Lathrop’s elected leaders are weighing possible security enhancements to the City Council chambers.

Lathrop Police, as requested by the council, presented three options to the council earlier this month.

*Law enforcement personnel and K9 presence at all council meetings.

*Hand held wand screening.

*Walk-through metal detector, bag screening, and secondary hand-held wand screening.

The proposals were advanced in response to safety concerns expressed by some council members.

The current conditions include electronic access to controlled staff-only areas, operational law enforcement presence during council meetings, and the open design of the city hall complex.

The presentation noted there are evolving public facility standards, an increased focus on the safety of elected officials, more improved access management technologies available, and an opportunity exists for proactive modernization.

The review of security enhancement options is being driven by a need to maintain public accessibility while supporting visitor, staff, and council safety.

The first option of law enforcement presence at all council meeting would include a K9 officer to provide an extra layer of security, is the least invasive to the public, and would have no additional anticipated personnel costs.

Drawbacks include limited K9 law enforcement personnel and the fact all of the department’s K9 officers may not be suited to the specific purpose to respond to all types of threats.

The hand-wand screening can be conducted by law enforcement personnel, provides enhanced detection accuracy with adjustable sensitivity, is portable as well as cost effective, and would likely not require additional law enforcement personnelm

The walk-through metal detector, bag screening, and secondary hand-held wand screening is touted as providing the most security during public meetings.

Drawbacks include the expensive costs associated with improvements, equipment, and staffing.

It also would create potential delays for people to enter council meetings and such.

Police suggested additional City Hall safety improvements as well in addition to the requested options for the council chambers.

Those improvements include:

*Protective safety glass at counters.

*Controlled staff access doors.

*Enhanced separation between public and staff areas.

The council is expected to weigh in on the options at a later meeting to provide direction in what course of action, of any, should be taken.

Other cities

A quick look at websites for area cities shows only one that has stepped up public screening in place for access to council chambers for public meetings.

Those entering Stockton City Hall — except for uniformed fire and on-duty police personnel — are required to go through security screening and inspection of items being brought into the building.

A secondary screening takes place at the doors to the council chambers.

It is typical for area cities to have armed law enforcement personal at most council meetings whether it is the police chief or a representative of the command staff.

Over the years when there have been issues that have been particularly contentious or draw overflow crowds that were expected to exceed allowed capacity, Manteca has had a patrol officer or fire marshal present depending on the situation.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com