FY 2022 Arizona NICS Act Record Improvement Program

The Arizona Criminal Justice Commission (AZCJC) will use FY22 NARIP funds towards an Action Plan through the NICS Task Force to develop and document reporting recommendations and for the automation of at least 5,000 Arizona criminal History records to make available to the NICS Indices. The absence of timely criminal history records statewide presents massive liabilities and public safety vulnerabilities, it impacts all aspects of the criminal justice process and is crippling to firearm clearance processing by the FBI NICS. Arizona continues to experience a backlog of dispositions. Although individual records in the Arizona CCH (ACCH) repository are generated using the state’s AFIS, many records have duplicate, inaccurate, or incomplete identifying information. Automation of these records, which include arrests, disposition, and court orders, will improve availability of these subject’s criminal history records, and will translate into a quicker and more efficient method of delivery of the needed information in making decisions pertaining to prosecution, sentencing, probation recommendation, employment, approval or denial of a request to purchase a firearm or to grant a concealed weapon permit, or employment involving children, the elderly, and disabled. The project goals are to improve completeness, accuracy and accessibility of criminal history records in the ACCH and III. The AZCJC and NICS Task Force will continue the development and utilization of the Arizona NICS Record Improvement Plan as the basis and provide specific project planning with milestones and deliverables and documentation for all recommendations for AZ NICS reporting improvements.