by: Anthony Colarossi Sentinel Staff Writer 3:40 p.m. EDT, August 27, 2009

TAVARES - Lake County residents became accustomed to checking out Sheriff Gary Borders' Web site for up-to-date listings of arrests, but concerns about bail bondsmen using the information inappropriately prompted a new two-day delay of arrest postings by the sheriff's office.

Sheriff's officials worried that bondsmen might use the information to visit inmates at jail and solicit business, a misdemeanor under Florida statutes. So now online information about recent arrests in Lake is not very recent; it's 48 hours old.

"We have heard rumors that some bondsmen would request to see an inmate at the jail under the guise of an already agreed upon bond when in fact there was no prior arrangement made," Borders' spokesman Cpl. Jim Vachon said in an e-mail inquiring about the change, which kicked in earlier this month. "During the meeting the bondsman would solicit business."

Vachon said the office also has heard of "promotional materials for bonding agencies" getting passed to inmates while signing a bond. Those inmates were then asked to hand the materials to others in the jail.

"We are working to prevent the practice as much as possible by taking proactive steps," Vachon noted.

However, Vachon could not provide any specific examples of abuse at the Lake County Jail and said such complaints were handled by the state Department of Financial Services. A spokeswoman for DFS said the office has not heard of any problems as the one described by Vachon.

The state did not direct law enforcement agencies to stop presenting recent arrest information online.

"I'm not saying their concerns are not legitimate; I'm just saying we didn't put anything out," DFS spokeswoman Nina Banister said.

The change simply means the running list of recent arrests is not as current as it once was. "Anyone can still search individuals by name for up to date information," said Vachon, noting that other local law enforcement sites don't offer a recent arrest option.

"Anyone can still search individuals by name for up to date information," said Vachon, noting that other local law enforcement sites don't offer a recent arrest option. "We just don't put up an up to date list of who is getting booked in anymore. [It] apparently was causing a problem with the bondsmen so we just took it down."

Also, he said, anyone can request paper files of recent arrests directly through the sheriff's office.

The new policy does not violate Florida's public records law because access to the records is not denied, just made less convenient, said Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee.

"There's no requirement in the public records law that makes government agencies post public records information online," Petersen said. "They can post it however they want to post it, or they don't have to post it at all. As long as you can get it at the sheriff's office, there's no violation."

Petersen said the decision to delay the recent arrest information online "seems to me the wrong reaction." Going after the limited number of bondsmen suspected of exploiting the arrest information and soliciting inmates at the jail would have been a more appropriate approach, she said.

"To me you find the people who are using it online for an illicit purpose," Petersen said.

Anthony Colarossi can be reached at or 352-742-5934.