Justice Records Improvement Program
National Criminal History
Improvement Program (NCHIP)
Summary of 2008 awarded activities
The following provides
a description of activities under NCHIP grants for each of the participating States in alphabetical order.
Commonly used acronyms:
- AFIS - Automated Fingerprint Identification System
- CCH - Computerized Criminal History
- GJXDM – Global Justice Exchange Data Model
- IAFIS - Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System
- III - Interstate Identification Index
- NCIC - National Crime Information Center
- NFF - National Fingerprint File
- NIBRS - National Incident-Based Reporting System
- NIEM - National Information Exchange Model
- NIST - National Institute of Standards and Technology
- NICS - National Instant Criminal Background Check System
- NSOR - National Sex Offender Registry
- XML - Extensible Markup Language
Alabama ($232,434) The Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center (ACJIC) will use funds to update and automate case outcomes from courts and prosecutors in state records and the FBI's Criminal History File. The ACJIC will carry out the following activities: 1) reduce the significant backlog of dispositions from the courts, estimated at 24,000 fingerprint arrest cards that have yet to be entered and over a thousand dispositions that need to be matched; and, 2) perform an audit to maintain compliance with all FBI mandated regulations regarding the Alabama Computerized Criminal History (CCH) network. Funds will be used for staff time to plan, supervise and complete the disposition matching project and for costs incurred to receive disposition data through an electronic connection with the courts.
Alaska ($360,000) The Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS) will transfer funds to the Alaska Court System for a project involving the electronic sharing of court dispositions. Funds will also be used for DPS staff to research and correct missing criminal charge dispositions and errors found on criminal history records. In addition, DPS plans to procure the services of a contractor to conduct an independent audit of the state's central repository and other criminal justice systems. These tasks will ensure the availability of complete, accurate, and timely criminal history records information to state and national databases.
Arizona ($120,000) The Arizona Criminal Justice Commission will use funds to conduct the next phase of the Arizona Disposition Reporting System project which involves standardizing a statewide disposition process flow enabling all law enforcement agencies statewide to participate and easily conform to the next rollout phase. Activities will include conducting a feasibility study of how to create a statewide disposition process flow; developing standardized documents; completing an XML interface with the Administrative Office of the Courts and the two pilot agencies (Maricopa County Attorney's Office and the Maricopa County Clerk of the Superior Court); and, expanding current functionality to include non-fingerprint based dispositions. This project will help to improve the accuracy and completeness of criminal history record information in Arizona and nationally.
Arkansas ($387,742) The Arkansas Crime information Center (ACIC) will implement a web-based program designed to provide the state courts and probation officers with prompt responses regarding sentencing provisions of defendants. This information is a core element in determining whether an individual will or will not have their firearm rights restored. ACIC will also reduce the state's disposition backlog by using data entry personnel to locate missing dispositions, enter these records into the state criminal history repository, and transfer them to NCIC for inclusion in the national file.
California ($81,725) The California Department of Justice will pass through funds to the Administrative Office of the Courts to improve the accuracy and accessibility of the state's criminal history records through improving court disposition reporting and transmissions of disposition data to the FBI. The project will improve the case management system for trial courts to extend data exchange standards using the NIEM model with primary focus upon using the statewide California Case Management System, and improving protection order reporting and access via the repository.
Colorado ($272,934) The Colorado Division of Criminal Justice plans to: 1) eliminate the disposition backlog at Colorado's Bureau of Identification by contracting the services of temporary personnel to update 1,250 records per quarter; and, 2) implement an electronic exchange of criminal history information from the District Attorney's case tracking system to the court's automated information system. The Division of Criminal Justice will also use funds to manage and evaluate both projects.
Connecticut ($265,440) The Connecticut Office of Policy and Management will carry out the following three projects: 1) improve Connecticut's submission of records to the NICS from the Judicial Branch, Superior Court Operations Division, by (a) sending information on fugitives from justice to the state's Special Licensing and Firearms Unit, and (b) sending information on fugitives from justice to the NICS; 2) continue the replacement of the Connecticut On-Line Law Enforcement Communication Teleprocessing system through the use of subject matter expert services necessary to convert the data in the current system to one that is NCIC 2000 compliant and provides for necessary security; and, 3) reduce a backlog of 124,100 fingerprint cards for which criminal history data on offenders is not included in the criminal history repository through the use of contractual services for entry of data from the fingerprint cards into the AFIS.
Delaware ($155,615) The Delaware Department of Public Safety will carry out two activities to improve the quality of records available at the central repository: 1) procure contractual services to modernize the criminal history record system to enhance the data for the name field to capture names that contain special characters and to lengthen the fields; and, 2) conduct an audit review and quality improvement project utilizing temporary staff to correct inaccurate records and eliminate data errors.
Florida ($333,900) The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) will use NCHIP funds to: 1) continue to develop and enhance the state Sexual Offender/Sexual Predator Unit that feeds information to the FBI NSOR; 2) improve and enhance record quality and disposition reporting in the state; 3) enhance the Judicial Inquiry System to make system modifications to capture additional risk classifications, identify injunctions for protection and accompanying Brady indicators, and streamline information generated from the Automated First Appearance Calendar; and, 4) work with the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) on a feasibility study to assess the possibility of adding the FDLE identification number to records currently in the Juvenile Justice Information System maintained by DJJ.
Georgia ($127,000) The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) will use funds to develop a web-based application for local Probate Courts to enable electronic submission of involuntary mental health hospitalization information. Georgia's Mental Health File is only accessible through the Criminal Justice Information System network and currently only nine county probate courts have access to this system. This project will increase the number of probate courts with electronic entry capabilities and expedite the entry of mental health information into the Georgia Mental Health File that is forwarded to the NICS Index Denied Persons File. Funds awarded will cover the development, transition, and training for the web-based program. A small portion will also be used to continue ongoing training of GBI staff in criminal justice technology.
Hawaii ($192,528) The Hawaii Department of the Attorney General will use funds to: 1) expand participation in the Horizontal Integration Project to the courts to electronically receive arrest and booking information from the Hawaii County Police Department and the Hawaii County Prosecutor's Office; 2) conduct the necessary tasks to begin participating in the NFF; and, 3) perform an audit of the state's criminal history programs.
Indiana ($260,000) The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute will transfer funds to Indiana Supreme Court's Judicial Automation and Technology Committee to continue efforts relating to the local court and prosecutor technology project. Funds will be used to conduct Phase II of a project involving the deployment of Odyssey (the Indiana Supreme Court's case management system) to 8 additional counties. These 8 counties represent twenty percent of the caseload in Indiana. Phase II will also involve creating interfaces between Odyssey and the central repository and Proslink (Indiana's statewide prosecutor's database).
Iowa ($267,285) The Iowa Department of Public Safety will conduct an audit of the state's computerized criminal history records maintained in the central repository. Funds will be provided to the Department of Human Rights Division of Criminal Juvenile Justice Planning to carry out the audit to assess the accuracy and quality of the criminal history files. Additionally, funds will be used to conduct audits of criminal justice agencies to examine compliance with requirements for the submission of fingerprint cards and disposition information to the central repository.
Kansas ($281,433) The Kansas Governor's Office will use funds to contract with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to provide programming services to integrate local agency systems to the state's repository, and to connect the repository to the FBI's National Sex Offender Registry. These projects will ensure that criminal history information is submitted in a timely fashion and electronically available for use by local criminal justice agencies.
Kentucky ($364,943) The Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet (KJPSC) will provide funds to the Kentucky State Police (KSP) to customize the state's CCH system by adding several purpose codes and modifying the system to include identification for firearms sales (IFS) flags for background check purposes. IFS flags will be used to alert criminal history users that a particular individual has been convicted of a felony offense or a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, as well as if a potential firearms disqualifier exists due to an open-ended disposition or involuntary commitment to a mental health facility. Funds will also be used to create a mechanism for law enforcement officers to electronically transmit disposition information to the KSP's Criminal Identification and Records Bureau for inclusion in the state's CCH and the FBI's national file.
