Capitol to have new security measures in place when session starts Tuesday

When the Legislature convenes Tuesday, there will be several new security measures in place designed to better protect lawmakers, staff and the public who enter the Capitol.

The most obvious changes will be the addition of security checkpoints set up at four entrances to the building, as outlined at a press conference Friday by officials from the Department of Public Safety, the lead state agency coordinating the changes.

The scanners are not metal detectors and are safe, for example, for people with a pacemaker. Instead, the walk-through scanners use AI to form images of and analyze objects carried on a person’s body and flag those items that require hand screenings or a pass through a separate X-ray scanner. People won’t be required to take off their jackets or remove their shoes or belts, according to Col. Christina Bogojevic, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol.

“No single measure eliminates all risk, but this one meaningfully reduces preventable risks and violence in a shared civic space where the public, elected officials and staff gather on a regular basis,” said Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson.