Bailiff Timothy Bennett demonstrates the new machine used to X-ray bags in the lobby of the Newark Municipal Building.

Bailiff Timothy Bennett demonstrates the new machine used to X-ray bags in the lobby of the Newark Municipal Building.

Jeff Martindale, who is coordinating the security project for the city, demonstrates the new metal detector as bailiff Timothy Bennett looks on.

Bailiff Timothy Bennett demonstrates a magnetometer wand on city employee Jeff Martindale.

Bailiff Timothy Bennett demonstrates the new machine used to X-ray bags in the lobby of the Newark Municipal Building.

Bailiff Timothy Bennett demonstrates the new machine used to X-ray bags in the lobby of the Newark Municipal Building.

Jeff Martindale, who is coordinating the security project for the city, demonstrates the new metal detector as bailiff Timothy Bennett looks on.

Bailiff Timothy Bennett demonstrates a magnetometer wand on city employee Jeff Martindale.

Visitors to Newark Alderman’s Court now have to pass through a metal detector.

Officials started using the equipment last week as part of an ongoing effort to increase the security of the municipal building complex, which includes the court, city hall and the police station.

“You never know who’s coming into court,” Clerk of the Court Terri Conover said, noting that the court sees an average of 50 visitors per day. “Most people are paying traffic tickets, but we do have people with long criminal records. So it’s an added safety.”

Under the new policy, visitors to city hall check in with an armed bailiff in the lobby. Those heading to Alderman’s Court must empty their pockets and pass through a metal detector. Visitors who set off the device are examined more carefully with a hand-held magnetometer wand.

Purses and other bags are sent through an X-ray machine.

Right now, the security measures are limited to visitors to Alderman’s Court. People heading to the police department or the city hall side of the building are not affected, though city officials said use of the metal detectors may be expanded later.

In their first week using the metal detectors, bailiffs caught a couple people carrying mace, and another person acknowledged having a pocketknife. They were all asked to return the prohibited items to their vehicle and then allowed to continue into court.

Bailiff Timothy Bennett said oftentimes, people forget they are carrying something like a pocketknife or don’t realize it’s not allowed in court.

“The equipment will be a deterrent itself,” Bennett said.

He added that so far, visitors have been understanding about new security measures.

“I’ve found everyone to be compliant,” Bennett said. “I haven’t had any pushback. They’re very cooperative.”

Chief Purchasing & Personnel Officer Jeff Martindale, who is coordinating the security project, concurred.

“I think people realize it’s for their safety,” Martindale said.

The installation of metal detectors is part of a decade-long effort to improve the security of the municipal building.

“Frankly, if you look at other courts in the area, they all pretty much have the same setup,” Martindale explained earlier this year. “I think we might be one of the outliers in the fact that we don’t currently have anything set up. This kind of gets us on par with a lot of the other courts in the county.”

Discussion of municipal building security dates back to at least 2013, when a shooting at the New Castle County Courthouse in Wilmington prompted Newark officials to review security protocols. A study conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service recommended a number of steps Newark should take.

Many of the recommendations were implemented in 2013 and 2014, including hiring armed bailiffs for the court, enclosing service windows with bulletproof glass and requiring city hall visitors to sign in at the front desk before being allowed into the rest of the building.

City council considered installing metal detectors at that time, but the discussion set off a firestorm over whether guns should be allowed in city hall. Gun advocates attended council meetings with firearms holstered to their belts to make the point that the city could not stop them from doing so.

After the state legislature gave municipalities the ability to regulate weapons on city-owned premises, council banned the open carry of firearms in the municipal building in 2016.

However, the issue of metal detectors was not revisited until last fall, when money for the equipment was added to the capital improvement budget with little fanfare or discussion.

The project, which also included upgrading the lobby, cost $245,000. Of that, $100,000 was paid for using court security fees that are tacked onto traffic tickets and other fines. The rest was funded through state grants or the American Rescue Plan Act.

The X-ray machine was surplus equipment from the Super Bowl in Los Angeles, and the city purchased it at a discount.

Martindale said the city will now turn its attention to improving the security at the city’s maintenance yard on Phillips Avenue. The city recently received $247,000 from the state to upgrade the fence around the facility.

Officials also want to make security upgrades to the police station parking lot. Newark did not receive the funds requested from the state for that project, but officials are looking at other funding alternatives, Martindale said.

The security review by the U.S. Marshals Service noted that the parking lot is unsecured and it would be possible for a potential assailant to observe police officers and Alderman judges’ movement and gain unrestricted access to them and their vehicles. The city wants to install a high-walled steel security fence around the police parking lot. The $875,000 project would also include repaving the entire police municipal building parking lot.

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