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Safety and Security <br />Affected Environment <br />Public safety and security are often major issues in the siting and operation of court facilities. <br />Safety and security issues surrounding a federal court and federal offices take two forms: public <br />safety from potential internal dangers (e.g., prisoner escapes and other security problems), and <br />safety of employees and visitors from external dangers (e.g., bombings or violent <br />demonstrations). <br />During the past 15 years, no prisoners have escaped from the Eugene federal building/courthouse <br />or during transport to or from the facility (Leavitt 1999 personal communication). (Information <br />is not available as to the incidence of escape during the first ten years of facility operation.) <br />Despite the fact that no escapes have occurred at the existing federal building/courthouse, the <br />facility has severe safety and security deficiencies. Transporting prisoners to and from the <br />courthouse is of special concern for law enforcement officers because of the lack of a secure <br />vehicle sally port (Leavitt 1999 personal communication). The facility has no secure parking for <br />judges or other federal vehicles and lacks separate circulation systems for prisoner movement, <br />judges, and the public. Detention space for adult detainees is severely limited, and there is no <br />separate detention space for juvenile detainees or protective witnesses. Some of the court-related <br />offices that are located in leased space elsewhere in Eugene have no security screening facilities. <br />Although the Eugene federal building/courthouse has not been the subject of a bomb attack, the <br />courthouse has been the focus of several violent demonstrations. During the Gulf War, some <br />demonstrations became violent and windows were broken. After the verdict in the Rodney King <br />case was announced, demonstrators broke glass in the Eugene federal office building and entered <br />the building. <br />Transport and Movement of Prisoners <br />Prisoners are not housed at the existing federal building/courthouse in Eugene, which has no <br />facilities to house inmates. Prisoners at the Lane County jail and the federal detention facility in <br />Sheridan, Oregon are transported to the courthouse for arraignment or trial on a daily basis and <br />returned at the end of the day. At present there is no secure entrance into the courthouse for <br />prisoners. When a transport vehicle (sedan or van) brings prisoners to the existing federal <br />building/courthouse, retractable bollards are lowered and the vehicle enters the space between <br />the two buildings. The bollards are then raised, and armed guards are positioned around the <br />vehicle. Wearing full restraints (i.e., handcuffs linked to belly chain, and leg irons) prisoners are <br />escorted from the transport vehicle into the courthouse. The U.S. Marshals Service recognizes <br />that this system does not provide adequate security for transferring prisoners, because it does not <br />allow complete control of the area and it provides detainees an opportunity to attempt an escape <br />New Federal Courthouse 151 Final EIS <br />