BJS home page
Justice
statistics improvement program
Criminal
Records Statistics -
Summary findings, publications, related sites |
Justice
Statistics Improvement Program
On this page:
Program Summary | Program
Impact & Accomplishments | State-by-State Summary |
National Initiatives | Related
sites
In this section:
Program objectives | Program
components | Uses of criminal records |
Integrated record systems | Funding
history
Program Objectives
To ensure that accurate records are available for use in law enforcement,
including sex offender registry requirements, and to protect public safety
and national security.
To permit States to identify -
- ineligible firearm purchasers
- persons ineligible to hold positions involving children, the elderly,
or the disabled
- persons subject to protection orders or wanted, arrested, or convicted
of stalking and/or domestic violence
- persons ineligible to be employed or hold licenses for specified positions
- persons potentially presenting threats to public safety
 To the top of this section
Program components
BJS provides -
Direct funding to the States to improve the quality, timeliness
and immediate accessibility of criminal history and related records
(see Funding history).
Technical assistance to the States through an ongoing program
incorporating surveys, evaluations, national forums for considering
privacy issues and strategies, and direct guidance to States (see National
Initiatives).
This assistance is designed to promote participation in and improve
the interface between States and the national records systems including:
- the FBI administered National Instant Criminal Background Check
System (NICS)
- National Protection Order File
- National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR)
- the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS)
(See Glossary of terms for
definitions.)
To the top of this section
Uses of criminal records
Criminal history records describe an arrest and all subsequent actions
concerning each criminal event that are positively identifiable to an
individual.
Accurate, timely and complete criminal history records -
- enable States to immediately identify persons who are prohibited from
firearm purchase or are ineligible to hold positions of responsibility
involving children, the elderly, or the disabled.
- enable criminal justice agencies to make decisions on pretrial release,
career criminal charging, determinate sentencing, and correctional assignments.
- are critical to assist law enforcement in criminal investigations
and decision making.
- are required for background checks for national security, employment,
licensing and related economic purposes, as required under recent legislation.
To the top of this section
Integrated record systems
Complete records require that data from all components of the criminal
justice system, including law enforcement, prosecutors, courts and corrections,
be integrated and linked. NCHIP assists States to establish the integrated
infrastructure which meets the needs of all components.
To the top of this section
Funding history
The NCHIP program was initiated in 1995 and awards are made annually
to each applicant State and eligible territory. A Program Announcement
is issued annually which describes program goals, program priorities,
application procedures and allowable costs.
Program priorities in FY 2009 are:
- Updating and automating case outcomes from courts and prosecutors
in State records and the FBI's Criminal History file.
- Full participation in the Interstate Identification Index
(III).
- Automating access to information concerning persons prohibited
from possessing or receiving a firearm, including persons who: have been
adjudicated as a mental defective or have been committed to a mental institution;
are unlawful users of or addicted to any controlled substance; are the
subject of protection or restraining orders; and/or have been convicted
of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
- Transmitting relevant State records to: (1) files in the NICS
Index particularly including the Denied Persons file; (2) the NCIC's
Protection Order file; and/or (3) the NCIC's National Sex Offender
Registry file.
NCHIP awards are made to the agency designated by the Governor to administer
the program. (See NCHIP agency addresses.)
Funds distribution is based upon need rather than population or other
formula-based methodology.
Total expenditures to date between FY 1995 - FY 2007, were approximately
$515 million. All States and eligible territories have received funds
under the program. (See State-by-State funding
summary.)
Starting with FY 2000, NCHIP has been funded under the Crime Identification
Technology Act of 1998, P.L.105-251 (CITA) and the Victims of Trafficking
and Violence Protection Act of 2000 P.L. 106-386, 114 Stat 1464.
In addition to State awards, funds are also allocated for National
Initiatives (technical assistance, privacy, national conferences
and workshops, surveys, evaluations, intergovernmental coordination, and
review of presale firearm inquiries and rejections).
To the top
Program
Impact & Accomplishments
See also, Improving Criminal History Records for Background Checks
- Improved records: From the inception of NCHIP in 1995 to 2003,
the number of criminal history records held nationwide grew 43% while
the number of automated records increased 57%. Over the same period,
the number of records available for sharing under the FBI's Interstate
Identification Index (III) climbed 83%.
- III Participation: Since 1993, the number of States participating
in III grew from 26 to 48 and the District of Columbia.
- National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS): The
NICS is now supporting over 8 million checks annually at the presale
stage of firearms purchases. The NICS infrastructure, developed through
NCHIP funding, seamlessly transitioned from Brady-based of Chief Law
Enforcement Officers (CLEO) - conducted checks to the current system
of Point of Contact (POC)/NICS and NICS only checks.
- Domestic Violence and Protection Orders: States have used NCHIP
funds to initiate the flagging of criminal history records evidencing
convictions for domestic violence or the issuance of a protection order.
As of April 2008, there are 47 States, District of Columbia, and
the U.S. Virgin Islands submitting data to the National Protection Order
File which became operational in May 1997.
