LANSING, Mich. — Following the passage of the Address Confidentiality Program Act, Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Thursday that her department has started working toward the creation of an online system that survivors of crime can use to keep their personal information secure.
Though the law provides the attorney general with two years to implement the system after an appropriation is made by the Legislature, Nessel's office is beginning to meet with stakeholders from across state government to establish an online system for survivors.
“We are in the early planning stages of creating a system that will help protect the personal information of survivors, and I am excited for my department to be a part of this significant development,” Nessel said in a press release. “My office understands the importance of this new law and the critical protections it provides, and we intend to work swiftly so that survivors may gain some peace of mind under this program.”
The new program, which was signed into law by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in late December, will allow victims of crimes and their children to apply for identification numbers and substitute addresses with assigned post office boxes to allow their personal information to remain confidential.
Those who apply will be sent new state ID cards with the state post office box listed so participants’ residential addresses are not listed. Participants’ addresses will also be protected from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
It is anticipated that it may take awhile to develop this system. However, updates throughout the development will be provided online at the Attorney General’s Crime Victim Rights webpage.
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