Court and Law Enforcement Team Up Using APIs
September 11, 2023 by Allison Catalani
Court and Law Enforcement Team Up to Advance Criminal Case Initiation
Illinois’ Kane County Circuit Court Clerk and IT Department collaborated with local law enforcement to automate the criminal initiation process after the Illinois Legislature passed the SAFE-T Act (Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today Act) — which includes legislation that eliminates cash bail and strives to limit the number of people held in jail awaiting trial. Realizing the court’s previous paper-based criminal initiation processes would not fully support the act’s new cite-and-release requirements, court leaders looked to technology.
By leveraging the modern application programming interface (API) within the court’s case management system, officers can now complete a criminal complaint in the field electronically and instantly receive case numbers and courtroom assignments back upon submission. The innovative workflow expedited court proceedings and reduced burdensome administrative tasks for justice partners while upholding public safety during the transition to implement the act.
Real-Time Field Processing Yields Efficiency and Accuracy
Kane County served as one of three pilot programs for the state to initiate process changes for the SAFE-T Act that was to go into effect on January 1, 2023. The county leaned on its longtime experience with its modern case management technology to create a quick yet effective turnaround to meet compliance requirements. Previously, an officer in the field filled out a stand-alone criminal complaint form, which was printed, given to the prosecutor’s office, the circuit clerk, and the arrestee — and case creation was only completed at bond call. The transferring of paperwork could take several days.
“Since the Circuit Clerk’s Office isn’t 24/7 like the police agencies, they would have to wait many hours to get a case number and court location assignment,” explained Kane County Circuit Clerk Theresa Barreiro. “We were able to streamline that process to real time by using the integrations.”
Since officers were accustomed to working with APIs since 2016, integrating the new process required only minor adjustments, ensuring a smooth transition for all justice partners.
“They [law enforcement] were already using a PDF form, a flat form,” noted Davis Neuenkirchen, application director for the Kane County IT Department. “What we ended up doing is rewriting the front end, putting workflow behind it, and tapping into the APIs. And in return, we give them [officers] real-time case numbers.”
An officer can now complete a criminal complaint in the field electronically and submit it to the case management system and receive critical case details that allow the suspect to be released — requiring no interaction from court staff. The innovative approach empowers arresting officers to input pivotal case data, streamlining the cite-and-release process by first entering the most serious charge for the case type. Cases are also added to Kane’s prosecutor case management system automatically, allowing consistent data sharing and electronic distribution of court orders with the offices of the State’s Attorney, Public Defender, Judiciary, and the Circuit Court. With the new automated process connected to a unified case management structure, law enforcement and the court save time in operational tasks by eliminating paper processes and reducing errors.
Prioritizing Public Trust
Apprehension from the public often follows new legislation, including the SAFE-T Act, with concerns surrounding potentially releasing suspects of severe crimes without bail. But Kane County prioritized public safety and perception during the transition.
The Kane County Circuit Clerk and IT Department, along with Chief Information Officer Monica Lawrence, connected the “pieces” with their integrated software solutions to automate the criminal case initiation process to determine who should be released or kept in custody, fostering a safer community for the public.
“With the APIs and technology, I feel that we can give the public what they need out of our systems,” said Barreiro. “And I believe that's really important, so they see that they're actually getting something back for their investment.”
Barreiro encourages other courts to embrace technology and unlock benefits like her department — they've entered more than 300,000 hearings and scanned more than 400,000 signed orders using APIs from May 2021 to date.
“If people embraced technology, they would realize how much more efficient they can be, especially for the clerks in the courtrooms,” noted Barreiro. “Once it’s all streamlined and implemented you can reduce redundant data entry and records are updated timelier.”