SEARCH, The National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics, is a nonprofit organization governed by a Membership Group of governor appointees from the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the territories. SEARCH has 54+ years of experience supporting the information sharing, interoperability, information technology, and criminal records systems needs of state, local, and tribal justice and public safety agencies nationwide.
SEARCH and the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) will provide technical assistance (TA) to support the goals and objectives of its National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) and NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP). Areas of TA will include assisting states, local jurisdictions, and tribes in: 1) improving the accuracy, timeliness and completeness of criminal history (CH) records to support criminal justice and noncriminal justice purposes; 2) implementing information exchanges to improve criminal records; 3) enhancing analytical capabilities using administrative data obtained from CH record information systems; 4) assisting states in sealing and expunging CH records pursuant to state laws requiring automatic record clearance; and 5) increasing records submitted to NCIC, III and the NICS Indices to support firearms-related background checks. SEARCH will work with its Membership, BJS, NCSC, FBI and other stakeholders to conduct a regional workshop designed to improve CH information and other records necessary to support firearms background checks. SEARCH will work with its partners to ensure that invitees represent the entire justice community—each of whom plays an important role in contributing CH information. Workshop topics will include: 1) implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and the Fix NICS Act of 2018; 2) data quality auditing and analysis; 3) effective outreach and training programs to maintain the accuracy and completeness of CH records; 4) recommended practices for reporting/recording criminal history events, and 5) revisiting the utility of the CH record to evaluate if user needs are being met.
SEARCH will conduct Membership surveys, which in the past have been found to be useful to agencies and individuals seeking to enhance (or learn more about) CH repository operations. SEARCH will convene a CH Metrics Working Group to make recommendations regarding: 1) a minimum set of operational metrics that should be established within each state CH repository; and 2) new or improved measures to be captured in the biennial Survey of State Criminal History Information Systems. Finally, SEARCH will conduct and publish the results from the Survey of State Criminal History Information Systems for the year ending December 31, 2024.
