Severe staffing shortages are leaving state court officers in the line of fire and struggling to keep up with a slew of weapons that people are attempting to smuggle in through undermanned courthouse entrances, the officers’ unions warned Tuesday.
“Every day, we get hand grenades, guns, knives and all types of weapons that come in,” said Dennis Quirk, head of the New York State Court Officers Association, at a rally to call attention to his woefully understaffed ranks.
Quirk, other leaders, several court officers and local politicians called on the Office of Court Administration and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to better fund security at the state’s halls of justice — if not for their sake, then for the many New Yorkers interacting with the judicial system daily.
“Every New Yorker encounters court at some point in their life, be it jury duty or some other reason. They have a reasonable expectation to be kept safe,” said Patrick Cullen of the New York State Supreme Court Officers Association.
The unions claim that OCA has had no budgetary problem hiring new judges and lawyers in recent years, while the court officers’ head count has dropped 33 percent over the past decade.
“The safety and security of our court facilities is paramount,” a court-system spokesman said.