LOGANSPORT – Visitors to the Cass County Government Building in Logansport can now bring their cell phones inside, thanks to new security measures. However, the courtrooms remain a no-phone zone.
Previously, cell phones were entirely restricted in the building. The change comes amid legal requirements that make cell phone accessibility essential in government offices. Jeff Stanton, the attorney for Cass County, highlighted the unique challenge, saying, “Our circumstances in Cass County are not uncommon, but it is not the rule that a county’s government offices are in the same building as the county courts.“
While cell phones have received a green light for the general building area, Lt. Dale Campbell, Director of Security, has introduced self-service lock boxes stationed outside the courtrooms. “The lock boxes are self-service for the public; they work like a gun safe or hotel safe. You choose your own password, leave your phone in the box, and take it when you leave. Only you know your password. This also reduces our liabilities with the public’s phones; we’re not touching them anymore,” Campbell detailed.
Despite the more relaxed policy, Stanton emphasizes the restricted use of phones. “We always had the problem of trying to hold public meetings in a building where cell phones were banned, but then we had new laws requiring that cell phones be allowed in the government offices, while they are still not allowed by law in the courtrooms.“
