Security enhanced in city’s courtroom
The number of people attending court at Pea Ridge has grown exponentially along with the city’s population.
When court was established in 1977, it met once a month, at night. Now, there are usually more than 200 people on the court docket for arraingments and court meets twice a month.
For the first time in the history of the Pea Ridge Court system, people attending court passed through a metal detector Tuesday, Sept. 13. It was the first court session held in the new court room in City Hall on Weston Street.
There were 215 people on the docket for court and 150 chairs set up in the court room, which can hold as many as 200. That was a much different environment than court has had for the past decade, more specifically the past few years when more than 100 people waited for their turn before the judge in a room crowded with 65 chairs.
“Take everything out of your pockets. Remove your belt, your watch,” Police officer Richard Henry said. Change, keys, wallets — all went into a plastic bin to be checked by police. Purses and bags were searched. If the alarm sounded on the standing metal detector, people were sent to Sgt. Eric Lyle and Officer Todd Cornwell to be checked with the handheld wands. Usually, a metal brad on jeans or a metal piece on boots had caused the alarm to sound.
Henry, who worked for the Benton County Sheriff’s Office for 19 years, spent two years working as a bailiff in the county courthouse.
A couple of times, Henry handed people’s belongings back and told them to return an item, usually a small knife, to their vehicle.
One purse search revealed drug paraphernalia and required a more extensive search and resulted in a citation to the woman who was carrying the purse.
The standing metal detector is on rolling castors and can be
stored when not in use. It cost $3,500, Police Chief Ryan Walker said. The metal wands were $100 each.
The court clerk in 1977 was Sandy Easley (now Button).
Button, entering her 40th year as court clerk, said court now meets four to five hours twice a month. For many years, court met once a month and only lasted about two hours.
For 20 years, Button was the only court clerk. In 1977, Katrina Whitaker was hired as the first deputy clerk. There were two other deputy court clerks who served for a short period of time. In 2012, Jennifer Carney was hired; she is still the deputy clerk.
The size of court depended on the number of police officers hired by the city, Button said.
“Now, we are running around 200 per arraignment date and 75 per trial date,” Button said.
Capt. Chris Olson acted as bailiff in the court room, instructing people.
Walker said he and Officer Joey Ferris are certified bailiffs.
“We are thankful that the new administration building is large enough to accommodate additional security features such as this,” Walker said. “We also appreciate the courts for purchasing the metal detector. It is a huge help for us in providing a safer court room for everyone.”