The Cookie Policy Overview
At the Northwestern D.A.’s Office, openness, trust, and privacy are woven into our mission of seeking out justice in our community and maintaining ethical standards in everything we do – in the courtroom and online. Our Cookie Policy aims to educate you on how and why we utilize cookies and other tracking technologies on our website (https://northwesterndistrictattorney.org/). Cookies are useful, harmless, and designed to enhance your online experience. When used correctly, cookies are an invaluable part of today’s connected world. It is important for you to understand how cookies work and what role they play in your experience on our website so that you can make educated decisions about your data. We will always operate with the highest ethical standards – not just in our legal operations but in our interactions online as well. The information below outlines the types of cookies we use on our website, why we use them, what options you have in relation to cookies, and how they enable us to provide useful, secure, easy-to-navigate online resources for our community.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files on your device (computer, smartphone, tablet) created when you visit a website. Cookies allow the website to remember your preferences, identify your device the next time you visit, and improve your browsing experience. Cookies can be session based (removed when the browser is closed) or persistent (last until they expire or are deleted on the user’s device). While cookies are a critical part of modern web browsing, their use must always be on a fully transparent basis with respect for your privacy rights. Our office, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, uses cookies for our site to ensure its functionality, security, and to help provide useful information and services to all visitors.
Why we use cookies?
Cookies have many useful functions on our website and the use of cookies relates specifically to our public service responsibilities and data security. The main ways we use cookies are for:
- Essential site functions – These cookie types are needed to run core website functionality, such as internal staff logins, menus, or session management.
- Performance and analytics – We use analytics cookies so we can see how visitors use the website, which helps us understand how it is used collectively. Information is collected in an aggregated and anonymized form so we cannot link it back to you as an individual. Analytics and performance cookies tell us things like the most visited pages on our site, how visitors arrive at our site, the average length of a visit, whether you experience errors, and if there are any issues with site usability.
- Preferences and accessibility – These cookies enable us to remember your settings and preferences (e.g., font size changes or language settings) so your experience conforms to your preferences.
- Security – Some cookies increase the security of our website and help us block malicious activity. For example, these cookies help prevent invalid login attempts or protect user data from being accessed by means outside the website.
- Community events, newsletters, consultations – In some instances, these cookies support features such as event sign-ups, surveys, and consultation feedback (relating to our community engagement activities). Cookies on these areas are used to help us better deliver and improve information and services to residents of the Northwestern District.
Types of cookies we use
In order to provide a fully functional and easy-to-use website, we use the following types of cookies:
- Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are required for the website to operate and cannot be turned off in our systems. They are generally set in response to actions you have taken on the site such as filling in forms, logging into secure websites, or adjusting privacy preferences. - Performance Cookies
These cookies collect information about how users use our site, such as which pages are visited most frequently or whether users receive error messages. This information is used to improve the performance and user experience of the website. - Functionality Cookies
These cookies enable the website to remember choices you make (such as your language or region) that provide enhanced and more personal features. They may also be used to provide services you have requested or to answer requests such as signing up to legal articles or workshop registration. - Security Cookies
These cookies help us keep the website safe and secure, and may be used to identify and block security risks. - Third Party Cookies
Occasionally, we will embed content from trusted third parties such as event booking engines or map providers. These third parties may set their own cookies, which are not controlled by us, and are subject to the individual third party privacy policies.
How we use cookies for analytics and optimization
In order to improve our site’s functionality, accessibility, and usefulness, we may make use of cookies in connection with the operation of analytics tools. For instance, our site uses a variety of tools like Google Analytics to collect information such as the number of visitors, how much time users spend on certain pages, how users navigate around the site, and the types of devices used by visitors to view pages on our site. Information that is collected via analytics tools is in cumulative, general form and therefore will not be uniquely identifiable to a specific individual user of our site.
- Identify which resources or services are the most valuable to our community;
- Identify issues and address any potential areas that impact a user’s experience;
- Develop future content – for example, for legal workshops or information about community outreach – based on information on users’ interests and needs;
- Monitor if and how our site remains accessible to users of different technological capabilities and devices.
We do not use analytics cookies to collect any sensitive personal information, nor do we use any other cookies to monitor individual users for strictly commercial reasons or for purposes of targeted advertising. We seek continuous improvement for the public good.
Managing cookie preferences
Respect for your privacy and empowering your choices are core tenets of our philosophy. When you first enter the site, you will receive a clear notification regarding the use of cookies as well as options to set your preferences. Users can choose to accept all cookies, decline non-essential cookies, or manage settings at any time.
