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Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Ind. Courts - Marion County: Security fears renew call to move courts
"Security fears renew call to move courts" is the headline to this story today by Kevin O'Neal in the Indianapolis Star. Some quotes:
Over the years, there have been recommendations to move Marion County courts from the City-County Building to a new facility that would provide more space and security. The cost of a new building has stopped all attempts, but the Indianapolis Bar Association still is calling for that change, citing decades of studies."All of these studies show that there are dangerous inefficiencies in the system, dangerous courthouse security issues in the system, that need to be addressed, and every one of these studies has said, without fail, that the only feasible long-term solution is a new justice center facility," said John Kautzman, president of the Indianapolis Bar Association.
Monday, the association asked the county's Criminal Justice Planning Council to start work on plans for a new judicial center. The current system of moving prisoners through the City-County Building cannot be made secure, they said.
Cost, however, remains the main obstacle -- anywhere from $95 million to $195 million, according to the bar association's estimates. The bar association suggested the building could be funded by higher court fees and property taxes, and tax money taken from new Downtown developments. Also, the association figures there will be some savings from a new judicial center, as prisoners could be handled by fewer sheriff's deputies.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 22, 2005 06:51 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts