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September 27, 2006

Justice awards $11 million dollars to enhance state criminal justice records

The Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) today announced almost $11 million in awards to state agencies to improve the completeness, quality and accessibility of the nation's criminal record systems. Of this amount, more than $2.4 million was awarded to 15 jurisdictions to improve coordination and enhance the accuracy of data entered into local, state and national databases on stalking and domestic violence. Since 1995, awards of more than $506 million have gone to all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico.

Funding is provided under the Department's National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP). NCHIP helps the states automate and upgrade records that link to systems administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), including the National Sex Offender Registry, the National Protection Order File, the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, the National Crime Information Center and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS Index), which supports instant background checks on persons attempting to purchase firearms

Complete, accurate and immediately accessible criminal records enable states to:

  • Immediately identify individuals with prior criminal records in any state.
  • More effectively identify felons and others prohibited from firearm purchase.
  • Check backgrounds of persons responsible for child, elder and disabled care.
  • Identify individuals who have a history of domestic violence or stalking.
  • Make informed decisions relating to pretrial release and detention of arrestees, prosecutions of career criminals and appropriate correctional confinement of convicted offenders.

FBI's Interstate Identification Index

Federal assistance has helped 48 states participate in this national system through which name-based criminal background checks are conducted and which links to over 53 million criminal history records. More than 950,000 protection order records in the NCIC Protection Order File help to avert stalking and other crimes and are available for background checks. In addition, more than 442,000 convicted sex offenders have detailed records in the NCIC Convicted Sexual Offender Registry File.

The 2006 awards

NCHIP awards were made to the state agencies designated by the governor and by the District of Columbia's mayor. Awards were made on a competitive basis, were based on needs and priorities identified by BJS, the amount requested, the quality of the applying state's records, the anticipated impact the proposed improvements would have on availability of records throughout the national system, the extent to which the state had fulfilled goals of previous NCHIP awards, and the technical feasibility of the state's proposal.

The recipients for 2006
  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • District of Columbia
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Guam
  • Hawaii
  • North Carolina
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Pennsylvania
  • Puerto Rico
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Utah
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Kansas
  • Louisiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New York

Information about NCHIP is available on the BJS Web site at National Criminal History Improvement Program. For specific information about a state program, contact the individual listed at BJS State Administering Agencies.

For additional information about the Bureau of Justice Statistics programs, please visit Bureau of Justice Statistics.

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