In the wake of an alleged attack at a courthouse in Burlington, the state employees’ union is calling for better security in Vermont’s courts.
Burlington police announced last week that they were seeking a man accused of raping a woman in a bathroom of the Costello Courthouse, which houses the criminal court in Chittenden County.
The Vermont State Employees Association issued a statement Tuesday calling for increased security in Vermont courthouses.
The statement refers toa report completed by the National Center for State Courts in January 2015, which found that the four courthouses that were reviewed have “significant shortfalls.”
In the statement, the union encouraged the state to invest in improving security at courthouses throughout the state.
“The excuse that there is no money to provide better security at the Costello Courthouse and other courthouses, or to put measures in place to better protect frontline social workers while at work, is not acceptable to VSEA members or, frankly, to the public,” VSEA president Dave Bellini said in the statement.
In the budget bill for fiscal year 2016, lawmakers included a section directing judicial staff to look into proposals for how they could reduce the security budget for each courthouse by 3 percent.
Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Wednesday that security is of paramount importance.
“We need to do everything we can to protect employees and their courthouses,” Sears said.
However, Sears said that in light of the significant budget concerns facing the state in general, and the judiciary in particular, the money spent on security in courts bears scrutiny.
“We’re not saying do away with it,” Sears said. “We’re saying examine it.”
A suspect in the alleged assault, Robert Rosario, was arrested Wednesday in New York City.
