A violent incident has never occurred inside a courtroom in Justice Court, Sutliff said. She did recall a case where someone threw a pencil at a judge.

Larson would like to see a magnetometer installed as well as Plexiglas to separate customers from the clerks.

Right now, the Justice Court operates on the honor system. A sign in the lobby tells visitors to check weapons they might be carrying.

"No, I don't think people do that," Larson said when asked if people follow the honor system. "Most don't even turn their cell phones off."

In one incident, a man handed Larson a large hunting knife. Although he followed the rules, it made her wonder about what weapons weren't checked by other people.

Concealed weapons are legal in the county government complex, and F. David Stanley, Homeland Security director for Salt Lake County as well as the Public Works director, said it's impossible to know how many people were walking around with a concealed weapon at any given time.

Currently, the Justice Court has two bailiffs on duty at all times. There are several security cameras placed around the clerks' area. Each clerk and judge has a panic button under his or her desks that alerts deputies when help is needed.

In addition, each clerk is trained in how to deal with angry people and how to defuse a situation by talking to them, Sutliff said.

Justice courts are the people's courts, she said. The court wants to balance the idea of being open as well as being safe, especially since going to court can be a very intimidating experience for most people, even for misdemeanor offenses, she said.

The Salt Lake County Justice Department received $6,300 in federal Homeland Security money in 2003. That money is expected to be used in part to purchase new video cameras and monitors to be placed in the courtrooms and replace the old ones in the lobby, Sutliff said.

A magnetometer can cost $3,500 to $10,000. But the budgets for buying the machine and providing the staff to operate it are separate.

Salt Lake County Corrections Bureau Chief Deputy Paul Cunningham said there's always a need for more security from a public safety standpoint. But it's a matter of what the court administrators want and what resources they have to fund it, he said while also noting the clerks didn't speak for the entire court.

Court administrators meet with the sheriff's office regularly to discuss safety, he said. If the court felt it needed additional security, then administrators could talk to the sheriff's office at any time, he said. From there, the sheriff's office would decide if their concerns were valid and then advise them what budget requirements it would take to make it a reality.

A second bailiff was added to the court just this year after one of those meetings, Cunningham said. Additionally, upgrades are in the process of being made in the court's holding cell. The issue of getting a better holding cell was raised even before a person in custody was able to escape from the court Monday. He was re-arrested a few hours later.

But Cunningham reminded that, for the most part, the justice court is only dealing with "small dollar kind of stuff and misdemeanors."

The county government complex is a primary place of business for the public, he said. It's full of public offices conducting public business. It's a safe place that needs to be kept accessible to the public, he said. It's impossible to eliminate all theoretical threats no matter how much security is beefed up.

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