Capitol hikes security Mirroring efforts at capitols nationwide, the state will add new video cameras throughout the state Capitol to increase safety and security there.
with new cameras
Officials believe it will alleviate
the shortage of patrol guardsBy Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.comNew and increased security procedures have been imposed in most statehouses following the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks.
State Public Safety Director Ted Sakai said the cameras are part of a new closed-circuit TV system being installed within the five-story Capitol. Sheriffs and legislative officials are deciding where to place the cameras, and the state Department of Accounting & General Services will install them, he said.
The cameras will replace the original Capitol video camera system, which is outdated and practically worthless, he said.
"Half the cameras and monitors don't work, and the ones that work, you can barely make out the images," Sakai said. "They were like the original thing when the Capitol was built a long time ago."
Sakai said the new cameras will increase the efficiency of a limited amount of sheriff's deputies assigned to the state Protective Services Division, which provides security at the state Capitol complex. The department will ask for six more sheriffs for the division this session, but it wants to secure the Capitol after hours with reduced staffing.
"Right now we have a limited number of sheriffs to do patrols, but we'll have somebody to monitor the cameras, and that person will be better able to see what's going on throughout the Capitol and direct sheriffs if there's an incident or there's a need to go to a particular place," Sakai said.
Sakai said there is enough manpower to man posts at Washington Place and the state Capitol, but none to routinely patrol the entire complex, which includes the nearby state Health and Education departments' buildings, Iolani Palace, the new state art museum at Hemmeter Center and the state Transportation Department building further makai on Punchbowl Street.
As a result, sheriffs have to leave their posts to respond if there is a fire or break-in elsewhere in the complex.
"We've always felt it (patrols) was a good idea, but I think Sept. 11 really heightened the awareness for it, the need for it," Sakai said.
Additionally, there are plans for metal roll-down gates to the Capitol's basement parking lot entrance on Miller Street, which does not have any gates now. The gates, which Sakai hopes will be installed next fiscal year, will be similar to those found on the Punchbowl Street basement parking entrance to the Capitol.
While the department has not set what times these gates will remain open, Sakai said the public will continue to have access to the Capitol during business hours, and late-night legislative meetings will be taken into account.
Elsewhere, the department wants to replace the current locking system at the Capitol to better control access to the building. Sakai said the locks need to be updated to provide higher security and to free up manpower for the routine patrols.
House Public Safety Chairman Nestor Garcia (D, Waipio) asked Sakai to ensure that technology does not displace the warm bodies needed during emergencies.
Still, state Rep. Jim Rath (R, South Kohala) questions whether the increased security at the Capitol is needed. Those in charge of Capitol security may be overreacting to the Sept. 11 attacks, he suggested.
"Do we really have that kind of threat here?" Rath asked.
Last Nov. 29, Gov. Ben Cayetano received a threatening letter containing a white power, prompting emergency personnel and security to isolate the state Capitol and shut down elevator access in the building. Subsequent tests of the substance turned up negative for anthrax.
Meanwhile, capitols in 15 states have also added metal detectors, while barricades are going up around capitols in Idaho, Illinois and Tennessee.