RI County Courthouse move means more work for police

Font Size:

By Dustin Lemmon | Monday, August 4, 2008 7:48 PM CDT | () comments

The Moline branch court at 525 16th St. will move to the Rock Island County Courthouse on Monday, and Moline police say the change will result in more officer overtime and time off the streets.

“We’re quite affected by it in a negative way,” Moline Police Chief Gary Francque said. “It’s a fairly significant change for the department, and we’re going to make some staff changes to accommodate this.”

By having to travel to Rock Island for court and possibly wait longer for cases, officers will be tied up longer, the chief said. He added that there are no estimates yet on how much the change will cost the city.

Rock Island County Circuit Clerk Lisa Bierman said moving the office will result in less travel for court staff. There are plans to close the East Moline branch court at the City Hall there as well.

Bierman said the county looked at closing the branches a few years ago but decided not to for fear it would be an inconvenience to the two communities. She said both cities now have other plans for the space.

“By consolidating things, it really does help us out,” she said. “At this point, we came to the conclusion that it really isn’t a benefit to the cities” to have the branch courts.

Ray Forsythe, Moline’s economic development director, said the city plans to put the property up for sale and use it either for office retail or residential development so it will provide tax revenue.

To ease the burden on officers, Moline police have developed a temporary court liaison position, which they fill with officers who are confined to light duty by injuries, the chief said.

Francque said the liaison works with the state’s attorney’s office to oversee court appearances, obtaining warrants and handling evidence.

“They’re able to coordinate cases better with the state’s attorney,” he said. “They try to have only officers that are needed (in court) and exactly when they’re needed.”

Bierman said she is not sure when the East Moline branch will move. She could not say whether it will happen by the end of the year.

“I don’t have a date,” she added. “We’re not really going to think about it until we get through this (move).”

East Moline Mayor John Thodos said the offices the clerks use now will be occupied by city staff.

“We really have a need for that space,” he said. “We have people we don’t have room for. For us, it would be beneficial.”

He said there has been concern in the past about having officers making more trips to Rock Island by closing the branch. However, as the need for court security increases, the city might eventually have to devote an officer to the court branch full-time if it does not close, he added.

“My concern is, as we see the need for additional security, (the city doesn’t) have that kind of money,” he said. “If we start keeping (an officer) there for court security, the benefit is not there for us.”

Bierman said the clerk’s office for Moline court will be located at the north end of the first floor of the courthouse where the Rock Island clerks are. She said there will be room there for the East Moline clerks when that branch closes.

The Moline branch will close Friday and move over the weekend.

Dustin Lemmon can be contacted at (563) 383-2493 or dlemmon@qctimes.com.