Courtroom Security In Guam

According to the National Center for States Courts, Guam is considered to have the largest U.S. Military presence of any of the United States territories. With that being mentioned in the current court security is in cooperation with the U.S. Marshals. However, a survey was done and it concluded that officials in Guam are worried about the lack of funding in the near future, which would mean a reduction in security forces and a less safe courthouse.

The following areas are areas in which security forces are needed in order for the safe running, working environment of the courthouse: perimeter security, main entrance security, courtroom security, interior security, judicial chambers, administrative office and information / records security

There are several U.S. Marshall Officer’s who are in charge with the screening of all visitors making sure no weapons or contrabands enter the courthouse. A personnel has an ID card in which they have access to certain locations inside the courthouse. Besides these security measures some other recommendations would be RFID locks of all interior doors, automatic doors to close in time in case of an emergency, X-Ray machine and two way radio’s for the officers.

Courtroom security is very important because this normally deals with prisoners who come to court for their court hearings and at anytime they can become irate which would then put innocent bystanders in danger. The courtroom has a duress alarm, locking doors in case of emergency, secure exits for personnel use and CCTV cameras in place. Some of the recommendations could be a holding area for non-verbal communications hearings, secured area for sharp objects to ensure safety during proceedings and a ballistic shielding for the

CCTV cameras are installed along with a duress alarm for the just in case if any danger is to take place. Filing cabinets of sensitive documents are secured inside a locking vault and counters where the personnel workers are stationed are tall safety precautionary measures. A recommendation in this particular area would be having glass partition to shield personnel (another safety precautionary measure).

Records security area can only be accessed if you are RFID accessible. In this particular area electronic files are protected by web bases firewall which is monitored by MIS personnel and CCTV cameras are in place for security purposes.

When conducting our assessment we observed the aspects of the courthouse building and daily operations that were conducted by their personnel and marshals were within standards. We have concluded since Guam is considered the largest U.S. Military presence of any of the United States territories, our courthouse is to standards of the current court security in cooperation with U.S.