By Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 5, 2010; A02

A Justice Department audit released Monday found "critical deficiencies" in the department's ability to protect federal judges and prosecutors as threats against them are escalating.

The number of threats against the nation's judges and prosecutors has more than doubled since 2003, rising to 1,278 in 2008, according to the U.S. Marshals Service, which oversees security for judges and court personnel.

On Monday, a man fatally shot a court security officer and wounded a deputy marshal at a federal building in Las Vegas before being shot to death by authorities.

Many judges and prosecutors do not consistently or promptly report threats or other harassing communications, according to the audit by Glenn Fine, the department's inspector general. His report estimates that the actual number of threats might be 25 percent higher.

When judges and prosecutors do come forward, marshals don't consistently provide adequate protection and fail to effectively coordinate investigations with other agencies, the report says.

"We found critical deficiencies in the Department's threat response program," Fine said in a statement. "We believe the Department must promptly address these deficiencies to ensure the safety of" judges and other court officials.

U.S. Marshals spokesman Jeff Carter said that the service "fully cooperated" with Fine's investigators and that it has "made great strides over the past few years" in its judicial security mission but that "there is always room to perfect the process."

Melissa Schwartz, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said officials "will take appropriate actions to ensure the safety of all employees in the United States attorneys' offices." The Marshals Service is part of the Justice Department.

Marshals have taken steps to combat threats, including opening a high-tech threat-management center in Crystal City and training hundreds of local police officers. Officials blame the trend on disgruntled defendants whose anger is fueled by the Internet, more terrorism and gang cases in federal court, and frustration at the economic crisis.

Michael Kanne, a federal appeals court judge in Chicago who heads the security committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States, said that marshals have vastly improved their performance since U.S. District Judge Joan H. Lefkow's husband and mother were slain in their Chicago home in 2005. "It's been a sea change," he said.

But Kanne said that some judges don't report threats, thinking that they come from "some crackpot." Efforts are underway to educate judges about the potential dangers, he said.