Information You Submit
Terms Entered in Search Tools
When you type a name, place, or other term into a search tool, the query is transmitted to the third-party provider that operates that tool. Knox County Released Inmates does not store or log those search terms on its own systems. The provider may collect and process the query under its separate privacy policy, so review that policy before submitting information.
Emails and Contact Messages
If you send an email or use a contact form, we retain the message and the contact details you provide for the purpose of reading and responding to it. Contact messages are not shared outside the organization unless disclosure is required by law, court order, or another valid legal demand. Do not send sensitive personal identifiers, medical information, or confidential case details through an ordinary unencrypted message.
Technical Data Collected Automatically
Like most websites, the service receives limited technical and usage information when a page loads. This information helps operate the site, understand broad traffic patterns, diagnose failures, and guard against misuse. It may include:
- The internet protocol address used for the visit
- Browser name, browser type, and version
- Device category and operating system
- Pages viewed and approximate time spent on them
- The referring website or source, when supplied
- Date and time stamps associated with requests
Cookies and Similar Storage
Cookies and related browser storage may be used to understand how visitors move through the site and to support analytics or advertising features. You can reject or delete cookies through your browser controls. Blocking them may cause certain features, preferences, partner tools, or advertisements to work differently or not function as expected.
How Information Is Used
Information received through normal operation is used only for practical site and service purposes. Those uses include:
- Keeping pages available, responsive, and reliable
- Sending a search request to the selected partner service
- Learning which Knox County release-resource pages visitors find useful
- Detecting, investigating, and correcting technical problems
- Displaying advertisements that may be selected based on inferred interests
We may review information in combined or statistical form to assess site performance. Those summaries are intended to show general use patterns rather than identify a particular visitor.
Privacy on Linked Services
Knox County Released Inmates links to the Knox County Sheriff, the Illinois Department of Corrections, court and government portals, release-record resources, and third-party search services. Once you open an outside site, its operator controls the page and its own privacy, security, cookie, and retention practices. This policy does not govern those outside systems.
Advertising providers may use cookies or similar technology on their own systems to observe activity across websites and select interest-based advertising. That tracking, when used, is performed under the advertising provider's practices rather than through a Knox County government record system. Consult the provider's controls if you want to limit personalized advertising.
When Data May Be Shared
We do not sell personal information. Limited information may be transmitted or disclosed to service providers and authorities when needed to operate the site or comply with law. Potential recipients include:
- Search partners that receive and process submitted queries
- Analytics providers that measure site use and performance
- Advertising networks that deliver or measure advertisements
- Law-enforcement agencies or other government bodies acting under a valid legal order
Each provider receives only the information involved in the service it performs, subject to its own terms and privacy practices.
Safeguarding Information
Reasonable and commonly used administrative and technical practices are followed to protect information from unauthorized access, alteration, loss, or misuse. No website, network, electronic message, or internet-connected storage system can be guaranteed completely secure. We therefore cannot promise that a breach, interception, system failure, or unauthorized access will never occur.
Visitors Under Eighteen
The site is intended for adults and does not knowingly request or collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor submitted personal information through a contact channel, use the Contact page to identify the submission. We will review a supported request and remove the information we control when appropriate.
Your Privacy Choices
Depending on the law that applies and the information we hold, you may ask to exercise the following choices:
- Request a copy of personal information maintained about you
- Ask that inaccurate personal information be corrected
- Request deletion of information that may lawfully be erased
- Opt out of certain processing when an applicable right permits it
A request must provide enough detail to locate the information and verify that it concerns the requester. Some information may need to be retained when law requires it or when it is needed to address security, legal claims, or a valid government demand. These choices concern information controlled by this private site. Requests about sheriff, jail, court, IDOC, VINE, or federal records must go to the public agency or service that maintains them.
Changes to This Policy
This Privacy Policy may be revised as site functions, service providers, or legal requirements change. An updated version takes effect when posted here and will carry a revised effective date. Continued use after publication means the updated policy applies to later activity.