Circuit Clerk Announces New Scanners in Sangamon County Courtrooms

Circuit Clerk Joe Roesch has worked with Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell, Sangamon County Circuit Court Judges, and the Sangamon County Information Systems Department to place scanners in all of the courtrooms. This move increases the efficiency with which court documents, including orders of protection, can be transferred to the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office and vastly increases the speed and efficiency with which orders of protection can be served on respondent suspects.

Orders of protection are issued by a judge to protect victims of domestic abuse. An order of protection prohibits suspects of domestic violence from having contact with the victim or the victim’s residence. If a suspect violates the order by harassing the victim or by going to the victim’s protected address, the suspect can be charged with the separate offense of Violation of Order of Protection.

Once a judge signs an order of protection, the Circuit Clerk sends the order to the Sheriff’s Office, and Sheriff’s deputies serve the order on the suspect. Prior to placing scanners in courtrooms, the Circuit Clerk would take the signed orders and scan these orders to the Sheriff’s Office following the court or physically take the order to the Sheriff’s Office, where Sheriff’s records employees would enter the data into the law enforcement system. Then, Sheriff’s deputies take the individual orders and serve the orders of protection upon the suspects. Under the prior procedure, the Sheriff’s Office may not receive the orders of protection for several hours or the next day. With the new scanners in place, the Circuit Clerk can scan the orders immediately to the Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Jack Campbell is very pleased with the installation of the courtroom scanners. Campbell said, “Receiving these Orders of Protection in a timely manner is vital in order to serve the respondent and ensure the petitioner is protected.”

Circuit Clerk Joe Roesch added, “With the addition of scanners in the courtrooms, orders of protection can be scanned and sent to the Sheriff’s Office immediately after the judge signs the order. The Sheriff’s Office can then enter the required data, and Sheriff’s deputies can promptly serve the order. I am very optimistic that this improvement will better serve the victims of domestic violence in Sangamon County.”