LA County screenings built weapons cache

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Tens of thousands of potential weapons were seized last year in Los Angeles County, Calif., by security screeners at the county's courthouses, figures show.

Figures included in a Los Angeles County Superior Court annual report show that in 2008 alone, screeners at the county's 48 court buildings seized 53,302 knives, 24,783 scissors and 21,014 razors from visitors, the Los Angeles Times said Friday.

In addition to such sharp weapons, screeners in the California county took 8,208 pairs of handcuffs and 114 stun guns from courthouse guests, the report stated.

A total of 21 million screenings took place in the first 10 months of 2008 in the Los Angeles court system, the Times said.

Court spokesman Allan Parachini told the newspaper while screening procedures at courthouses may be time-consuming for visitors, the 2008 figures show how necessary such efforts are to court system safety.

"The weapons screen capability is literally life and death for anyone who works or does business in courthouses," Parachini said. "As time-consuming as people may find it, it is absolutely critical."