HARRISBURG, Pa. — Are magisterial district court offices safe?
A new report just released by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts says no.
The information comes from a court task force that was set up in 2019 to review security measures at all 512 magisterial district court offices statewide. The group consisted of judges, court administrators, county commissioners and law enforcement personnel.
Members of the Task Group include:
- John H. Fishel, Magisterial District Judge, York County (chair)
- Edward D. Reibman, President Judge, Lehigh County
- Ronald J. Haggerty, Jr. Magisterial District Judge, Fayette County
- Beth S. Mills, Magisterial District Judge, Allegheny County
- Bill C. Wenner, Magisterial District Judge, Dauphin County
- Tammy Jo Lambie, District Court Administrator, Somerset County
- Patricia Norwood-Foden, District Court Administrator, Chester County
- Kathy Sauter, Magisterial District Judge Special Courts Administrator, Monroe County
- Todd Graybill, County Commissioner, Juniata County
- Brinda Penyak, Deputy Director, County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania
- Trooper Christopher Shoap, Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Team, Pa State Police
Their review discovered that more than 300 security incidents took place at district courts, which is a 30 percent increase from just the year before.
According to the report, the increase in serious and violent incidents “calls into question the safety and security of those who work or appear in magisterial district courts.”
The report, which was given to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for consideration, made eight recommendations to improve security, including recommendations that all district court offices have armed security and security screening devices and machines.
The full report is available here.
