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The Budget Board Committee for Washington County officially approved $10,000 in funds on Monday that will go towards security improvements at the County's Courthouse.

Sheriff Scott Owen said these fixtures needed to happen a long time ago, but said there is no better time than the present. He said with the events that are going around the world today, they want to be proactive with security in the Courthouse.

Multiple improvements are being looked at in this project. As you come in from the front doors of the courthouse and take a left through the facility’s metal detector system, you can see the security desk where deputies usually sit. To the left of the desk is an opening, and they are looking to enclose that to the desk.

As for the desk itself, they hope to elevate it by 14 inches with an improved bullet resistant front. It gives the deputies a vantage point if a situation escalated on the first floor of the building. This is aimed at giving deputies a better overview of that area of the courthouse. Currently, the desk is low to the ground and officers can be hidden from sight.

That security desk, Sheriff Owen said, will have locking storage and racks for non-lethal weapons. He said it will be a situationally driven area for what they may need to use in a heightened situation. The Washington County Sheriff's Office routinely trains on active shooter drills to prepare for whatever may come.

A temporary holding facility will also be put into place. Sheriff Owen said an additional partition room would help them handle issues surrounding juvenile suspects, witnesses, petitioners for restraining orders, or random civilian incidents that are deemed dangerous.

Phase 2 of the project would include a turn style used in Federal Courthouses as a direct exit and not an entrance. Right now, people can enter the front entrance and dart to the right without going through the metal detector. Deputies would also be trailing behind the individual if they chose to run for the stair case to the south that leads to the court rooms. This would force people entering the building to go to the left towards security without the temptation of avoiding it all together.

The installation of these court security improvements will take place as soon as possible.