HANCOCK COUNTY — The idea behind the project is to make sure police officers have information they need to deal with situations they encounter and to provide handy contact information to residents, rather than waiting for county officials to get them the proper forms or contacts.
A new website, for law enforcement only, has been created by Prosecutor Brent Eaton. The page provides a “one-stop-shop” for resources, forms, contact information and case-law updates. The new portal is one officers can access from their car computers and is designed to help them be more efficient — especially at times when reaching someone from the prosecutor’s office might be difficult.
“It’s not that an officer will see more information or history about a person they’re dealing with, but it has more to do with the practical forms and information they use,” Eaton said.
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As an example, on search warrants for people who refuse to take a breath test after being suspected of driving under the influence, an officer can now access the proper forms to fill out quickly and send it where it needs to go.
“This will make the probability for error substantially less,” Eaton said.
Among other things, the new web page includes information on search warrants, a topic about which the prosecutor’s office gets questions all the time.
“The memo lays out what they are supposed to do and how to do it,” Eaton said.
Chief Paul Casey of the McCordsville Police Department said he has reviewed the new portal, and he and his officers are in favor of it.
“I think it is a great resource for our officers,” Casey said. “Officers will have direct access to critical information that is regularly updated in one central location.”
Casey noted the website contains a lot of valuable information. He pointed to a section on community resources that provides officers a wide variety of information to help people in need.
“Since this is a brand new resource, I expect that Prosecutor Eaton and his team will continue to add and update information as it becomes available,” Casey said.
Eaton agrees and said when his office gets case law updates, staffers can have the information added so officers can always have the latest information on criminal code changes at their fingertips.
“They don’t have to keep information in their emails to check, because they can go to this site and the information will be there over time,” Eaton said.
With officers having ready access to more information, they won’t have to reach out to the prosecutor’s office as frequently or wait to get a call back.
“It should make things substantially easier,” Eaton said.
As an example, a new deputy or officer on the road should be able to find out all of the information he or she needs to know in how to handle a search warrant through the portal without having to reach out to the prosecutor’s office.
“An officer is not going to need us to hold their hand because all the information they need is going to be right there,” Eaton said.
The community resources piece of the project is also important, Eaton said, noting the site is filled with information to pass on to people in need.
For people who are homeless, for example, the site contains information about Hancock Hope House, the county’s homeless shelter. Or, if a person with substance abuse issues comes in contact with police, an officer can pass on information and contacts for treatment and recovery programs.
Capt. Robert Harris, the public information officer with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, said the department pushed out information for the prosecutor’s new resource website last week.
“So far, we have no feedback from the guys on patrol because it is so new,” Harris said, “However, those of us at the department who have reviewed the site find it very useful.”
If deputies have a question about anything related to the prosecutor’s office, they can most likely find an answer through the website.
“We are looking forward to using it more,” Harris said.
The site will definitely be a help, especially in the middle of the night or on weekends, when it may be a little more difficult to contact a representative from the prosecutor’s office, Harris said.
“Even though everyone from the office is very responsive and helpful, the website saves us from taking up their time when we can find the answers ourselves,” Harris said.
