New Indiana protection forms used 400 times

INDIANAPOLIS – A pilot program in Indiana that allows domestic violence victims to fill out forms to request protective orders online has been used more than 400 times since it debuted in July.

Indiana Supreme Court Justice Frank Sullivan says 288 of those forms are currently in the hands of courts in the eight pilot counties. Some 52,000 protective orders are in effect statewide.

The program allows domestic violence or stalking victims to fill out forms online with the help of an advocate. The forms then are printed and taken to the county clerk for processing.

The program is in use in Allen, Elkhart, Grant, Madison, Marion, St. Joseph, Tippecanoe and Wabash counties. It’s an expansion of the state’s electronic registry that makes new orders available to police statewide within minutes.