Since this is such a late posting, it's going to count for Tuesday too.
The lack of security at the Nebraska Capitol is legen...wait for it...dary. No joke. It's so bad. There are innumerable stories of the incompetence & inefficiency - not responding to panic alarms, downplaying situations that upset staff...not to mention the fact that they aren't armed, which seems like a no brainer 'cause...security?
It was also a poorly kept epic secret. You don't really flaunt your flaws, especially the ones that could pose a threat to the people work in the building. But what do you know...both the Lincoln Journal Star (posted below) and the Omaha World Herald posted articles informing Joe Public that they can walk in the door of a senator's office, scream and act threateningly towards staff with no real consequences.
Yeah, that makes me feel all nice and secure with my job.
Thanks for nothing, LJS and OWH. Uuuugh.
I went to a Workplace Violence/Active Shooter training Friday morning and it didn't help to assuage my concerns. I thought Capitol Security could call the Lincoln Police Department (LPD) when something serious happened, since Capitol Security can't really do anything. Apparently that's not true. LPD will only respond if there has been a physical altercation...everything else has to be routed through the State Patrol (since Capitol Security is a division of the State Patrol). One of the other staffers attending the training said they'd run into this problem when an irate man was causing problems in the office and the closest State Patrol unit was in the Highlands (on the northwest side of town) and couldn't get to the office for 20 minutes.
A lot can happen in 20 minutes.
A couple staffers are working on a letter they're hoping to get signed by as many staff members as possible, to share with the Executive Board (the committee who controls our security decisions) listing our concerns and offering suggestions.
Similar attempts to make the Capitol a safer working environment have failed. The thought is that it's "the people's house" and that they should have complete and easy access to it. I get that...I really do. I just think there have to be ways to keep an open and public space while being prepared in the event of something dangerous happening.
My two (I think reasonable) suggestions are:
- Train security so they can be armed. I think it would at least dissuade a certain percentage of people from causing trouble or harassing staff if they know security is serious and can actually do something.
- Have metal detectors for the upstairs balconies. I used the picture above to show how open it is from the balconies to the senate floor. Right now when we're in session, a sergeant at arms (a man or woman in their 70s or 80s) sits up near the door (you can kind of see their little desk by the door in the photo), mostly to answer questions and shush people. Occasionally a State Trooper will be up there too. I just don't think it would be unreasonable to have people walk through metal detector in order to sit up there. I can't even imagine how many senators could get killed before a shooter was stopped if they had the height advantage of being in the balcony.
If nothing happens, an idea has been floated around to have a staffer "open carry day." Ironically, it's illegal to conceal carry in government buildings, but not to open carry. We figured security might be guilted into doing something if the staff showed so openly that we were willing to look out for our own security and protection, since actually security is utterly insufficient.
Guess we'll see what happens. Fingers crossed that with the upcoming session some real changed will be made.
Senators raise Capitol security concerns
3 HOURS AGO • BY JOANNE YOUNG | LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR
On Oct 14, a man went into Lincoln Sen. Kathy Campbell's office at the Capitol and was loud and threatening to her staff.
They tried to contact Capitol security, and it didn't go well.
Campbell took her concerns to the Legislature's Executive Board Wednesday to open a discussion about improvements to security. Unlike some other states, there are no barriers to entering Nebraska's Capitol, its offices or hearing rooms.
In 2011, the Executive Board talked about metal detectors, but quickly discarded the idea. The Nebraska Supreme Court and state Appeals Court do use metal detectors during trials.
Attorney General Doug Peterson is floating the metal detector idea again in an effort to make the Capitol safer and more secure, he said in a letter to Capitol Administrator Bob Ripley and Omaha Sen. Bob Krist, chairman of the Executive Board.
Capitol offices do have duress alarms -- panic buttons as staff call them -- but there are questions about how well they work. There's also a network of cameras and a computer alert system.
Campbell said that during last month's incident, a staff member used several methods to alert Capitol security to the threat, including two panic buttons, but there was no response until finally a phone call brought someone to the office. By that time the man had left.
"I don't think my office is the only one that's had an experience with an agitated person coming into the office and not being able to get someone to help escort that person out or calm them down or whatever was necessary," she told the Executive Board.
State Patrol Spokeswoman Deb Collins said both a Capitol security guard and a sworn member of the Patrol responded to the duress alarm that day. The man was contacted in the building by an officer after he had left Campbell's office, but no law violation had been committed.
She said the Capitol complex is a priority for the patrol, and it works with the Capitol Commission and the Department of Administrative Services to provide a safe environment for all. At the same time, the Patrol understands the Capitol remains the "people's house" and a public building, Collins said.
Senators have said they want the Capitol to remain accessible. But senators and workers in the building have to know security will be prompt when needed.
Last session, Krist said, a man walked into the chamber when senators were in session and Nebraska State Patrol officers were present. And several senators got threats from outside the Capitol.
Peterson also had incidents last month in which people entered his reception area and were threatening to his staff.
It's not unusual for a person to come to the office emotionally charged, even belligerent or bordering on dangerous, Peterson said.
"Unstable individuals wrongly perceive our office as the reason for their angst or the target for their anger," he said.
Concealed carry of guns is not allowed in the Capitol because of the presence of the courts, Collins said. Open carry is allowed.
Other states' attorneys general have barriers to public access, security officers and/or pass key systems. Peterson has suggested the use of glass security walls requiring pass keys on the east and west sides of hallways to his offices.
He also has concerns about the exposure of the outside of the Capitol.
"I understand the common sentiment is that this is the people's Capitol, and therefore we want to keep it open and accessible," he said in the letter.
But the times in which we live dictate recognizing and confronting new and existing threats, he said.
Krist is asking Patrol Superintendent Bradley Rice to provide any threat assessments that have been conducted for the building. Krist met with the Patrol this summer, and he and others from the legislative staff and the governor's office will meet with Rice on Dec. 4 to discuss security concerns.
"If someone calls up and says I don't feel comfortable in my workplace ... that's alarming to me and I think that's our responsibility to take a look at," he said, "not to overreact to the situation but to make sure that those folks are secure."
Good luck...stay safe...and have a good weekend!
~ Katie
Song of the day: In case you haven't heard it yet, here's the new Adele song "Hello." I just bought her new CD, but have only heard Hello so far.
+1 for the open carry idea! Hell yeah!
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