No Firearms When Paying Your Parking Ticket
I went down to the new Alberta Court House building in Calgary on 5 Street SW this afternoon to pay an overdue parking ticket (don’t get me started on parking tickets – it wasn’t mine). The building is very modern looking on the outside and is even more so on the inside. But the big surprise was that in order to get past the lobby, you needed to go through a security check similar to those found in airports.
Before I continue let me note that I fully support additional security where the powers that be feel it is warranted. Is it warranted at a Provincial Court House? I don’t have an answer for that and I wouldn’t presume to know the answer but it is worth noting that the old court house, in use up until only just recently, had nothing more than a Commissionaire sitting at an open information booth.
The new court building is a different matter. There is an x-ray machine, which you have to put your coat and electronics through as well as a metal detector, which failed to pick up my belt (though perhaps that’s because it’s newer and more sensitive than the detectors found at airports. You can read a few more details about the building on Wikipedia. Despite all the security it seems that if you have some sort of electronic pass, you can put the pass into a turnstile-type machine and bypass the security check. I would have assumed that this bypass would be for law enforcement personal, since removing their firearm and such would be a pain, but interestingly enough I saw a short, plain clothes women use it which makes me wonder about the security process. But like I said, I wouldn’t presume to know about the security setup – just found it odd. In any case, when paying your parking ticket, make sure you leave your firearm at home.
Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:36 Posted in General
