Police officers and court officials in Sault Ste. Marie now have the ability to file charges and enter decisions online as part of the provincial government's plan to roll out its new eIntake digital platform across the province over the next two years.
The Ministry of the Solicitor General says the new system will allow police officers to digitally file criminal charges to the court instead of appearing before a Justice of the Peace. The eIntake platform will allow Justices of the Peace to enter their decisions and sign documents digitally, in addition to giving court officials the ability to request additional information from police online.
The Ministry of the Solicitor General confirmed with SooToday that the online platform was launched in the Sault Nov. 4.
"We are providing frontline police officers with the tools and support they need to better protect the communities they serve," said Ontario Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, in a news release issued by the province Friday. "The eIntake platform will enable police to spend more time preventing and investigating criminal activity by cutting down on the hours they must spend filling out paperwork and travelling back and forth to courthouses."
"This new platform is an important step toward building a more connected criminal justice system that will strengthen public safety across Ontario and hold criminals accountable."
The eIntake platform is now slated to be rolled out in courthouses and police services across northeastern Ontario by Dec. 12, following pilot projects in Barrie and Orillia over the past year.
The ministry says the digital platform will be operational province-wide by 2022.