EXTRA security was present at Ballarat Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning, the same day three men were due to appear in relation to an alleged assault and armed robbery.
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Six uniformed police officers stood, arms-folded, watching people walk into the court.
Ballarat police and security at the scene said the checkpoint was a random security procedure, and they were not aware that it had anything to do with people appearing in court today.
Ballarat Magistrates Court staff said they did not wish to comment on the nature of the checkpoint.
The checkpoint involved security searching handbags and police conducting metal detector tests. The test took about 30 seconds.
Police said they had turned away two people from the court because they had no reason to be there. No dangerous items had been seized at the security check point at the time of writing.
This reporter was ushered towards security at the start of the day. The check, at a makeshift counter, included removing heavy items from bags and being scanned with a metal-detector wand.
