I am a security threat?

I went to the municipal court building this morning to pay a speeding ticket. It was a nice morning, so I decided to walk the half mile from my office to the court. To enter the building you have to empty your pockets and go through an airport style metal detector. Unfortunately, they would not let me in with my pocketknife, and told me to go back and put it in my vehicle. Sorry, I'll just come back next week.

I guess I should have known, but it did not occur to me when I left my office that there would be a security checkpoint to get into the cashier's office at the court. Why do they need such security? Are they keeping large sums of money? OK, it looks like my speeding ticket (74 mph in a 60mph zone on the freeway) is going to come to $181, so maybe there is a lot of money being held there, but my bank probably has lots more money on hand, and it has no metal detectors.

The reason there are metal detectors at the court building is the government is in charge, and it is very reactionary. There was a shooting at the Tarrant County courthouse in Fort Worth back in 1992. Shortly after that the extra layers of security were added at the county and city court and administrative buildings, and those layers have been in place ever since.

How much do these extra layers of security improve safety? I don't think there have been any shootings in any of the county or city courts since then, so it must have made a tremendous improvement, right? Who knows. George Hennard shot and killed 23 people at Luby's restaurant in Temple, Texas in 1991. So of course Luby's must require all their customers go through a metal detector now, right? No. You can walk right into Luby's and go through the cafeteria line. I don't think there have been any mass shootings in any Luby's since then.

Why are the responses to these two situations so different? Government agencies and private businesses respond to different stimuli. The government is influenced by those who speak the loudest, complain the most, and give the most money to politicians. They have to appear to be doing something, so we get security theater. It is very visible, which is its primary goal, without probably having much influence on actual safety. (If you are going to walk into a court building, which is already full of armed policemen, to shoot someone, are you going to be deterred by a metal detector?) By being visible, the metal detector and pat downs are a symbol of security. They quiet the loud, complaining voices, or at least can be pointed to when there are complaints.

The private business on the other hand responds to hundreds or thousands of individual transactions. A few loud complainers can try to get them to change, but unless they can influence others to follow their lead about they best they can do is stay away from a business they disagree with. If they feel Luby's should increase their security, they do not have to go and eat there. If enough people feel that way, Luby's will add security.

How many private businesses have metal detectors? The only places I can think of now are sporting venues like football stadiums and basketball arenas, where large crowds of people gather. Otherwise, I think it would be difficult for someone to stay in business if they hassled their customers that much.

So the majority of people, when making their own free choice, do not choose metal detectors and pat downs. Government agencies on the other hand respond to the loud and complaining few, and the rest of us have no choice but to put up with the hassles.

But the government is elected by a majority of the people, so why don't its policies mimic those of private businesses. After all, I was a customer of the government when I went to pay my fine. It evens says "Customer Copy" right on the traffic citation. Again, the loud, complaining few have more influence over elections, which are few and far between compared to the number of transactions a business makes with its customers. The election process is not as efficient as the buying process, so the government we get is not as satisfying as most of our business dealings.

Which makes it all the more frustrating that government is insinuating itself into more and more businesses and other aspects of daily life. This cannot be a good trend.

When an entity that can already collect its customers by force off the highway wants to have even more influence and power, watch out!