70 items seized in Hennepin County court security checks

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70 items seized in Hennepin County court security checks

Article by: Star Tribune
Updated: May 1, 2012 - 9:54 PM

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Many sharp items were confiscated during the first week of weapons screening at Hennepin County courthouses in Brooklyn Park, Edina and Minnetonka.

Photo: Hennepin County Sheriff's Office,

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About 70 prohibited objects were confiscated in the first week that visitors to Hennepin County's suburban courts were screened for weapons, the Sheriff's Office said.

The items -- which included knives, box cutters, nail clippers, corkscrews, scissors and Mace -- were taken from about 3,000 people who went through security checkpoints at the Brookdale court in Brooklyn Center, the Ridgedale court in Minnetonka and the Southdale court in Edina.

Visitors may return prohibited items to their cars, Maj. Tracey Martin said. If they decline, the items are taken and not returned, she said.

County commissioners, prompted by concerns of a district judge and by a shooting last winter at a North Shore courthouse, decided to impose interim screening measures at suburban courts starting April 23.

The great majority of Hennepin County cases are heard at the Government Center in downtown Minneapolis, where visitors have been screened for weapons for several years. Suburban courts attend to lower-level crimes.

Commissioners will decide on a permanent screening solution for suburban courts next year, after getting security reports from the National Center for State Courts and county administrators.

KEVIN DUCHSCHERE

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