A State of the Court event was held Thursday afternoon at the Clatsop County Courthouse.

The Oregon Judicial Department will ask the Legislature this session for about $8.4 million to step up courthouse security to stop people from bringing guns, knives and drugs inside.

The money would fund 31 new positions to help screen people entering courthouses in Clatsop, Coos, Curry, Grant, Harney, Jefferson, Polk and Linn counties over the next two years, according to the Oregon Judicial Department.

Those courthouses are among 17 that don’t routinely screen people entering the building, according to state court officials.

Judicial Department officials said the initial group of courthouses don’t require significant upgrades or changes to their design to accommodate entrance screenings.

Agency officials hope to eventually expand entrance screening to all courthouses, a more complicated and potentially more costly proposal given the age and design of some of the buildings, said Phillip Lemman, deputy state court administrator for the Judicial Department.

State data shows people frequently attempt to bring prohibited items into Oregon courthouses, including guns, knives, razor blades and illegal drugs.

In Clackamas County, for instance, security staff reported nearly 6,000 instances when people tried to bring in contraband between January and October of last year. Security identified three guns and more than 660 knives or other sharp objects.

Over a recent two-week period, security at Crook County’s courthouse found two guns and dozens of knives.

A pilot screening last October at the Coos County courthouse – which is slated to get one of the upgrades – found more than a dozen guns and 229 knives.

The proposal will go to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Public Safety next month.