Jefferson County commissioners on Feb. 19 passed an ordinance that enacts a code of conduct for people inside county facilities.

The code allows law enforcement officers to issue a trespass warning to any person who engages in illegal or unreasonably disruptive behavior at a county facility. Deputies have the option to expel such individuals and bar them from re-entering for a specified time period.

The ordinance was created to prevent dangerous or unsafe behavior, illegal behavior and behavior that is unreasonably disruptive, said Trevor Hansen, chief civil deputy for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

“The first step would not be to throw them out of the building,” Hansen said. “It’s more that when we do have these sort of disruptive incidents, me and my staff don’t have anything to point to that says, ‘this is inappropriate.’ It would be handy to have something that would be posted and define what is unreasonably disruptive, and use that to talk to people hopefully so they can change their behavior.”

For a first trespass warning, the period of removal from the facility cannot exceed seven days. For a second warning, the removal period is between seven and 90 days. For the third warning, the period is 90 days to one year.

Once removed from the building, the person would still be able to go to that facility without prior approval for jury duty, court business or to attend an open public meeting.

The ordinance is modeled after a similar measure that was adopted by the city of Port Townsend in response to issues with illegal behavior at the Port Townsend Library and other city buildings.

“This is one of the tools in the toolbox for de-escalating the situation,” County Administrator  Philip Morley said.

Hansen said he and county staff members asked other counties what they did in situations during which people had been disruptive in county facilities.

“Some rely on a traditional criminal trespass job,” Hansen said. “Some have such secure courthouse facilities that they don’t have this issue. Some, such as Kitsap County, hold people in contempt of court. It seems to me that Port Townsend’s approach, which is what we are trying to mirror and adapt, is probably the most even-keeled approach.”

The ordinance was brought before the county last year. But after the public hearing, county staff added more nuanced definitions and made exceptions to the ordinance clearer.

During a public hearing before the Board of County Commissioners Feb. 19, citizens brought forward concerns with the ordinance.

“It is completely unrealistic to expect that issuance of a trespass notice would ever dissuade an upset person from revisiting a county location,” said Tom Thiersch. “Such a citation would likely inflame the person even more, leading to exactly the opposite of the desired result.”

Thiersch also was concerned about the standards defining unreasonably disruptive behavior.

“I personally find people using a cell phone to be unreasonably disruptive,” Thiersch said. “And how is an ordinary person supposed to know what things are constitutionally protected or not?”

Attorney Nat Jacob brought forward concerns about people who are in mental health court.

“I’m very concerned about a portion of our client base and our community members, many of whom are seated in the district court right now for what we call mental health court,” Jacob said. “People who are already quite stigmatized in their day-to-day lives, who rely very heavily on the services provided, not just district court but county facilities at large, who I believe would be dramatically affected potentially by this ordinance.”

Jacob said there was a possibility of a “chilling effect,” in which the possibility of being removed from the courthouse might cause individuals to miss court dates.

Despite concerns, commissioners voted 3-0 in favor of the ordinance, with the understanding that it could be modified at a later date.

“It comes back to the question of trying to find a balance,” Hansen said. “It requires walking a fine line. We’ve tried to create as much leeway to ensure folks who are trespassed can continue to access services.”

Commissioner Greg Brotherton suggested the county conduct a review of the code of conduct a year from now to see if there are unintended consequences.

“Can any tool be abused and be used with a heavy hand?” Morley said. “Absolutely. That’s where I think oversight by the board, by my office, by the county sheriff in reviewing how it’s used and implemented and your idea of coming back in a year’s time to revisit how it is working is appropriate.”