Portland’s Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office has launched a revamped Web site that for the first time allows the public to see everyone who is in its jails — from drunken drivers to embezzlers to accused murderers awaiting trial, The Oregonian reports. The Web site displays mug shots, ages, criminal charges, visiting hours, and the amount of bail needed to get someone out of the slammer. Web master Sarah Mooney says the eb pages featuring inmates and their photos have been getting 1,500 hits a day. Mooney has received thank-you notes from across the U.S. from people searching for their relatives.
The site has proved a tool for victims of a crime, say, the battered girlfriend who is wondering whether her boyfriend is still locked away. And it has allowed the general public the opportunity to see the jailhouse mug shots of someone they know. “People are fascinated,” Mooney said. Before the redesign, those who wanted information about inmates would have to call the jail and sometimes wait 10 minutes or more until a staffer was free to answer questions. Now most of that information is available online for current inmates and those who were jailed within the past seven days.
Link: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1206588346134010.xml&coll=7