It&8217;s a sad fact of today&8217;s world: Even the public buildings taxpayers support need security that can inconvenience us.

Adams County has already put several measures in place &8212; including handheld metal detectors and glass doors securing the top floor &8212; before the court term starts next month.

Concordia Parish, meanwhile, is looking for grant funding to help pay for measures to protect its courthouse, including a metal detector and a silent alarm system for the judge&8217;s bench.

In an ideal world, we&8217;d all be able to enter our courthouses free from searches and screenings.

But incidents large and small &8212; and some downright tragic &8212; have forced us to re-evaluate the measures we take to keep the people who work in and use courthouses safe.

From the Atlanta courthouse shootings last year to this month&8217;s smaller incident in a Louisiana courtroom, we have plenty of real-world experiences to prove how important it is to keep our courthouses secure.

Both the parish and county courthouses have a variety of entrances that have always been open to the public. Like it or not, that&8217;s just not smart anymore.

We need security measures to protect the business that happens in a courthouse &8212; so that we&8217;ll always be free to use them and their services.