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More Information Protection Order, No Contact Order and Workplace Violence Restraining Order Forms October 2, 2006 Press Release: Indiana Gets $259,000 to Speed Protection Orders

COUNTIES USING THE NEW PUBLIC ACCESS: Allen, Elkhart, Grant, Madison, Marion, St. Joseph, Tippecanoe & Wabash Counties. Judicial Districts 6 & 8 are preparing for deployment.

Project Overview

The Indiana Supreme Court partnered with the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute and State Police to receive two federal grants to create and implement the statewide Protection Order Registry (POR) which makes judicial orders available to local, state and national law enforcement agencies within minutes, all at no cost to counties.

In 2007, 65 Hoosiers died as the result of domestic violence and 8,800 adults and children went to an emergency shelter because it was not safe to stay at home. Protection Orders are a significant tool to help protect victims of domestic violence and their families, but court orders are ineffective unless the information reaches local and state law enforcement officers who need to enforce them.

The Indiana Protection Order Registry links Indiana courts issuing Protection and No-Contact Orders to the State Police’s Indiana Data and Communication System (IDACS) and the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC). Because orders are entered and available immediately it:

• Accelerates information-sharing by providing complete records in a timely fashion
• Ensures data accuracy and consistency
• Enhances state and national databanks
• Increases protection across state lines as well as within Indiana
• Reduces administrative work by local officers who currently re-type order into IDACS

Addressing domestic violence is a complex issue, and this Protection Order Registry will significantly assist those at-risk. Furthermore, the partnership between the Executive and Judicial branches of Indiana government demonstrates that state leaders are committed to protecting victims.

How it Works

When orders are issued, two things happen immediately:

• The Order is entered into the system and electronically shared with IDACS and NCIC within minutes, and
• A notification of the Order is faxed or emailed to local law enforcement agencies where the parties live and work.

This ensures that all appropriate law enforcement agencies are immediately notified when a Protection or No-Contact Order is issued, modified or revoked.

JTAC initially deployed the system in three pilot counties and is now undertaking statewide deployment. JTAC continues to work to identify additional grant funds to expand the system to include electronic delivery of service documentation, a voice response unit to record service, interfaces to local law enforcement systems and the new statewide case management system.

Project Benefits

The Indiana Protection Order Registry will significantly enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement officers:

• Generates a state-approved order
• Automatically enters and deletes orders in IDACS as well as validates hit confirmations
• Minimizes data entry by maintaining both parties’ information for future use
• Allows orders to be modified instead of recreated
• Allows authorized users to view the conditions of an order from any computer
• Allows law enforcement agencies to verify service information immediately

Next Steps

• Identify additional funding to develop and deploy the POR Public Access
• Develop interface with the new Indiana Case Management System
• Complete the statewide deployment of the Protection Order Registry
• Continue outreach activities

Contact Information
If you are interested in having your court pilot this application or for more information on the project contact LaJuan Epperson at (317) 234-2870 (Fax: 317-234-2605) or lepperson@jtac.in.gov.