On a regular basis, records clerks at the Clark County Sheriff’s Office have to call courthouse security for help with defusing a situation.
Some customer interactions have turned to shouting matches while others have involved objects thrown at clerks, Clark County Sheriff’s Office Records Supervisor Jennifer Bell said.
“Most people don’t come to the sheriff’s office for good things,” Bell said. “It’s a public building and people have their grievances with how we run things, but you have to consider people’s safety, too.”
Her staff is breathing a sigh of relief this week as bullet-resistant glass is being installed at the counters of the headquarters’ lower lobby.
“The staff is very happy with it,” Bell said. “We feel safe.”
The bullet-resistant glass is more than an inch thick, and counters include a pass-through to hand documents to members of the public.
Staff who work in the lobby interact with people who want police reports, those trying to post bail, people who need to have papers served and sex offenders who have to register with the agency.
Bell said that the outcome is a professional-looking barrier that allows staff to hear easily and see the entire lobby, making it a welcoming way to keep her staff safe, she said.
“We’ve been asking for it for 20 years,” said Bell. “We’re really thankful the sheriff made this a real priority for us.”
Steve Shea, chief civil deputy for the sheriff’s office, said that when Sheriff Chuck Atkins took office a year and a half ago, he and the command staff assessed each department.
Shea took a look at how the civil branch was running and homed in on the lapse in safety, which is especially important because staff accept bail around the clock.
“There are unarmed employees here working 24/7 with little to no security,” Shea said.
The civil department also had a high turnover rate, Shea said, and so he made steps to improve their work life. The agency brought in a new records manager, MaryAnn Gentry, and Shea said that has really helped.
“People were not enjoying coming to work,” Shea said. “She really turned things around since she’s been in (that position).”
With the changes in staff and the added security, Shea said, turnover has been reduced. And most importantly, he said, staff members are safer.
“When this building was built 32 years ago, we didn’t think about those problems,” he said. “It’s a changing world.”
