BOISE - Upon the conclusion of the Idaho Legislative Session, changes to the levels of security for the Statehouse and the Capitol Mall complex will be implemented, the Idaho State Police and the Department of Administration announced today.
The State of Idaho will begin consultation with the Ada County Highway District and the City of Boise to facilitate the re-opening of State Street as soon as possible. Along with this re-opening, parking will be restricted on both sides of the street between 6th and 8th.
Additional security measures, procedures and enhancements that were put in place prior to and after September 11 are now being utilized which will allow security staffing to be decreased.
The first floor entrances to the Statehouse from State and Jefferson Streets will remain as the main access points and visitor entrances. People visiting the Capitol Building are discouraged from bringing backpacks or large purses into the building as they may continue to be subject to search.
The jersey concrete barricades on the sidewalks surrounding the Statehouse will be removed. A limited number of specially designed concrete planters will be situated to serve as security barriers near entrances and at other strategic locations.
In addition to the winding down of the Legislative Session, ISP Director Col. E.D. Strickfaden, said a number of factors resulted in the security changes. Among them include intelligence gathering and lines of communication that have been tested and improved upon; and the conclusion of high visibility events such as the Winter Olympics in nearby Salt Lake City and related activities in Boise.
"Over the past many months, and beginning before the events of September 11, we have greatly improved security monitoring and protective measures for our Capitol building to provide for the public safety of its visitors. We have procedures and the infrastructure in place to react and respond to any threat with greater rapidity," Strickfaden said.
In addition to the installation of a new door locking system for the Statehouse, the Department of Administration has implemented several Mall complex security procedures including a Photo ID Card program for all state employees. Many of the security recommendations were prepared last August at the request of Legislative Leadership in response to an incident during the 2001 Legislative Session when protestors disrupted proceedings in the Senate Chambers.
According to Pam Ahrens, Director of the Department of Administration, procedures have been put in place to communicate future levels of alert as part of the State's response to varying degrees of potential emergency situations. New building access measures have been adapted through the Capitol Education Center for individuals and groups wishing to tour the Capitol. State Postal operations continue x-ray screening of all incoming mail. All state agencies were directed by Executive Order shortly after September 11 to develop emergency preparedness plans and to participate in an ongoing, overall State Emergency Management Program.
"We have learned a great deal more about security issues, our vulnerabilities, and the ways we respond to threats since September 11. We now have an infrastructure in place to support security issues at varying levels of severity and to be able to react in ways that are measured and appropriate to any given emergency situation," Ahrens added.
National threat assessments will continue to be evaluated in the future and will be responded to accordingly if circumstances dictate.
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