A fire intentionally set last month in District Judge Eugene F. Riazzi Jr.'s McKeesport office didn't do much damage, but it raised questions about the security of the district offices, which some judges complain are physically inadequate and could be more secure.

The small fire smoldered for a half-hour early Nov. 12 before firefighters put it out. The office sits at the bottom of an apartment complex on O'Neill Boulevard. As of late last week, police had made no arrests.

Judge Riazzi said the incident didn't make him more apprehensive than usual, but being a former police officer, he is constantly vigilant of security threats in his office.

"You always have that subconscious awareness," he said. "You always keep your back to the wall, for example ... that's [something] inherent that you pick up in law enforcement."

Generally, he said, he has one constable in his office, which is made up of a lobby, a small courtroom and a closet-like holding area for prisoners. On days when he hears criminal cases, constables are in and out of the office escorting prisoners. Offices also have security cameras.

But there's no metal detector and the office's single metal detection wand is rarely used, he said. Defendants are not allowed to bring guns into the courtroom, but there's little to stop them.

Now he's considering having all defendants checked with a wand before they enter the courtroom.

Judge Riazzi says he generally considers security to be adequate, but it could always be better.

"I wish I had a bigger courtroom; I wish I had more constables; I wish I had more cameras ... but somewhere along the line, it costs a lot of money," he said.

District Judge Tom Miller, of neighboring White Oak, called his small office, a glass storefront in a strip mall, a "powder keg."

In his 13 years as a judge, no incidents have occurred in his office. But he said his office was one of the quieter ones and that he deals with fewer serious cases than others. The potential is always there, he said.

He points out, for example, that victims of crimes have to wait in the lobby with their accused perpetrators, who might be free on bail, when they come in for hearings. It creates a situation that's uncomfortable and dangerous for victims.

Judge Miller, former president of the Allegheny County District Judges Association, said he's advocated for more security, but that money for the offices, which is furnished by the county, is limited.

Currently, he said his office's security was inadequate, and a constable is there only on days when he hears criminal cases or if he requests one.

"As far as actual security, we have a camera that records the waiting room area," Judge Miller said.

He, too, has a metal detection wand, but he's not sure whether it works.

"Our offices are wide open. I do have a concern for my staff ... because they're the ones who are out in front, and have to deal with people when they first come through the door," he said.

A small storage space with a couch that holds prisoners who are attending hearings is not very secure, he said. The prisoners are typically shackled.

Ideally, bulletproof glass would separate his staff from those who come in for hearings, and he'd like "a [more secure] holding facility" for prisoners, he said.

But he acknowledges that additional security isn't likely to come soon.

"It's a money thing. ... The district courts are at the bottom of the list," he said.

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