INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — One week after the Indian River County Sheriff’s Department launched its re-designed website for the benefit of the public and media, nearly all feedback has been positive, but it’s not over yet.
The purpose of the in-house redesign, according to Thom Raulen, the Sheriff’s Department public information officer, was to simplify access to the site’s most popular features and create new functions to enhance users’ experience.
Raulen said both the public and the media use the department’s site most frequently for conducting booking searches, warrant searches, or public records searches.
“Admittedly, the previous website was not the easiest place to find those things,” Raulen said. Now users can find all three functions immediately, at the top of the website, highlighted in a gold box.
Additionally, residents can use the website to file a police report, an entirely new function aimed to assist the public and cut down dispatching unnecessary personnel.
“Last year, around 350 reports were filed,” Raulen said. Not all incidents require an officer on site, he added. “Sometimes, [residents] just don’t want a police car at their home, and that’s okay.”
Examples Raulen provided to further explain the need for online filing included incidents when the emergency is already over. For instance, a car that was damaged in a public parking lot, but not noticed until the car was home, is no longer an emergency. Online scams also frequently fall into this category.
An icon located near the top, right-hand side of the website directs users to the simple, step-by-step directions on how to file a report.
Finally, Raulen said the department is trying to integrate its social media outlets with the website.
“This Just in From Facebook” appears as a headline at the top of the page and displays the department’s most recent Facebook post. Previous posts and Twitter updates can be viewed below.
Currently, the department most frequently makes use of its Facebook and Twitter accounts though Raulen said the public can expect much more of its YouTube channel, Google+, Pinterest account and more in the very near future.
Though the beefed up website has received an onslaught of positive feedback and a few helpful suggestions, according to Raulen, the process is not over. The in-house design team will continue to add and revise the website as it sees fit to best serve the community.
The website can be found at http://www.ircsheriff.org.