Security measures added at courthouse
WAYNESBURG – Security measures previously in place at the Greene County Courthouse only for high-profile trials, such as last week’s Lana Roe murder trial, will now be the norm.
Everyone entering the courthouse, visitors as well as courthouse employees, now have to pass through a metal detector and have their belongings checked through an X-ray machine.
Greene County is probably one the last counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania to implement these types of security measures at its courthouse, Greene County Sheriff Brian Tennant said. “It’s unfortunate, but in today’s world, it has become a necessary evil,” he said.
In the past, increased security was only employed at the courthouse during more high-profile trials.
“But the issue of courthouse security is a concern at all times, not just when there is a high-profile case,” Tennant said. “I believe something is just as likely to happen at a family court proceeding during the week as during a high-profile murder trial.”
The new security measures are now permanent, though a slight break might be necessary when staff who were hired to man the secure entrances receive additional training, Tennant said.
Under the new measures, people can enter the courthouse only through the front entrance and the Church Street entrance. The door on the Washington Street side of the building is locked, though at least for now people can still exit through that door.
The increased security also will include new locks on all the doors and new surveillance cameras, Tennant said. The metal detectors, X-ray machines and other equipment were purchased through a grant the county received from the state through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
To man the new secure entrances, Tennant said, the sheriff’s office has hired six additional staff members, which includes two sheriff deputies and four security officers. Eventually, all security staff manning the entrances will be armed, he said.
The new security measures at the courthouse are part of a plan developed by the courthouse security committee which, Tennant said, was formed before he took office in January.
The county commissioners recognized the needs for increased security, Tennant said. “The commissioners have been very good at getting this started,” he said. “We have developed a good relationship and have all come together for the common good.”
Former Waynesburg Borough Police Chief Tim Hawfield was hired by the county to review the county’s security needs about the time the sheriff’s department was in transition between former Sheriff Richard Ketchem’s administration and Tennant’s administration. Tennant said Hawfield also did a “great job” in setting up and training the new staff on the security equipment. The new security efforts also will include increased security patrols of the county office building and the county’s Fort Jackson Building.