Supervisors address courthouse security
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During their meeting Monday, September 28, the county supervisors adopted a courthouse security plan that provides protocols and procedures for various security concerns and disaster scenarios.
According to wording in Resolution RC20-180, the new protocol “provides that courthouse security plans can be considered confidential documents if disclosure could reasonably be expected to jeopardize life or property; and … the Ringgold County Board of Supervisors determines that public disclosure of the County’s courthouse security plan could reasonably be expected to jeopardize the lives of County employees and other persons present in the courthouse and/or County and personal property by providing members of the public with the protocols and procedures to be utilized for security purposes and in emergency situations.”
The resolution cites Iowa Code that allows “the County’s courthouse security plan, including any attachments or documents supplementing said plan, constitute confidential documents and will not be available to the public.”
The security plan can be provided to the County’s elected officials, department heads, law enforcement officers, or representatives from the judicial branch.
In a separate resolution, RC20-181, the supervisors maintain that recordings from various security cameras throughout the courthouse will also remain confidential and will not be available to the public.
The resolution states “the public’s knowledge of the location and coverage area of these security cameras will reduce the effectiveness of these cameras for security purposes … public access to these recordings can allow members of the public to learn the protocols and procedures utilized for security purposes and in emergency situations … the video and/or audio recordings from these security cameras should be considered confidential because disclosure could reasonably be expected to jeopardize life or property.”
