The West Virginia Court Security Fund makes State grant funds available to county court facilities for the purposes of enhancing the security of such courts. The Court Security Board was also established to review and approve county court security plans for all court facilities and upon approval of a county court security plan, award funds to purchase equipment or make other expenditures in accordance with the approved security plan.
Priority will be given to those applicants requesting:
- duress alarms;
- items used for the purposes of securing courthouse access;
- and surveillance cameras.
Funding under this program is available to County Commissions which are required to have letters of comment from their respective Chief Circuit Judge, Family Court Judge, Circuit Clerk, County Sheriff, Prosecuting Attorney, and Chief Magistrate. Also, it is required of the applicant to have a resolution passed by the County Commission stating that sufficient manpower will be used to operate and manage all equipment and other items requested.
This funding is for Court Security only. Requests for items for other areas (Day Report Centers/Offices, Domestic Violence Centers/Offices, etc.) will not be considered for funding. Applications must address the most recent Court Security Audit performed by the WV Supreme Court of Appeals. This audit can be obtained from the Chief Circuit Judge to be reviewed. If deficiencies identified in the audit are not being addressed in the application, an explanation must be included.
Eligible expenses include:
- Purchase of equipment;
- Emergency Lighting (case by case basis)
- Metal detectors;
- Duress alarms
- Surveillance cameras;
- Window glazing
- Items used for the purpose of securing courthouse access
Court security funds may not be used to purchase, lease, rent, or acquire any of the following:
A meeting of all county officials is required prior to the writing of the court security application. Minutes must be kept for this meeting and be submitted as part of the grant application. A copy of the notification inviting the mandatory participants to the meeting must also be submitted. This invitation must be sent to the meeting participants at least 7 days in advance. If the invitation is not sent in advance, a signed waiver of the 7 day notice must be submitted.
If meeting minutes are not kept and submitted for the mandatory meeting the application will not be reviewed by the Court Security Board and will be automatically denied.