IDENTITY PROTECTION SERVICE

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2010

In November 2009, in order to protect residents against the growing crime of identity theft, the Oakland County Clerk’s Office and the Oakland County Circuit Court launched an Identity Protection Project to streamline the removal of sensitive information—Social Security numbers, bank and credit card numbers—from court documents filed prior to March 2006—when court rules changes to prohibit the inclusion of such sensitive information. The county spent several years developing and implementing this project, in addition to having it approved by the Michigan State Court Administrative Office. Prior to the launch of this program, the only option for citizens who wanted private information removed from their court file was to hire an attorney, pay to file a court motion to have the information removed and attend a formal court hearing. Today, anyone who wants information, including Social Security numbers, removed from their file simply has to review their court documents, fill out an easy-to-use form noting the location of the information and file it with the Clerk’s Office. Information is then reviewed by court authorities and removed.