N-DEx Overview
Vision
The vision of N-DEx is to enable the sharing of complete, accurate, timely, and useful information across jurisdictional boundaries and to provide new investigative tools that enhance the nation’s ability to fight crime and terrorism.
Mission
N-DEx will provide law enforcement agencies with a powerful new investigative tool to search, link, analyze, and share criminal justice information such as incident/case reports, incarceration data, and parole/probation data on a national basis to a degree never before possible.
What is N-DEx and What Are Its Benefits?
N-DEx is a criminal justice information sharing system that will provide nationwide connectivity to disparate local, state, tribal, and federal systems for the exchange of information. N-DEx will provide law enforcement agencies with a powerful new investigative tool to search, link, analyze, and share information (for example, incident and case reports) on a national basis to a degree never before possible. N-DEx will primarily benefit local law enforcement in their role as the first line of defense against crime and terrorism.
Through N-DEx’s proposed services and capabilities, N-DEx will allow participating agencies to detect relationships between people, places, things and crime characteristics; to link information across jurisdictions; and to “connect the dots” between apparently unrelated data without causing information overload. This capability will occur primarily in the realm of structured data but can also include unstructured data. In addition, N-DEx will provide contact information and collaboration tools for law enforcement agencies that are working on cases of mutual interest.
Ownership of data shared through N-DEx will remain with the law enforcement agency that provided it. N-DEx will supply controls to allow law enforcement agencies to decide what data to share, who can access it, and under what circumstances. It will allow agencies to participate in accordance with applicable laws and policies governing dissemination and privacy.
Although law enforcement will be the primary focus of N-DEx, future iterations will incorporate the full criminal justice community. The ultimate goal is to transform all criminal justice data into knowledge for the entire justice community.
N-DEx will offer a range of options to allow broad participation, ranging the spectrum from law enforcement agencies with automated records management systems to those with paper-based systems.
To mitigate law enforcement agencies’ costs and impacts, N-DEx will use nationally-developed standards and existing systems and networks. It also will help agencies get started by providing implementation support, tools, and training.
The N-DEx concept was developed in close collaboration with the local, state, tribal and federal law enforcement agencies critical to the success of the project. Ensuring that N-DEx meets the real-world needs of law enforcement has been identified as the key success of the factor from the very beginning and will continue to guide the program throughout implementation and operation.
What is the timeline for the N-DEx development?
Operational March 19, 2008, Increment 1 - Initial Deployment: sharing of incident/case report information, correlation (basic), visualization (basic), search, analytical reporting, federated search, initial support 50,000.
Summer 2009, Increment 2 – Second Deployment: add data sets (arrest, booking, and incarceration data), correlation (advanced), visualization (advanced), subscription/notification, 100,000 users, collaboration, auto processing, increment 1 operation and maintenance.
Summer 2010, Increment 3 – Full Operational Capacity: add data sets (probation/parole data), enhancements and modifications previously deployed, analytical reporting (advanced), rolled out nationally to participants, 200,000 users, increment 2 operations and maintenance.
How can I participate?
Two things must be completed to participate:
1) The Memorandum of Understanding must be signed: The N-DEx Full Operational Capacity (FOC) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) must be signed by participating entities, as it will reflect acknowledgement of relevant N-DEx policies and guidelines. The N-DEx FOC MOU is also significant in reserving control and disposition of submitted data to the contributing entity.
2) Establish Connectivity: For information concerning connectivity or any other general questions, please contact the N-DEx Program Office via e-mail at ndex@leo.gov.
Please refer to the [Questions and Answers section] of this website for more information.
