Video court hearingsIndiana sheriffs use video conferencing to reduce costs

Published 29 November 2011

In an effort to reduce costs, officials in Tippecanoe County, Indiana have begun using video conferencing technology to hold court hearings without transporting the defendant to the courtroom

 

In an effort to reduce costs, officials in Tippecanoe County, Indiana have begun using video conferencing technology to holdcourt hearings without transporting the defendant to the courtroom.  

Defendants can now appear in court thanks to a computer monitor that connects them to a judge.

The technology cost the county about $10,000 to install, but Dave Sturgeon, Tippecanoe’s director of management information technology said the teleconferencing system would pay for itself in savings within the first few years of use.

According to Judge Les Meade of the Fifth Superior Court, transporting defendants to hearings is a costly practice especially for initial hearings which are brief and often do not include a public defender as one has not been appointed yet.

The most important kinds of hearings to hold down the expense for are the hearings that would include prisoners around the state,” Meade said. “By not having to do those, we can (reduce) issues of security and the cost for the sheriff’s office.”

For these initial hearings, defendants held in prions across the state require Tippecanoe County sheriff deputies to drive long distances racking up gas fees and tying up limited resources.

Sheriff Tracy Brown said five of his officers are assigned solely to transportation duty and are “on the road all the time.”

Video conferencing can help reduce costs and save manpower, but the system’s usage is limited to certain instances.

Defendants are strictly prohibited from appearing in trials with the system and must be physically present. In addition, during pre-trial hearings, the system cannot be used if the defendant does not consent.

Brown said the system can also be used by public defenders to communicate with their clients remotely or to connect law enforcement officials from across the state for meetings.

This has been a long time coming,” Brown said. “It’s going to be very valuable.”