TN COURTHOUSES TO GET PANIC BUTTONS, BULLET PROOF JUDGE’S BENCHES, OTHER SECURITY UPGRADES
The Tennessee Judicial Conference and the General Sessions Judges
Conference have adopted new minimum courtroom security standards to promote the security and safety of the members of the judiciary, court personnel, and the public.
The standards were last updated in the 1990s.
In the past year, there have been at least three major security breaches in Tennessee courthouses, including a serious weapons incident.
The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) began the process of modernizing courthouses statewide recently by awarding 66 Tennessee counties a total of $2 million to improve courthouse security. The AOC received 70 grant applications requesting $5,769,923 in funds during its 2017 Court Security Grant Program. The AOC has requested additional funds for courthouse security from the legislature in 2018
