Minnesota State Patrol looking to hire more capitol security officers as safety of government buildings remains in focus
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Chief of Minnesota State Patrol Colonel Matt Langer sounds like a lot of other managers—he is looking to hire 12 additional state capitol security officers but is struggling to fill those roles in a tight labor market.
His agency is tasked with overseeing and implementing security in the 140-acre Minnesota capitol complex, which includes not only the capitol building, but also 15 others like the Minnesota Senate Building, State Office Building, and Judicial Center.
In 2021, the legislature approved additional funding for an additional 21 state troopers and 13 security officers to patrol the area, but workforce woes still persist, he noted.
"If I walk into a restaurant and they're short-staffed I have to be more patient because it might take longer to get my food," said Langer. "But at the capitol, we don't have that luxury, so we have to be more creative and dynamic to make sure we're fulfilling that security need that has to be fulfilled."
There are currently 50 capitol security officers—who aren't sworn peace officers—and 14 state troopers for the capitol complex. State Patrol said the number on duty varies on any given day.
"We have specific challenges with those security functions because they aren't as sought after [jobs] today as they have been in years past," Langer said.
The effort to recruit more comes as the security of the capitol and state other government buildings is under a brighter spotlight, especially in the last couple of years with the 2020 civil unrest and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol.
A costly temporary fence was put up in May 2020 and remained there through Derek Chauvin's trial for George Floyd's murder.
"The threat picture now is different now in many ways than it was 20 years ago and it's going to be different 10 years from now than it is today," Langer said.
But for several years, the legislature hasn't funded additional upgrades to the physical building that a panel of experts on the Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security has requested in annual reports.
The 2022 report, published last January, detailed that the Department of Administration had an "unfunded requirement of $36.4 million in previously identified physical security deficiencies which have not been addressed." This year's Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security report will likely be published in the coming days—the deadline was Jan. 15.
As time passes, the needs remain, experts say. Security vulnerabilities were also part of the reason lawmakers recently signed off on a $500 million renovation of the State Office Building.
Beyond recruiting for more security officers, Langer on Friday did not mention additional security upgrades he would like to see, though he has previously publicly listed off some suggestions State Patrol had contemplated, including metal detectors in the state capitol.
Only the Minnesota Judicial Center has them. The legislature would need to sign off on those requests.
Thirty-seven capitols, including the U.S. capitol, have metal detectors at screening checkpoints in building entrances and 31 use X-ray machines to scan packages and personal items, according to the Council of State Governments.
It is legal to have a firearm on capitol grounds with a permit to carry. Gov. Tim Walz in an interview with WCCO on the two-year anniversary of the U.S. Capitol attack said he would like the legislature to consider repealing that statute.
"This is not a place where we need firearms in here. This is one I would say and I would hope the legislature may take up," Walz said. "You can come and express your opinions with your voice without intimidating others. And our Capitol police do an incredible job of keeping safe—I feel very comfortable with them. I'm not so sure you have big rallies with a lot of heated rhetoric that you need a lot of firearms in this building."
