HELENA — Courthouse security has long been a top priority, and over the past five years, the Lewis & Clark County Courthouse has added security guards and created a single point of entry with screening.
Madelyn Heath reports - watch the video:
After a March incident where a woman allegedly threatened a judge and court staff with a gun, resulting in the woman's death, just a few blocks away, the county has stepped up those security efforts again, adding more new upgrades.
“It kind of became more surreal, showed us where our weak points were, showed us areas where we hadn’t talked about how to deal with, and so here we are still moving forward,” said Mac McCarley, the building supervisor for Lewis and Clark County Public Works.
The latest upgrade came from the county commission’s approval to implement a third security guard and new policies to keep both employees and the public safe.
McCarley says, “Now there has been some policies put in place to outline what all county entities are required to do to be in preparation for those types of incidents.”
Work on the new security upgrades began back in May, funded through a Homeland Security grant. Since then, the county has installed 28 indoor cameras, eight outdoor cameras, and a new video intercom system. They’ve also added upgraded alarms and enhanced security lighting to make the courthouse safer inside and out.
“In the future, we are constantly keeping our eyes open for grant opportunities, and we believe there may be some grant opportunities for us for some additional appropriate barriers to be placed around our courthouse,” says Roger Baltz, Lewis and Clark County chief administrative officer.
Officials say public safety doesn’t end with these upgrades and will continue to be a focus moving forward.
Baltz says, “I would say courthouse security is a priority for the county because we want people to feel safe coming to our courthouse, and it is an ongoing process for us as we see different ideas and different things to improve.”
