NS: Province tightens security in Dartmouth court

By Jeffrey Simpson, The Chronicle Herald

A permanent walk-through metal detector will be installed at the entrance to Dartmouth provincial court in an attempt to improve safety, Justice Minister Ross Landry said Wednesday.

Two sheriff’s deputies, among those who recently had their hours reduced, and some other staff will be hired and the courthouse will be renovated to further improve security at the site, Landry said.

“We realize that it’s importance to balance safety with community access to justice at all our provincial courts,” he told a news conference at the courthouse.

“Recent threat or risk assessments of the Dartmouth court have shown the need for portable metal detectors to be used on a more frequent basis.”

As if to drive home that point, shortly before the announcement sheriff’s deputies stopped somebody trying to avoid a security check on the way into a courtroom.

There had already been a metal detector at the Dartmouth courthouse and at other courts throughout the province but it hadn’t been installed yet, Landry said.

The Halifax provincial courthouse on Spring Garden Road is the only court building in the province with a permanent detector at the door.

Since the equipment was installed in October 2008, sheriff’s deputies have found nearly 1,100 dangerous items on people, including knives, syringes, brass knuckles and bear spray, Landry said.

“When you look at the volume of people and the clientele, in some cases, that we’re dealing with, I’m not surprised.”

But most of the objects probably wouldn’t normally be considered weapons and may not have been intended as such — only five were turned over to police and the rest were returned, he said.

Justice officials were already under orders to address security concerns at courthouses in the Halifax region.

The provincial Labour Department issued compliance orders under the Occupational Health and Safety Act to the Justice Department and the Public Prosecution Service on July 9.

The demands followed an investigation into a workplace safety complaint filed by the Nova Scotia Crown Attorneys’ Association in March.

The Justice Department and the prosecution service were given until Aug. 6 — a deadline that has been extended — to conduct workplace violence risk assessments at the four courthouses that handle criminal matters in the Halifax area and submit violence prevention plans.

The department has also been ordered to examine the layouts of courtrooms, while the prosecution service has to develop a workplace violence prevention statement and mandatory health and safety training for employees.

The department said the measures announced Wednesday had nothing to do with those orders.

“We’re being proactive,” Landry said.

Rick Woodburn, president of the Crown attorneys association, said increased security measures are long overdue at Dartmouth.

“There’s been a brawl over here. Accused have been attacked,” Woodburn said. “We’re finally getting the court security that we want, but we still need more.”

Relatives of a murder victim attacked his alleged killer inside a Dartmouth courtroom last year. And this past March, about 30 men and women began fighting in the lobby outside the courtrooms.

Woodburn said more sheriffs and video surveillance are needed.

Opposition critics also accused Landry of failing to go far enough with the beefed-up security measures.

“It’s about time he took the necessary steps to protect the public and the people who work in that facility,” Liberal justice critic Michel Samson said in a news release. “It took over a year of pressure from the Liberal caucus and a formal complaint to occupational health and safety by the Public Prosecution Service before this minister and the NDP government got the message.

“That’s just not good enough.”

Tory justice critic Murray Scott said safety should be given the same priority everywhere.

“While I am happy the Justice Department has improved a dangerous situation in Dartmouth, there are other courthouses where something else could occur,” Scott said in a news release.