Questions Posted to "Ask a Dispatcher"
Q. If my partner hasn't come home and I want to know if he's been arrested, will the department tell me if I call? Should I call 586-0600?
Dear Juneau Resident,
Boy do I have a great service for you! Go into VINElink.com and click on Alaska. You can put in a name and see if that person is in jail and where without even calling anyone. One of the JPD dispatchers has experimented and found it to be updated in 15 minutes to half an hour from the person being taken to the jail. That is a lot faster than waiting for JPD's activity bulletin to be posted in the afternoon.
Okay, how many people that read this are going to check and see if the person they dated in high school is in jail? Probably a lot.
Arrests are public information so there are no confidentiality concerns when it comes to releasing a name. It is just easier to check online than call a dispatcher, who might have emergency calls coming in.
