Juvenile Court upgrades security at no cost to Darke County taxpayers

The Darke County Juvenile Court uses a metal detector to scan parties before entering the courtroom. Until recently, the court was using a mostly-obselete 1997 Sentry AT metal detector. Juvenile Court bailiff Tom Fourman contacted Ohio Supreme Court Security Services Officer Stephanie Tansill about the situation. Ms. Tansill made inquiries around the state and learned of a newer model that would soon be available in Hocking County.

A Metor 200 had originally been purchased for Franklin County through a Homeland Security grant. Franklin County no longer needed the metal detector and sent it to Hocking County for extra security during a high-profile trial. When the case ended, the metal detector was available to the first county to claim it, and Mr. Fourman made arrangements to pick it up.

Ms. Tansill recently visited the Juvenile Court to calibrate the new metal detector (Tansill and Fourman are in the photo to the right). Ms. Tansill took the old metal detector with her for transport as it was claimed by one of the courts in Jackson, Ohio. The cost of a new metal detector is between $4,000 and $5,000.