Woodbury County Sheriff Dave Drew is happy to see the order issued by the Iowa Supreme Court that bans weapons in courthouses across the state. Drew is in charge of security at the county courthouse buildings in Sioux City, which is one of ten courthouses in the state with an airport-like metal detector at the entrance.
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Drew says the ruling allows them to expand security to areas where Juvenile Court and the County Treasurer are located. He says security there has been a concern.
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Woodbury County District Court Administrator, Leesa McNeil, says court staff and the public can now be reassured about their safety when they are in the facility.
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The order requires the chief judge in each judicial district to work with local officials to carry out the order in each of Iowa’s 99 counties, but does not specify how weapons would be detected. The order from the Chief Justice says the security efforts put in place to protect the courts were too inconsistent across the state to make everyone safe and there needs to be a uniform policy. The order says 27 Iowa counties have no known courthouse weapons ban.