By Leah Justice

leah.justice@tryondailybulletin.com

 

Searching records at the Polk County Courthouse, and all other North Carolina courthouses just became much easier with new technology.

The new criminal and infraction public records search (CIPRS) was launched this month, an application aimed to deliver a modern, user-friendly experience to access public records.

Polk County Clerk of Court Pam Hyder announced the new technology this week, saying technology is an area where the courts are trying to make improvements.

CIPRS replaces the old green screen system in an effort to modernize court technology systems statewide.

Anyone is allowed to have public access to search terminals in county courthouses.

CIPRS provides summary and in-depth case information in more easy to read screens and reports.

Users can also email case reports at no cost.

The system has been implemented in all 100 counties of North Carolina as of March 2016. There are currently more than 47 million records in the system statewide, ranging from traffic violations to serious crimes, now with details such as warrants for arrest, orders for arrest, citations, criminal summonses and magistrate orders.

Users of the previous system were primarily professionals in the media and legal fields checking on the status of court cases or historical research. The new CIPRS system is aimed at greatly expanding the diversity of users.