Court Security

The AOC Division of Court Security helps ensure that courthouses and judicial centers are safe, secure facilities where citizens can peacefully conduct their business. While state law makes county sheriffs responsible for providing security to Kentucky courts, the Division of Court Security plays an important role in supplementing local security services statewide. Court Security officers also provide security when Kentucky judges gather for educational conferences and for all sessions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals.

The Division of Court Security assists county sheriffs by providing security equipment and additional personnel for high-risk trials. At the request of the county, a court security inspector will develop a trial security plan by assessing the physical location of the trial, transportation of the prisoners and other security concerns.

The Division of Court Security conducted security assessments on every courthouse and judicial center in the state in an effort to assign one of three levels of security to each building and determine the cost to implement security recommendations. This survey gave the Kentucky Court of Justice its first comprehensive analysis of security needs statewide.

The majority of court security officers are certified as police instructors by the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council, which governs training for all of the state's law enforcement personnel. The court security officers work with the Department of Criminal Justice Training to conduct training sessions for sheriffs and their deputies across the state. The officers teach an 80 hour course and 40 hour in-service based on court security protocols recommended by the U.S. Marshals Academy and an advanced class on high-security trial procedures.