As the reach of metal detectors extends in Evans, there’s worry of ‘chilling effect’
Aim is better security for meetings of board
Many towns use a metal detector to screen people attending their court sessions. Now the Town of Evans plans to go a step further.
Evans plans to screen at least some of its Town Board meetings with the metal detector, Supervisor Francis J. Pordum said, as well as court sessions.
“It’s not that you don’t trust people, but it’s better to be a little more secure,” he said.
But the idea drew fire from a civil liberties group.
“There’s absolutely a chilling effect — metal detectors are very intimidating,” said John A. Curr III, director of the Western New York Regional Office of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Having to empty one’s pockets of personal items, and perhaps be taken aside and wanded, is a potentially embarrassing process that could deter attendance, he said.
“This smacks of a small-town government trying to intimidate people from attending the town meeting,” Curr said.
Court proceedings involving crimes and criminals have a clear need for security measures tighter than those at municipal government meetings, he added.
Evans is the latest area government to install a metal detector, which was obtained with a $26,000 grant from the state Office of Courts Administration.
The equipment will be at the main entrance to Town Hall on Erie Road in Angola, officials said. It will only be used for court proceedings and some Town Board meetings, they said, not for all visitors to Town Hall.
Argument can become heated at Evans board meetings. Last year, a town property revaluation drew crowds that were vocal in their criticism of new assessments.
Attendees at events that have been screened will feel a greater degree of security, Pordum said.
“It’s a sign of the times,” he said. “Just like you go through security
clearance at the airport — it’s become second nature.”
One resident who regularly attends board meetings disagreed, saying he didn’t like the metal detector idea.
“The town is already intimidating,” said Edward G. Schneider III of Angola. He said he has never seen any threats or violence at meetings, only vocal disagreement about town actions.
Evans is one of 213 towns and villages across the state that have installed a metal detector through a grant program in the last three years, according to the Office of Courts Administration. About 250 justice courts have metal detectors, a spokeswoman estimated, or about 1 in 5.
One trend is that town courts outside of urban areas are tightening their security.
“What we’re seeing is people stepping over the line more and more,” Evans Police Chief Ernest P. Masullo said. When arguments escalate into physical confrontation, it’s increasingly likely that weapons will be involved, he said.
The image of small towns as Mayberrylike havens of tranquillity no longer holds true, if it ever was, police say.
Franklinville in Cattaraugus County has installed a metal detector at Town Court within the last year.
“I think it’s made a great difference in security,” Franklinville Village Police Chief Tony W. Wolfer said. “Now you know what people have on them — in the past, there was always a doubt.”
Justice courts at the town level are limited to processing violations or misdemeanors, sending more serious crimes to the county level. However, felony cases may be arraigned in Town Court.
Security screening is common for courts in built-up towns such as Amherst, Cheektowaga and Tonawanda.
Cheektowaga Town Court installed its metal detector in 1998, administrator Stephanie Lewandowski said. Last year, the court used a state grant to enhance video security systems.
Amherst’s court installed a metal detector in 2001, court administrator James Loughran said.
Officials said they were unaware of town government meetings where metal detector screening was in effect. In Buffalo, people attending Common Council meetings are not screened.
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