Apr. 7—OTTUMWA — As one of eight district court chief judges in the state, 8th Judicial District judge Myron Gookin feels a sense of responsibility for the safety of those who work under and with him.

That sense of security, he said, is lacking in the Wapello County Courthouse.

Gookin, whose district covers 15 counties, spoke to the county board of supervisors Tuesday, pointing out the need for heightened security, particularly at the main entrance, where the lobby can get congested with residents making court appearances.

"My concern is the safety of the personnel that serves the judicial branch, whether that's a judge, a court reporter, records attendant or the staff in the clerk's office," he said. "Honestly, judicial functions happen on every floor of this courthouse."

The conversation stemmed from a letter Gookin sent to the supervisors and county sheriff Don Phillips, detailing an email he had with a longtime court reporter who was "beginning to feel more and more unsafe in Wapello County, especially on Mondays on court service days ... I honestly do not feel safe coming here."

Gookin added: "It was a wake-up call that someone, who has worked in this courthouse and all other courthouses of sub-district 8A for years, tells me she doesn't feel safe coming to the Wapello County Courthouse anymore."

He said in his letter that in the last six months "safety concerns have been encountered."

That story isn't uncommon. County attorney Reuben Neff said he's made two reports to the FBI "due to death threats that I thought were credible."

"I will note this county has an issue with violence. We've had fairly violent people come to our office that are out on bond, and then have multiple new crimes and keep bonding," he said. "I think there are a lot of issues that need to be attended to that honestly have festered for a long time.

"The county, unfortunately, has had a poor reputation in terms of crime for a long time."

Gookin suggested the the county reestablish its Courthouse and Public Building Security Committee (CPBS), which is recommended by the Iowa Association of Counties. According to the guidelines, the committee should be made up of a judge, the board of supervisors chair, the emergency management director and representatives from the sheriff's office, police department, county attorney, clerk of court, juvenile court services and other county offices.

Gookin said he would take the lead on getting the committee reestablished.

"I want to make sure this is active, and that we're talking about these things again," Gookin said. "I think they are supposed to meet at least twice a year. I think maybe once this program got started, that was happening, but now I'm not sure it is."

Neither Neff nor supervisor Brian Morgan could recall a time that committee met while they've been in office; Morgan has served on the board since January 2017.

The county has taken steps to improve safety at its entrances by going to a keycard system. One of the recommendations Phillips posed was "maybe changing the times that front door gets unlocked, and making sure the judges, Judge (Kirk) Daily, the magistrate judge, Judge Gookin all have key cards when they can get in sooner if they need to."

"So the doors don't unlock until 8 a.m., and the issue I need to address is that when employees are coming in, they're not making sure the door shuts behind them," auditor Kelly Spurgeon said. "So people are walking in with the employees who have the key to get in. That's happened multiple times."

Gookin suggested the county consider hiring a part-time court officer. He pointed that Des Moines County, which also is in the district, has a part-time, retired law enforcement officer that is armed during court service days.

"It doesn't take anybody away from your staff, but would be a security person that would have the authority to act in the event there is an issue," he said. "In terms of budget, that might be a better way to approach it than trying tap into the sheriff staff."

Phillips said he does have officers who can be at the courthouse from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., but only until the end of May. He also pointed out there have been updates to a panic-button system that allows law enforcement to respond.

No matter what steps the county needs to take, Gookin wants it to take them. He cited a court attendant who found a man asleep on the floor of an office, and another court attendant stepped out of an office, only to see a criminal defendant "at her door, looking at paperwork he had taken off the desk, and her closet door was suspiciously open."

"The court facilities in Wapello County are not secure. Anyone can walk freely into any courtroom, court attendant, court reporter's space or judge's chambers," he said. "The safety of our judicial branch employees is absolutely paramount to me."

— Chad Drury can be reached at cdrury@ottumwacourier.com, and on Twitter @ChadDrury