Police, judges, jails juggling schedules, staff for RNC

This town is no stranger to historical events that draw tens of thousands of outsiders. Tampa, after all, has been home to four Super Bowls, Guavaween and the Florida State Fair.

The difference between those events and the Aug. 27-30 Republican National Convention?

Protesters, thousands of them, many bent on making their point by pushing the boundaries of what's accepted, sometimes to the point of being arrested and, occasionally, to violence.

With the six-month countdown almost here, local government, police and court officials are busily making plans to deal with an expected throng of 10,000 or more protesters who will demonstrate against war, for social justice, against corporate greed and for political reform.

The balancing act: Protect civil rights, safeguard against property damage, prevent violence and minimize the effects on local life, all while not breaking the bank.

The approach has two main components: Keep protesters in a defined area where police can flood the zone, and develop a streamlined process of detaining and processing the hundreds of people expected to be arrested.

Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor said the protest zone has yet to be created, though several areas within sight of the Tampa Bay Times Forum are being considered. Protesters won't need permits but will have to pass through a weapons checkpoint to get into the protest zone, she said.

Those outside designated areas shouldn't expect to be out of sight of the eyes of the law; dozens of cameras, many of them hidden, will blanket downtown.

No exceptions will be made for those who step over the line, Castor said. Misdemeanor offenders will be taken into custody and jailed. If they have valid identification and are from Hillsborough County, they will be released without having to post bail, she said.

"We're not changing our arrest policies," she said. "We don't intend to be making any mass arrests, but certainly we will be prepared for a worst-case scenario."

Castor said that on every day of the convention, as many as 4,000 officers from across the state — more than four times the entire force of the department — will be mustered into RNC duty. Of the $50 million federal money coming to the city, three-fourths will go toward paying the officers and expenses.

The department will go on a hiring binge between now and August, filling every vacant position plus 10, adding up to 984 sworn officers. Fourteen officers were hired last week.

The department's payroll is expected to be back to normal by the end of the year, as that many officers are slated for retirement.

At the Hillsborough County Courthouse, court administrators are in the thick of planning for the convention business. The courthouse has heard from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office that it wants the courthouse to have little traffic for safety and security, said Mike Bridenback, Hillsborough County Courthouse's court administrator.

"Any event that is currently being held at the downtown courthouse, we would try to divert those activities to some other location or to continue it to some other week," Bridenback said.

Although much of the plans won't be determined until March, some decisions have been made. For example, the downtown courthouse will remain open but won't host jury trials the week of the convention.

"I don't think we want to bring jurors into that situation," Bridenback said.

To pay fines, file a case, file a motion or file a complaint, officials are looking for an alternate location for lawyers and the public. And anyone planning to tie the knot at the clerk's downtown office during the convention probably will have to go to the Plant City Courthouse, Bridenback said.

Court hearings that aren't mandatory, such as civil hearings and family law hearings, probably will be scheduled before or after the convention, he said. The sheriff's office also won't be bringing inmates to hearings at the downtown courthouse that week.

A judge will probably go to the Orient Road Jail or Falkenburg Road Jail to hear mandatory hearings and to hold first-appearance hearings. If there is a mass arrest during the convention, the hearing will be at the jail. Because many protest-related arrests are expected to happen in the late afternoon or evening, judges will serve a rotation schedule to handle those hearings, Bridenback said.

Hillsborough County sheriff's Col. James Previtera, who oversees the county's jails, said plans have been under way for six months to process "any spikes" in inmate population during the convention.

"We are prepared to accommodate whatever happens during that week," he said. "We are hoping for the best, hoping people come to town to enjoy themselves here in Tampa. But we do expect some increase in activity, and the jail is prepared to respond."

He said the jails are not at capacity and there is space at the Orient Road Jail to handle mass arrests at the convention. Providing space is only part of the preparations, though.

"I think there were between 700 and 800 arrests in Minneapolis," he said. "With a spike in activity like that, there is a need for additional food service and medical service and security."

Such contingencies are in place, he said, or will be by August.

"We have to address every aspect that comes with an increase in activity," he said. "We have to be prepared."