Merced court first in state to get security training program

The Merced County Superior Courthouse received grant money aimed at adding online security training, the chief executive officer announced this week.

The court is one of two recently awarded a curriculum and training grant from the State Justice Institute, a federally commissioned nonprofit meant to improve and share innovations with state courts across the country.

The $25,000 grant for the Merced Superior Court includes the development of a partnership with the National Center for State Courts, which provides online curriculum for the courthouse security training program.

Linda Romero Soles, Merced Superior Court CEO, said the courthouse is the first in California to get the online training. She said it will be shared with others around the state.

With attacks this year on public buildings, such as those in San Bernardino and at UC Merced, court employees need to know how to handle dangerous situations, she said.

“We’re not taking anything for granted,” she said on Tuesday. “We’re really excited that we got this grant.”

This program will consist of four sections in an interactive, self-paced format, according to a news release. The online training will be used by officers, court employees and court security staff, who will train on how to handle an active shooter or other dangerous scenarios.

The Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts is the only other court system using a program newly designed by the National Center for State Courts, according to a news release.

The Merced courthouse has been the scene of an attempted attack on court employees. In 2008, a Merced County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a 40-year-old Atwater man who walked through a courthouse security checkpoint, then burst into Courtroom 2 armed with two large kitchen knives.

The other court to receive a training grant this year was the Guam Judiciary, according to the institute, which will use its funding for guardianship training.

This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 1:37 PM with the headline "Merced court first in state to get security training program."