From press release

The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office has entered into an agreement with DOCVIEW, LLC to place traffic crash reports online. The Docview.us.com Accident Report System was selected to serve as the traffic crash insurance and citizen request technology. Docview.us.com is an Internet-based application that was developed to help law enforcement agencies and insurance companies manage and access traffic reports in a more efficient manner. Through the use of innovative online document management technology, you are now able to rapidly find and view an accident report usually within 2-4 business days of the occurrence. You can now access your reports over the Internet 24 hours a day.

Docview.us.com ^[1] was designed to do the following:

→ Allow for multi-jurisdictional date sharing and searching;

→ Facilitate web-accessible availability of accident reports for insurance companies, officers and citizens;

→ Provide investigators access to crash information for all agencies on the system.

The Sheriff’s Office expects Internet viewing and printing will significantly reduce time spent dealing with insurance agencies and citizens seeking copies of traffic crashes. Sheriff Meyers notes, “It is our desire to provide a level of expediency to anyone wishing to view and print traffic crash reports in the convenience of their home or business, which has not been available before.” The Sheriff’s Office investigates roughly 1,300 traffic crashes a year, and Machesney Park (which contracts police services through the Sheriff’s Office) investigates roughly 700 crashes a year. Most crashes involve at least two drivers, which means 4,000 individuals or insurance companies are likely to request copies of reports.

→ Reports are available from work or home, 24 hours a day via the Internet.

→ Citizens do not have to drive to the Sheriff’s Office, park, or go through security;

→ Reports are converted to a PDF format, making them easy to view, save, print and e-mail;

→ Reports are normally accessible within 2-4 business days, online;

→ Reports cannot be modified, maintaining report integrity;

→ Clear, high resolution images of each report for optimal viewing and printing.

Docview.us.com ^[1] charges a nominal convenience fee for this service, which is added to the cost of the report. Citizens who do not wish to pay $11 for the report (the Docview convenience of $6 plus $5 for the report) online can still come to the Justice Center and pay the normal report fee of $5 if they wish.

From the Nov. 24-30, 2010 issue