial Department and that Polk’s contract for screening services has been executed and will enter implementation June 1. "So this is courthouse security pilot project," Kim said, describing a process that included review by the chief justice and coordination with local stakeholders.
Evan West, chief marshal for the Oregon Judicial Department, said the pilot expands entry screening across counties and will produce weekly reports OJD intends to use to seek permanent funding. "Firearms were seized. 31 knives were seized the first week," West said, citing early deployments, and added that reports show a sharp rise in threats directed at judges and courthouses: "We've seen a 400% increase since 2021."
Commissioners pressed officials on several operational and oversight issues. Commissioner (S6) said she was concerned about placing "authority on people at the front door" who are not county employees and asked who would supervise and discipline contract staff; she added, "These people aren't a part of our employee package, so we have no HR oversight over these folks." Kim and West said the vendor (DPI) conducts background checks, that screeners are not law enforcement and that supervisory lines in practice include a DPI lead who will coordinate with the trial court administrator and the sheriff for incident response and operational issues.
Officials described the funding breakdown for the $2,000,000 appropriation: about $1,000,000 is earmarked for seven pilot courts (Polk among them), $800,000 was set aside for other courts, and roughly $200,000 has been spent to date on Polk's rollout and equipment. West said the DPI screening contract for Polk is roughly $130,000 and that equipment was delivered and will be calibrated before the June 1 start.
Presenters said the contract will run through June 30, 2027, and that the pilot includes collecting uniform data to demonstrate safety outcomes and justify seeking permanent legislative funding. Officials also said employees with key‑card access and credentialed law enforcement can bypass screening and that the county should direct public complaints about screening operations to the trial court administrator.
The commission thanked the presenters; staff said they will take minutes of the court security committee going forward and share data with the commissioners as it becomes available. Implementation is scheduled to begin June 1.
