Fresno City Hall image via wikipedia user Nightryder84
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On Thursday, Fresno City Hall announced enhanced security measures officials say are meant to ensure the safety of city employees, public officials and the general public.
Starting Jan. 2, 2020, enhancements to weapon and contraband detection will be implemented, and the new security protocols will create a single public point of entry for the building.
Visitors to city hall will be required to enter through the main entrance on the first floor on P Street and go through a security screening process. All other public access points on the first and second floors will be closed off for visitors at the beginning of the year.
The screening process will include passage through a metal detector device, an examination of all hand-carried items sent through an x-ray machine, and a hand-wand and/or manual inspection. Overcoats, purses, briefcases, backpacks, and parcels will also be scanned through the x-ray.
Additional security cameras have been installed throughout city hall along with a public address system to announce emergency situations.
City employees with access badges will be able to enter city hall through an employee entrance in the back of the building, but employees without a pass will have to enter through the front of the building and go through the security screening process.
Concealed weapon permit holders will be barred from entering city hall with a firearm.
According to a news release,the following items are prohibited from city hall, except as approved for city employees for work purposes:
Batons |
Sharp Metal Cans |
Box Cutters |
Spray Paint |
Ammunition |
Knives/Pocket Knives |
Razor Blades |
Scissors |
Illegal Drugs |
Large Glass Bottles |
Large Spray Cans |
Explosives |
Drug Paraphernalia |
Stun Guns |
Laser Pointers |
Tools of Any Kind |
Mace or Pepper Spray |
Torch Lighters |
Replica or Toy Guns |
Leatherman Tools |
Weapons of ANY KIND |
Any objects deemed “potentially offensive” and/or dangerous by security personnel and/ or by the Fresno Police Department will be prohibited from entering the building, according to a news release.