Security Changes Underway at City-County Building

March 21, 2005
Indianapolis -- Just days after the deadly courthouse shootings in Atlanta, warnings have gone out about the safety of the city/county building. The Indianapolis Bar Association is calling for a new, safer justice center. But that idea has already come under fire.

City leaders at Monday's Criminal Justice Planning Council said the project would cost too much, and they want to address other safety concerns in the City-County building. The Marion County Sheriff's Department has already started making changes. They're in the process of building a new security command post with video monitors connected to twenty surveillance cameras.

Major Scott Robinette said, "This will give us an opportunity to view the tunnel when the inmates are transported over here from jail to courts. As well as the exterior of the City-County Building and the interior of entrances and exits."

More security will also be set up around the garage. The Sheriff's department will put a guard shack to the garage on the east side of the City-County Building. Plus, they're installing barricades.

The security changes come just as Indianapolis Bar Association members push for a new justice center. That project won't happen anytime soon, but people can expect tighter security in the courthouse.