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Commissioners back courthouse security changes, consider locks and cameras
Summary
After a statewide courthouse security review, Daniels County commissioners agreed to create a court-security committee, pursue lock upgrades and consider grant-funded cameras to monitor the election vault and limit access to sensitive areas.
Tammy Plater, a commission member, summarized recommendations from a statewide security coordinator and a district judge who toured the Daniels County courthouse and urged practical changes to reduce vulnerabilities. She said the suggestions included forming a court-security committee, tightening building access and creating active‑shooter evacuation and scatter plans.
"Create the committee. We've done that," Plater said in explaining the next step, and commissioners discussed locking nonessential doors, adding keypad or fob access and installing duress alarms. The county learned that Montana law allows firearms in courthouses unless a district judge orders a weapons‑free zone, and officials said dedicated security or uniformed officers are present in only some courthouses nearby.
Commissioners also discussed modest, near-term fixes the security coordinator recommended: installing deadbolts for doors that frequently blow open, locking the basement hallway doors that could be used to conceal a threat, and adding convex mirrors and motion-detection cameras to increase visibility in stairwells and vault-adjacent corridors. Plater noted some recommended locks support phone-based control and fingerprint access; staff warned that relying on employees' personal smartphones is not acceptable without a county-managed option.
The security conversation tied into a separate election-security grant the county has pursued: staff described an application for hallway cameras focused on the vault that stores election machines and records. The cameras would be motion-activated and feed monitoring equipment at dispatch; grant funding could also cover a ballistic panel at the judge's bench. Commissioners asked staff to follow up on grant status and to price keypad/fob options that do not require personal phones for access.
No formal expenditure was approved during the discussion; commissioners directed staff to return with firm cost estimates, grant status and recommended lock/camera specifications for a future agenda.
