Efficiency goal of DA website redesign
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, August 8, 2012
By ROBIN SHANNON
L’Observateur
LAPLACE – The St. John the Baptist Parish District Attorney’s Office on Friday launched a new website that offers easier access to court information and a new system for paying traffic fines online.
District Attorney Tom Daley said the website has been a work in progress for nearly two months. He said a goal of the redesign was to improve office efficiency.
“Everything is web-based now, and there is more information that is easier for residents and others to get to,” Daley said. “The new website was done in conjunction with the Sheriff’s Office and the Clerk of Court, which often work together.”
Daley said the highest volume of cases that the court system deals with are misdemeanors and traffic violations, which often just require payment of a fine. He said the new website features a schedule of common fines, and payments can be made at any time on any day.
“We share databases with the Sheriff’s Office and the Clerk of Court, so now any information on payment of a fine only needs to be input once,” Daley said. “In the past we had to go through three entries, one for each office.”
Other new features to the site include the most recent St. John’s Most Wanted offenders, the weekly court docket for all three divisions, monthly crime stats from the Sheriff’s Office, as well as an option to register for the latest news releases from the office. Daley said there is also a frequently asked questions section for common queries to the office.
A new “Information Center” section provides practical information about the criminal process, prisoner information regarding inmate status, elder abuse, domestic violence, public corruption, victim’s rights, and child abuse.
Daley said there is also a “How do I?” section, which includes information on how to report a crime, filing a criminal charge, withdrawing a criminal charge, getting a record expunged, paying a traffic ticket, handling worthless checks and reporting public corruption. In addition to prosecuting accused criminals, Daley said the District Attorney’s Office handles the collection of Worthless Checks, administers the First Offender Traffic Program for traffic violators, manages court required child support and provides assistance to victims of crimes. He said the information regarding these departments and their duties has been updated and reorganized to allow for a clearer understanding of responsibilities.
“We surveyed other websites for district attorneys throughout the state and also looked at the state Attorney General’s Office for Louisiana and other states,” Daley said. “It was an exhaustive process, and we are all very proud of the results.”
The website can be found at www.stjohnda.com. Outlook Design and Invictus Solutions handled the re-design.