Construction is expected to finish in the next two weeks on the first of what judges hope will be a series of security upgrades at Butler County Courthouse.
County employees are building a new workstation for the family and probate court.
This workstation will become the new entrance for the family court offices, which are located on the ground floor.
A key code will be needed to access those offices when the work is done, Butler County commissioners say.
Presiding Circuit Judge Michael Pritchett and associate circuit judges John Shock and John Bloodworth approached the commissioners at the end of March with concerns about courthouse security.
The judges have asked that a committee be formed to look at other ways to improve the safety of employees and the public.
Pritchett asked that work starts in the family and probate court run by Shock.
The public currently has to pass through all of this court's other offices to reach the clerk, said circuit clerk Cindi Bowman. This also gives the public access to interior doors leading to the courtroom, she said.
Court staff will be able to speak with the public from a window at the new workstation, located in the hallway outside the court offices, she explained.
Construction work is being done by county employees. The project is paid for from an account that generates about $30,000 a year from fees paid by attorneys to access an electronic law library.
Judges would also like to see more control and monitoring of the courthouse entrances used by the public, as well as the possible use of metal detectors.