Louisiana ($307,500) The Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement (LCLE) will enhance the state's Prosecuting Attorneys' Management Information System enabling information on persons prohibited from possessing and/or purchasing a firearm to be included in the NICS. Funds will also be used to assist district courts with purchasing new/replacement equipment and software to capture dispositions and sentencing information in the courts' case management systems. In addition, LCLE will continue the development and implementation of the Louisiana Statewide Protective Order Program.
Maine ($371,160) The Maine Department of Public Safety will use funds to: 1) complete Phase II of their efforts to modify the state's Prosecutor Case Management System to allow arrest tracking/case tracking numbers and prosecutor actions to be transmitted electronically to the CCH system and, 2) continue to identify records in the state's CCH which are missing court dispositions, and capture and enter this information to reduce the current backlog of such records.
Maryland ($247,661) The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services will use funds to: 1) conduct criminal history records information checks, through the State Archives, in response to FBI NICS inquiries for arrests prior to 1981; and 2) establish a process to enable submission of federally disqualifying mental health records to the FBI's NICS Index Denied Persons File.
Michigan ($245,542) The Michigan State Police will: 1) perform year-round audits of local law enforcement and criminal justice agencies' criminal history record systems; 2) carry out staff training on emerging issues related to federal laws, procedures, compliance, case law, and its application, including attendance at the annual NICS conference; and, 3) conduct activities to interface the computerized criminal history record system with the Prosecuting Attorneys' Association database.
Missouri ($369,207) The Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) will continue to work with the Office of State Courts Administrator (OSCA), the Missouri Office of Prosecution Services, and the Missouri Police Chiefs Association to implement improved criminal history record capture procedures in Missouri courts, prosecutors' offices, corrections, and law enforcement agencies. Funds will be used to establish an electronic interface between the Department of Corrections and OSCA to share offender sentence and judgment information. In addition, MSHP, through a contractor, will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the state's criminal history records system.
Montana ($370,791) The Montana Board of Crime Control will continue an effort initiated under previous NCHIP projects to enhance the electronic disposition reporting capability between prosecutors, courts and the state's criminal history record system. Specifically, funds will be used to create electronic exchanges of arrest booking and hearing notices. The project will utilize the Integrated Justice Information System (IJIS) Broker, an IJIS web interface, and the Court Central Repository to electronically submit all qualifying prosecutor and court records to the Department of Justice's central records repository. Training and quality control programs will be developed and implemented to ensure that all disposition data exchanged is timely, accurate, and complete.
Nebraska ($234,633) The Nebraska State Patrol will update and automate case outcomes from courts and prosecutors in state criminal records and the FBI's III. The following activities will be completed: 1) reduce backlog of dispositions not entered into the criminal history system; 2) purchase and install additional livescan fingerprint systems to increase the automated capture of identification information at booking sites; and, 3) synchronize state and FBI criminal history records through a manual review process.
Nevada ($161,346) The Nevada Department of Public Safety (DPS) will use funds to reduce the backlog of court dispositions as a continuing part of their Strategic Business Plan developed with support under the 2006 NCHIP. DPS will implement a combined effort of hiring temporary employees, utilizing full-time staff volunteering for overtime, and acquiring software licenses for additional staff. DPS' goal is to reduce the current disposition backlog by one-third within a year of this project.
New Jersey ($155,909) The New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety will transfer funds to the Division of State Police for the purchase of livescan machines with mug photo capability. These systems will be installed at law enforcement agencies with high arrest volumes and will be programmed to capture criminal fingerprints and mug photos which will be electronically transmitted to the State Bureau of Investigation for verification of the criminal fingerprint card.
