Posted on 08/11/25
| News Source: WBAL
Baltimore, MD - Aug. 11, 2025 - Court security in Maryland is dangerously underfunded, according to Baltimore City Sheriff Sam Cogen.
On “The C4 and Bryan Nehman Show” on Monday, the sheriff said court security needs to be prioritized.
“When we look at the judicial branch of government and what needs to happen in the courthouse, we have to feel safe, and we can’t have these incidents happen, and we need to fund it at the level it needs to be funded. So we protect our judges, we protect our courthouse, and we make sure the violence on the street never ever gets into the court facility,” he said.
Despite a drop in murders and shootings, Cogen emphasized that disorder still affects daily life.
“If you’re a victim of someone, you know, stealing your car, that’s a huge issue,” he said. “People want the police to come into their neighborhood. They want a safe neighborhood. I think the relationship that the police department has with the public has been getting better… But we still have a lot of work to do.”
He also addressed courthouse concerns.
“When we have to have a safe environment where people adjudicate cases, you have to have a safe courthouse,” he said. “In order to do that, courthouses and courthouse security are funded by local government, and it seems that local government is not prioritizing court security. ”
Three individuals attempted to attack the defendant during a homicide trial in Baltimore City last month.
There was a similar case in Howard County earlier this year.