State Government Increasing Security as Threats Grow

Visitors might notice the new bicycle patrols and bomb-sniffing dogs, but other upgrades, including additional officer training and an e-mail notification system to alert state employees of an emergency, probably will escape attention. The changes were disclosed Tuesday by state leaders in a letter to the director of the Department of Public Safety, which is responsible for security at the Capitol. The leaders — the governor and the House and Senate presiding officers — were responding to an incident last month in which a man fired shots outside the Capitol after being asked to leave a senator’s office. But a plan to install metal detectors and X-ray machines in the building is still under discussion and is expected to be talked about at a legislative hearing later this month. DPS officials recommended the machines last month, but few details were released except to lawmakers in private briefings.

Do you see increased attention on government security? Tweat http://twitter.com/securitymag