Prosecutors
Worried About Safety, Prosecutors Want Security Funding
Posted Aug 1, 2008, 12:00 pm CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A group representing federal prosecutors is alarmed about safety and wants federal funding for security measures.
The National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys says prosecutors need secure parking lots, home alarms and the right to carry guns, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports.
Forty-five percent of federal prosecutors who responded to a recent survey reported that they had been threatened or assaulted because of their job, and 81 percent said someone in their office had been threatened, the story says. Seventy-eight percent said secure parking is very important, and 42 percent said home alarms are very important.
Prosecutors can apply to the Justice Department for authorization to carry a gun, but critics say the process takes too long.
The group shared the survey results with Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip and plans to lobby for security funding.