Home › Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

This policy describes information collected during a visit to Pope County Criminal History, the purposes for which it is used, and the limited situations in which another party may receive it. Continued use of the website indicates acceptance of these practices.

Data You Give Us Directly

Search Queries

A name or place entered in a search tool is sent directly to the outside company operating that feature. That provider processes the request and supplies its response; this site does not keep a log of those search terms.

Messages and Contact Submissions

An email may be retained as needed to prepare and document a reply. It remains within the operating team unless disclosure is required by law.

Data We Gather Automatically

Every time a page on this site loads, our servers pick up some technical details about the visit:

  • The IP address assigned to your device
  • Which browser you are using and its version
  • Your device type and operating system
  • The pages you visited and how long you stayed on each
  • The site that sent you here, if any
  • Timestamps for each page view

Cookies and Analytics

We use cookies on this site. These are small files stored on your device that let us see how visitors use the site - which pages get the most traffic and where people tend to drop off. Analytics services help us aggregate that traffic data. Your browser settings let you block cookies whenever you want. Some parts of the site may behave differently if you do.

What We Do With This Data

  • Keeping the site up, running, and loading quickly
  • Sending your search requests to the right partner service
  • Figuring out which pages people find useful and which need work
  • Tracking down and fixing technical issues
  • Showing ads that may line up with your interests

No Criminal-Record Data on File

This site does not keep, assemble, or sell a database of personal criminal records. It explains how to request Pope County material from the Sheriff's Office and Circuit Clerk and how to use official resources maintained by the Illinois State Police Bureau of Identification and Illinois State Police Sex Offender Registry. We are not a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and visitor data is not compiled into consumer reports or third-party records.

Third-Party Search Partners

Search boxes on this site are powered by outside companies. Anything you enter into those tools is processed under the partner's own privacy policy, not this one. Those partners set their own data-retention and sharing practices, and we do not control them. Review the partner's policy before submitting a search.

Links to Other Websites

Throughout the site we link to sheriff's office pages, court portals, state agency sites, legal aid groups, and third-party search tools. Clicking any of those links takes you off our site. At that point, their privacy policy governs your visit. Read it before sharing any personal details.

Certain advertising partners may track your activity across sites to show targeted ads. That tracking runs on their systems, not ours.

Who Might See Your Data

We do not sell personal data. Some information may end up with:

  • Search partners that handle queries you run on our site
  • Analytics services we use to track traffic and performance
  • Ad networks that place ads on our pages
  • Law enforcement or government bodies when a valid legal order requires it

How We Protect Your Data

We follow standard security practices to safeguard the data we collect. But nothing connected to the internet is bulletproof. We do what we can to keep your information secure, though we cannot promise a breach will never happen.

Users Under 18

This site is meant for adults. We do not knowingly gather personal information from anyone under 18. If you think a minor has shared data with us, reach out and we'll delete it right away.

Your Data Rights

Illinois law, including the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, 815 ILCS 505, may provide additional protections depending on the facts. The Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140, governs requests to public bodies, while criminal-history dissemination is addressed in 20 ILCS 2630/5. At a minimum, you can:

  • Ask for a copy of what we have on file about you
  • Have us fix information that is wrong
  • Request that we erase your data
  • Opt out of certain kinds of data processing

Updates to This Policy

This policy may be revised as site practices or legal duties change. A revision becomes available on this page with an updated effective date.

Effective date: July 20, 2026