Most browsers allow users to control cookies through their settings, including blocking or deleting cookies. Guidance on how to manage cookies can usually be found in the “help” section of your browser. We would like to point out that if you do disable certain cookies this will result in some features – such as access to secure resources or registration for events – not functioning.
If you have any questions about cookies or cookie settings, or if any technical issues arise with managing your cookie settings, please consult your browser help guide and feel free to contact our team at [email protected] or (317) 532-9697.
Data privacy and security commitment
We are a public office dedicated to the pursuit of justice and adherence to ethical standards. For that reason, we consider protection of your data our highest priority. Information gathered through cookies will be used in full compliance with current laws and regulations regarding such data, and consistent with internal data security policies.
We take standard industry measures to encrypt and safeguard information transmitted from our website and to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of any such information. Information relating to measures we have taken to gather and analyze analytics data is limited to authorized persons charged with maintaining and improving our website. We do not sell, rent, or otherwise disclose information collected from cookies to third parties for commercial purposes.
Transparency and clarity as to our use of data is important to us; accordingly, we periodically review and update our policies and procedures regarding data to align with changes in law and best practices related to digital privacy. For more information, please review our Privacy Policy.
Third-party owned cookies and other services
Some features on our website may use third-party content. For instance, we may use embedded maps to help users find our office, or events functionality to make it easier for people to sign up for community events. These third-party providers may insert their own cookies when you use their content.
We use carefully selected third-party companies that share our high standards of privacy and data security. However, their cookie use is subject to their own policies, which we recommend you read when you use such content. Some third-party cookies on our website may include, for example, Eventbrite (for events functionality) and Google Maps (for location functionality).
If you have any questions about third-party cookies, please contact us.
Duration of stored cookie information
Cookies are kept on your computer for varying lengths of time, depending on the cookie type and its expiration:
- Session Cookies – These are temporary in nature and are deleted by default when you close your browser. These cookies are commonly used only for essential website functionality or security.
- Persistent Cookies – These cookies have a set life and expire after a certain time or until manually deleted. These are commonly used to remember certain preferences or enable analytics over time.
We routinely audit our cookie retention periods to ensure that we do not keep cookies longer than necessary. Anonymized analytics data may be kept for up to 24 months; this data may be used to inform website improvement efforts and reporting before subsequent deletions, or further anonymizing, occur.
Your rights and the means to exercise them
If you are a visitor to our website you have rights regarding your data that is exposed through cookies. You have:
- The right to be informed about uses of your data
- The right of access to information held about you
- The right to correct or delete information (where relevant)
- The right to object (in some cases, such as with analytics-type cookies)
If you would like more details and/or to exercise these rights, please get in touch at [email protected] and we will respond openly and quickly to your request related to your data and privacy.
Children’s privacy
Ensuring the privacy of youth is a top priority for the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office. While we make our services and website available to the community, including but not limited to both youth and their families, we do not knowingly collect personal information from youth through the use of cookies or otherwise if those youth are under 13 years of age. As a parent or guardian, in the event that you become aware that your child’s information has been collected by the server without your consent, please email [email protected] or contact us at (317) 532-9697. We will look into the matter and take steps to rectify.
Changes to our cookie policy
Digital technology is rapid to progress and so too are the best practices developing in the areas of privacy and data protection. It may be necessary for us to update this Cookie Policy from time to time due to changes in our policies, legal requirements, or technology. We will endeavour to communicate any significant changes to you through our website.
We recommend that you review this policy regularly to keep up-to-date on how we use cookies and how we protect your information. The date this policy was most recently updated will always appear at the top of the policy.
Contact information and further questions
Your trust matters to us. If you have any questions, issues, or complaints regarding our Cookie Policy or privacy policy, please let us know. We also have a team that can answer questions, help inform cookie preferences, and respond to privacy policy issues.
Contact the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office:
500 N Capitol Ave Ste 42
Indianapolis IN 46204
(317) 532-9697
[email protected]
We’re here Monday – Friday, 8:00AM to 5:00PM. If you’d like more information about your rights, accessing support services, or how we help protect your privacy, please let us know. For more ways to reach us, visit our Contact Us page.
We are committed to transparency and building community trust
The Northwestern District Attorney’s Office believes in the imperative of transparency-and we extend that ethos from our legal work to the internet presence of our office. Our Cookie Policy is one element of that commitment to serve our community with integrity and open disclosure. Educated citizens are empowered citizens, and we hope to provide clear resources about your privacy and online security.
Once you understand how cookies aid us in supporting our website and your engagement with it, you can make the choices that are ultimately right for you. We appreciate you working with us to make a safer, more aware, and more engaged Northwestern District.