New York ($600,000) The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services will use funds to: 1) continue the four phase project to migrate New York State's integrated criminal justice system from a mainframe computer environment to an open architecture platform; this project is a complete overhaul and re-engineering effort of the state's CCH system; and, 2) contract with the Administrative Office of the Courts to continue to identify and correct inaccurate court information and reduce the current number of missing dispositions in the state repository.
North Carolina ($271,950) The North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety will use funds to correct and improve the quality of fingerprint-related data and dispositions available to all state and local criminal justice agencies in the state. A review of the State Bureau of Investigation disposition reports and clerk of court case files will be carried out to synchronize the files, reduce the number of rejected fingerprint submissions, and increase the number of dispositions reported. Project staff will compile a listing of common mistakes contributing to these inaccuracies and prepare a training brochure to be used by the courts and the law enforcement officers.
Puerto Rico ($150,000) The Puerto Rico Criminal Justice Information Systems (PR CJIS) Office will use funds to create electronic interfaces between Puerto Rico's Office of Courts Administration and PR CJIS, and PR CJIS and the FBI's NCIC for the submission of disposition information. The goals of the project are to: create a permanent automated disposition file where information is collected, identified, classified, and maintained by the Courts Administration on an ongoing basis; electronically submit the file to PR CJIS on a regular basis for inclusion in the computerized criminal history repository and to eventually transmit the file to NCIC for inclusion in the national file.
Rhode Island ($56,000) The Rhode Island Public Safety Grant Administration Office will use funds to: 1) partially support court staff to enable entry of disposition data into the criminal history repository; 2) create an interface between the Department of Corrections records management system and the livescan system to circumvent double-entry of demographic information into each system; 3) implement enhancements to the systems maintained by the Domestic Violence Unit and Victim Witness Unit to allow the Domestic Violence Unit to add and access data to the system maintained by the Victim Witness Unit; and, 4) partially support the NCHIP grants administrator at the Rhode Island Public Safety Grant Administration Office.
South Carolina ($184,703) The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division will use funds to develop and implement a web-service South Carolina Protective Order Registry (SCPOR) system that allows clerks of courts (civil and criminal), and law enforcement agencies to electronically enter data as it pertains to the FBI NCIC data requirements for the transmission to NCIC for inclusion in the National Protection Order File. The SCPOR would be designed to support scanned images of protection orders.
Utah ($205,716) The Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice will use funds to: 1) research and update missing disposition data from the courts to be included into the Utah CCH system; and, 2) examine Utah's arrests and disposition data in the Suspense File for data quality errors and institute staff training to reduce errors.
Washington ($188,734) The State of Washington Department of Information Services will build and implement an automated system for the generation of an electronic judgment and sentence document in Pierce County. The new system will also include a master charge table that is updated by each jurisdiction. This will replace the current manual process and will be integrated among all Pierce County public safety and justice agencies. Pierce County will implement the use of the master charge table in the Electronic Court Order, and existing systems, in order to accurately track and maintain an offender's charges from arrest through disposition. This will include development of a system to generate an imaged court order and NIEM-compliant electronic version for distribution.
West Virginia ($309,278) The West Virginia Division of Criminal Justice Services will use funds to: 1) provide the FBI NICS with notification of 100 percent of the mental hygiene records that meet the federal prohibitor under 18 USC 922(g)(4) from purchasing or possessing a firearm; and 2) develop and implement a state mental hygiene database that will create an automated repository of mental hygiene records and enable submission of those federally disqualifying records directly to the NICS database.
Wisconsin ($300,000) The Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance will use funds to update case outcomes and automate access to persons prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm. Funds will be used to accomplish the following activities: 1) continue automating dispositions that are submitted to the FBI by reformatting and programming the disposition data to update the III files; 2) format changes to the Prohibited Category codes used to report individuals to the NICS Denied Persons File; and, 3) deploy e-referral interface between the Wisconsin prosecutor case management system and law enforcement to allow for the transmission of arrest reports from the law enforcement agency to the prosecutors' PROTECT system. This will greatly decrease the number of arrests without disposition data. |
