Policing will increase this spring at the Michigan Capitol, but officials say they have no plans to add metal detectors.
State police will bring more personnel to the Capitol area and will enhance its technology as well. That includes making better use of video camera monitoring and introducing thermal imaging to spot intruders in parking lots and outside the Capitol after dark.
Captain Joseph Gasper says the state police presence at the Capitol peaked at 73 in 1978, dropping to about 28 by 2000 and eight in 2012. The Legislature has increased Capitol security spending for 2014 from $677,000 to $2.4 million. First Lt. Brody Boucher says there now are 14 officers on duty now and will be 25 in the next several months.