McHenry County judicial agencies prepare to launch electronic arrest warrants

MCHENRY COUNTY — In a Sept. 13 statement, McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally announced that his office will be coordinating with the McHenry County Clerk of the Circuit Court’s Office and the 22nd Judicial Circuit for McHenry County to launch electronic arrest warrants.

According to Kenneally, the new program between Court Administration and the Circuit Clerk’s Office has been in the works for a few months now and allows police agencies to seek arrest warrants electronically.

The benefit of this new program offers police officers the luxury of not having to travel, sometimes 40 minutes, to the courthouse for a judge’s consideration.

The new process will also be more eco-friendly as getting search and arrest warrants would now be entirely paperless.

Police agencies can additionally complete the arrest warrant process entirely online to be more efficient in their time.

“This program is another great example of multiple government agencies working together to promote justice and efficiency,” said Kenneally. “The technology being deployed is going to save law enforcement an enormous amount of time traveling to and from the courthouse that could otherwise be spent keeping communities safe.”

As to how the process works, the new program allows law enforcement agencies who are seeking an arrest warrant to video-conference with a judge, while also giving them the ability to share warrant-related documents for evaluation.

Kenneally did not state when the new program is set to launch.