A $30,000 upgrade to the Bacchus Marsh courthouse will free up frontline police, and give security guards a new line of work.
Melton MP Don Nardella announced last Friday the registry counter at the courthouse will be upgraded to provide more security for staff.
He said security guards, trained specifically in courts and tribunals, will be hired, and will use hand-held scanning wands to detect weapons.
The guards will also patrol the court grounds and provide escorts for domestic violence victims and others – a job usually done by police.
The upgrades are among 227 recommendations of the Royal Commission into Family Violence, which called for Victorian courts to be upgraded and more secure.
Mr Nardella said the upgrades at Bacchus Marsh would start soon and be finished mid next year, with security guards due on the job about the same time.
“This will release the police from the security work and doing their police work,” Mr Nardella said.
“And the registry will have an upgrade to make it more secure for the registrar.”
While details of the work haven’t been announced, Mr Nardella expects the wooden counter to be replaced with one that includes a glass screen.
“This upgrade to Victorian courts is about improving the safety for the workers, the people using it, and the police officers,” Mr Nardella said.
The heritage-listed Bacchus Marsh courthouse was built in 1859, and has been hailed as one of the most intact examples of a court built in the Victorian free classical style.
Mr Nardella said the $30,000 refurbishment plan was the most significant upgrade to the courthouse in recent decades.
The state government put aside $58.1 million in this year’s budget for safety and security upgrades across the state’s courts.
Attorney General Martin Pakula said the justice system was at the forefront of dealing with some of the most pressing issues in the community, including the impacts of domestic violence.
“The Andrews Labor government is working to improve community safety by ensuring that our justice system supports those most in need.”
