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Court Security Division
The Roanoke City Courthouse is located at 315 Church Avenue in downtown Roanoke. The current courthouse opened in January 1983, replacing a very antiquated building built in 1915.
When the courthouse was in the planning stages, the Sheriff's Office was involved in the designing of the various security aspects of the building. There is a large inmate holding area in the basement where inmates are kept until they are needed in court. The court holding area is connected to the jail by a secure hallway. This area is completely inaccessible to the public. The court holding area allows inmates to be transported by way of secure elevators to their particular court. Located behind each courtroom, there are temporary holding cells where inmates are kept when not in the courtroom. Because of these features, an inmate can be brought from the jail to court and back to jail without ever leaving a secure area.
When the courthouse was in the planning stages, the Sheriff's Office was involved in the designing of the various security aspects of the building. There is a large inmate holding area in the basement where inmates are kept until they are needed in court. The court holding area is connected to the jail by a secure hallway. This area is completely inaccessible to the public. The court holding area allows inmates to be transported by way of secure elevators to their particular court. Located behind each courtroom, there are temporary holding cells where inmates are kept when not in the courtroom. Because of these features, an inmate can be brought from the jail to court and back to jail without ever leaving a secure area.
In 1983, the Roanoke City Sheriff's Office also installed 3 walk-through metal detectors at the entrances to each level of the courtrooms. These walk-through detectors, supplemented by the hand held detectors, have prevented guns, knives and other dangerous weapons from entering the courtrooms.
Since 1983, we have added a 4th walk-through metal detector to screen people whose primary business was with the juvenile courts.
Despite the fact more judges have been added and our workload has increased considerably since moving into the present courthouse, we have still maintained the highest level of safety and security to all personnel using the Roanoke City Courthouse.
Since 1983, we have added a 4th walk-through metal detector to screen people whose primary business was with the juvenile courts.
Despite the fact more judges have been added and our workload has increased considerably since moving into the present courthouse, we have still maintained the highest level of safety and security to all personnel using the Roanoke City Courthouse.
The objectives of the Court Security Division are:
- To provide a level of security within the courtrooms/courthouse, not infringing upon the judicial process or the rights of individuals, but assuring maximum protection to the community, court officials and staff
- To provide a safe and secure courtroom environment to minimize any detrimental effects upon the integrity of the judicial process
- To serve all civil process, criminal warrants and temporary detention orders in a professional and legal manner as directed by the courts or as mandated by law