Miami-Dade Police Subpoenas Go Electronic
MIAMI (CBS4) - A new system has Miami-Dade County ditching the printer in an effort to get out from under a pile of paperwork, and save taxpayers money.
Instead of a paper subpoena, Miami-Dade County is the first in the nation to electronically notify law enforcement personnel about subpoenas.
"It allows us as officers to know ahead of time when court appearances are coming up," said Miami-Dade Police Sgt. Daniel Hannah. "If the case gets canceled before the court hearing date; they are instantly notified that they don't have to come to court. That in itself saves millions of dollars of police time to keep them back on the street."
"People don't understand and realize that the county hand delivers 650-thousand subpoenas every year to police officers," said Judge Steve Leifman, Supervising Project Administrator.
According to police and lawyers, there are other benefits to going paperless.
"The system cuts down on us having to drive here unnecessarily and there's a lot more communication between attorneys on our cases," Sgt. Hannah said.
"It helps victims and accused that way they have their day in court and the issues resolved promptly," said Carlos Martinez, a Miami-Dade County Public Defender.
Even though law enforcement personnel may see their overtime cut because they don't have to hand-deliver the subpoenas, they are happy if the cases are successfully prosecuted.
The electronic system has been up and running for a year along with the traditional paper system. The electronic delivery will go online completely on the 28th.
