Dubois County Sheriff forming dedicated courthouse security team

Dubois County Sheriff Tom Kleinhelter will move forward with a plan to create a dedicated courthouse security team and add security measures to the center of county government after being given the go-ahead by county elected officials on Monday.

Sheriff Kleinhelter’s proposal includes placing courthouse and the annex security in the hands of four dedicated personnel to ensure an adequate response if there is a threat or emergency in the county’s two downtown buildings. Currently, two jail officers are assigned to provide security.

In addition to creating the security team, he was given approval to add a metal detector, a bag scanner and updated security cameras in the courthouse. The Dubois County Emergency Management Office is applying for an $80,000 grant to purchase the added gear. Some electrical work will also have to be completed to install it at the courthouse entrance.

The additional officers will allow them to keep a person stationed at the courthouse’s entrance to monitor all public traffic during operating hours while the remaining officers can keep the courts secure, which is one of the sheriff’s responsibilities according to Indiana Code, and provide additional security for the courthouse and annex spaces.

With four courts—two on the second floor of the courthouse, one on the third floor that is used as an additional court weekly, and the small claims court in the annex—and the two downtown buildings to cover, the sheriff feels he is stretched thin in accomplishing what the Indiana Code requires which may mean he has to assign deputies to the courts.

Kleinhelter told commissioners it was important to maintain an officer at the courthouse entrance to ensure the overall security of the courts. He stated that during a four-week study they conducted earlier this year, the number of visitors to the courthouse averaged about 2,000 per week. With the current deputy staffing, the entrance is not always monitored because deputies are called to other areas of the county’s downtown buildings.

He said that, on average, one person comes through the courthouse entrance every minute it is open to the public, and he cannot keep an officer at the entrance consistently with the current staffing.

Kleinhelter referred to a recent incident in which the only on-duty officer responded to an alarm on the third floor for an unruly individual. The deputy was heading to Drug Court when the alarm sounded. She responded to the alarm, leaving the courthouse entrance unlocked.

The incident was resolved peacefully but revealed some weaknesses in courthouse security.

“People were coming and going, and nobody knew what was going on,” Kleinhelter told commissioners. “When something like that happens, you need somebody at that front door to lock the door.”

Kleinhelter also surmised that adding a metal detector and keeping an officer at the entrance would reduce the likelihood of someone coming in with a concealed weapon. He said this would provide more peace of mind for the courthouse staff and the public visiting the courthouse.

Personal firearms are not permitted in the courthouse.

“If someone comes in with a handgun and has a permit, they will be asked to take it back out to lock it in their car, or if they don’t feel comfortable, we will have a lock box there,” Kleinhelter said in an interview after the meeting.

Kleinhelter will have to develop job descriptions for the new positions, including one supervisory position. The new officers will undergo specialized training for this type of security position. “There is specific courthouse training available,” he explained.

Commissioners Chad Blessinger and Serice Steftenagel (Commissioner Nick Hostetter was absent) approved the proposal.

When he followed up with the council Monday afternoon, they approved funding the two new positions (annual pay is around $49,000) and creating the dedicated security team for the courthouse and annex buildings.

The common consensus among commissioners and council members was that the additional security was long overdue.

“Lack of courthouse security has been an issue since I came into office,” Kleinhelter said.

“This day and age, you don’t want to take any shortcuts in the courthouse,” he added. “There are a lot of people going in there for various reasons, and I think it is time for our security to be ramped up there.”