- Convicted Sexual Offender Registries: NCHIP funds have assisted
States in building sex offender registries and participating in the
FBI's National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) which became operational
in July 1999. As of April 2008, 50 States, Guam, the Virgin Islands
and the District of Columbia have provided more than 520,000 records to the
NSOR.
See also, Individual
State Accomplishments
To the top
State-by-State
summary
To the top
NCHIP National Initiatives
In this section:
Technical Assistance | Privacy
| National Conferences and Workshops |
Surveys | Evaluation
| Records Quality Index | Firearm Inquiry Statistics (FIST) Project
| Intergovernmental Coordination
Technical Assistance: The NCHIP Technical Assistance
(TA) program directly assists States to implement programs, policies,
and technologies to upgrade criminal records and improve interface with
the FBI’s national systems. TA is provided through onsite visits, web
training, telephone, training classes, and workshops and conferences (See
below). Since inception, the technical assistance program has
been managed under a grant from BJS.
Onsite TA visits are coordinated with the FBI to facilitate participation
in FBI programs such as the Interstate Identification Index (III). Requests for assistance
must be originated by the NCHIP grantee agency, although the assistance
may be provided to any agency designated by the grant recipient.
Privacy: Advances in technological development
have raised new questions about privacy policy relevant to criminal record
systems. To meet these needs, BJS has for over 20 years supported a privacy
program under an award to SEARCH, The
National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics. The
goal of the NCHIP privacy program is to identify and analyze the privacy
impact of changes in the systems environment, to provide a forum for the
discussion of these issues, and to develop standards which may be applicable
to the collection, maintenance and dissemination of criminal record data.
Under it’s Millennium Privacy Project, BJS supported -
National Conferences and Workshops:
NCHIP supports conferences and workshops on a regional and national basis
to provide information to practitioners and policy makers, to permit exchange
of information among representatives of varying agencies across the 50
States, to respond to needs of grantees receiving NCHIP funds, and to
coordinate with other units of State and federal government which are
involved in record improvement activities and the operation of the national
record systems.
Criminal History Operations Workshop - The first in a series
of workshops co-sponsored by BJS and SEARCH. Attendees shared information
on a variety of topics, including compiling and disseminating criminal
history records, disposition reporting, fingerprint issues, the role
and responsibilities of repositories, and data quality issues.
Protection Order/Domestic Violence Information Workshop
- This second in the series of workshops was organized to help States
improve their ability to collect, utilize, and exchange protection order
and related domestic violence information.
Sex Offender Registry Workshop - This third in a series
of workshops co-sponsored by BJS and SEARCH was designed to allow State
representatives to come together to discuss issues, problems and successes
in establishing federally-mandated State sex offender registries.
National Conference on Privacy, Technology & Criminal Justice Information - The National Conference capped a two-year "Millennium
Privacy Project" undertaken by BJS and SEARCH. The conference featured
the report of the National Task Force on Privacy, Technology and Criminal
Justice Information, including findings and recommendations for managing
criminal justice information in the new technological environment. A
public opinion survey of public attitudes toward privacy issues was
also presented and released at the conference.
Beyond the Technology: The Law & Policy Implications of Increased Biometric Use, held November 2002 and co-sponsored by BJS and SEARCH, examined the law and policy ramifications of biometric counter-terrorism solutions.
Surveys: NCHIP funds regular surveys to
determine levels of record improvement, public attitudes on privacy and
related issues, State responses to current issues and firearm procedures.
Surveys are conducted under grants to SEARCH and REJIS and are released
as part of the BJS publication series.
Firearm Inquiry Statistics (FIST) Project:
The Firearm Inquiry Statistics (FIST) project was established in 1995
to collect and publish annual data on presale firearm inquiries required
to be conducted pursuant to the Brady Act. The project collects data on
the number of inquiries processed by States in connection with presale
firearm checks and the number and basis for rejection of such applications.
Data is also collected describing procedures followed by each of the 50
States in connection with firearm checks. The project findings are released
in BJS Bulletins, Statistical Tables, and the report
Survey of State Procedures Relating to
Firearm Sales. The project is conducted under a grant to the Regional
Justice Information System (REJIS).
Intergovernmental Coordination: Background
checks require that information be available on an interstate basis coordinated
though the FBI’s national systems. BJS works with the FBI and the Department
of Justice Office of Legal Policy to ensure that NCHIP programs support
the needs of the national systems. Complete records also require that
data be obtained from all components of the criminal justice system within
each State. NCHIP coordinates with the other Office of Justice Programs
(OJP) initiatives designed to support record development and systems integration
in order to ensure that all expenditures under NCHIP are consistent with
OJP programs. Recipients of funds under NCHIP assure that systems developed
with NCHIP funds are compatible with standards and procedures governing
national systems (III, NICS, Protection Order File) and with State and
local integration programs designed to ensure record compatibility. Funds
are also available to implement State plans for system integration.
To the top
Related
sites
|
