In the wake of this week's shooting at a federal courthouse in Las Vegas, the U.S. Marshals Service - which is responsible in part for protection of federal judges and courts - will conduct a nationwide review of courthouse security. The review is timely - not only because of this week's courthouse shooting -- but because the U.S. Department of Justice just released a report showing that the number of threats to federal judges and prosecutors have more than doubled in the past six years. The report also concluded that there were a number of deficiencies in the way the U.S. Marshals Service currently handles threats to judges and prosecutors.
It was only a few years ago that the U.S. Marshals Service was advised by the U.S. Department of Justice to stop using an automated software program to evaluate threats to judges and instead to develop and implement a behavioral threat assessment process. Given the rise in threats to federal judges and prosecutors, it is good the Marshals had already started to move toward implementing a threat assessment process. Those familiar with the Darren Mack case (Mack killed his ex-wife and shot the judge who oversaw their divorce), for example, may recall that Mack engaged in several typical warning signs - including threatening communications to the judge - that could have been detected in a threat assessment case.
For more information on evaluating threats to judges - and a great case study of a U.S. Supreme Court threat - click here see our chapter on preventing violence to judicial officials and courts. This chapter originally appeared in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences.
