Supreme Court police?
Nevada Supreme Court justices are so fearful for their personal safety they want their own police force. On Monday, Chief Justice Kris Pickering told a legislative budget subcommittee the court's $119 million budget request for 2013-15 includes more than $430,000 for 2.5 police officers, who would report directly to justices. She cited Internet searches at the court's public law library for justices' home addresses and shootings at Nevada courthouses as justification for the added security.
The budget request amounts to $172,000 for each full-time officer and $86,000 for one part-time position. That's a lot of money for what amount to armed security guards. However, the bigger issue here is the barrier so many independent police forces put between citizens and their government. Surely, the court's security concerns can be addressed by other area law enforcement agencies and the police who already work in the building without turning elected justices into police administrators, too.
Americans everywhere have plenty of reasons to be concerned about their safety, from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting to the local saga of Assemblyman Steven Brooks. But everyone can't afford their own police force.
The state has many needs and limited resources. Would the public be better served by 2.5 police officers making rounds at the court or seven more schoolteachers? The Supreme Court should address its security concerns another way.
