The Peoria County Sheriff’s Office is discontinuing the Daily Commitment Report effective Friday, December 28, 2018. The report is a list of adults booked into the Peoria County Jail from 7 a.m. the previous day to 7 a.m. on the day of the report.
Sheriff Brian Asbell cites two main reasons for his decision. First, there are pending changes to State law that will not allow for the dissemination of mug shots on low-level misdemeanors. The impact to the Sheriff’s Office would be an increase in manpower time and cost to continue the report with those exclusions. Second, Sheriff Asbell says the nature of the use of the report has changed over the years.
“The report has been twisted from its original intent. When I started this as Jail Superintendent in 2013, it was to help alleviate the amount of FOIA requests we received. Now, it just seems to be a source of entertainment on social media. I think it’s important to remember and respect that while these people have been arrested, under law they are innocent until proven guilty.”
Jail records will remain available through the Sheriff’s Office pages on the Peoria County website at http://peoriacounty.org/580/Jail-Inmate-Information. Family and friends who suspect a loved one may have been booked can also call the inmate information line at (309) 697-7841.