MASON CITY — Cerro Gordo County leaders have tentatively come to an agreement on a policy for the new metal detector for the front entry of the courthouse.
The project updating the security of the front entry to the courthouse was completed in October and included the installation of four double doors, with two doors leading inside and two others leading outside. A metal detector has been placed inside the entry but has not been formally utilized because a policy needs to be in place.
A proposed policy presented at a workshop session on Monday bans firearms from being in the courthouse with signs being posted. Part of the debate leading up to the workshop session was whether or not the policy should restrict bags and backpacks being brought into the courthouse, but the proposed policy does not have a bag and backpack restriction in it.
Sheriff David Hepperly says the procedure with people going through the metal detector will be similar to other places that have one. “Persons entering will go through the metal detector. If it alerts, they’ll be asked to go back through, empty their pockets into the provided baskets, then come through again. If they would alert again, then we’ll have a hand scan where the deputy will actually hand scan over their body and try to metal detect or pinpoint any metal at that point.”
County Attorney Carlyle Dalen suggested that if there’s a long line waiting to come into the courthouse, deputies may suggest people just take their bag back to their car to help move the process along. “You say you can either take your bag back to your car or I have to look in it because it set it off. They’re going to say ‘Well I don’t have anything in it’, ‘Well, if you want to take it back to your car, that’s fine, but it went off so I have to search it if you are going to continue to go through. ‘That’s the way I would suggest doing that, because otherwise, you’re going to have a whole bunch of bags come through, you’re going to be searching all those bags, I wouldn’t want to do that.”
The supervisors are likely to formally approve the policy at an upcoming meeting in the hopes of having it in place by April 1st.
