South Carolina FY24 NCHIP

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) will use funds for several projects to support current projects and address gaps in reporting criminal history information. As part of SLED’s Criminal History Improvement plan, an upgrade to the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) is an integral part of SLED’s ongoing Computerized Criminal History (CCH) redevelopment. These projects will position SLED to implement the FBI’s Next Generation of Identification (NGI) Criminal and Non-Criminal Justice Rap Back Service.  2023 NCHIP granted funding for the first two years of the AFIS implementation, and this proposal will request continued financing of the South Carolina AFIS implementation, an IDEMIA cloud-hosted solution, by spreading the cost of the system over seven (7) years, with service model pricing, which is a new business model for IDEMIA. Some of the highlighted new features will be a secure government cloud environment, technical support of new features and algorithms, a cohesive multi-biometric system to include Iris capture, increased database capacity for future growth, and adding Disaster Recovery (DR) in the cloud. SLED requests continued NCHIP funding for the vendor contract to scan Master fingerprint cards for submission to the AFIS. SLED has received funding for a multi-year project to scan fingerprint cards not previously added to the AFIS repository and fund personnel to manage and coordinate this endeavor.  This project will allow SLED to have a more complete electronic database that will be searchable in both the AFIS and III. More importantly, this will allow SLED to ensure all cards, and therefore charges, are automated. As cards are automated, IFFS flags will be checked at the FBI to ensure they are set correctly. This will have national ramifications, as it will ensure that those prohibited from possessing a firearm are flagged appropriately, allowing for an immediate denial for FBI NICS. Cards with sexual assault-related charges will be sent to the Sex Offender Registry Unit at SLED to ensure they have been registered. This will assist nationally by ensuring those individuals with sexual assault-related crimes/charges have been registered, increasing citizen safety throughout the state and nation. SLED requests to maintain the two (2) administrative personnel funded under NCHIP to assist with the Hard Card Conversion project. They are responsible for preparing the fingerprint cards for submission to the vendor, descriptive logging of the submission, researching any errors, and auditing the cards for accuracy upon return from the vendor. LED would like to work with the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics (SEARCH) to develop a Computerized Criminal History Data Quality Dashboard and Performance Management tool. Additionally, SEARCH could assist SLED in determining any new data elements the state could capture and the various data sources. Grant funds will be used to provide new training opportunities for the CJIS Division to maintain and advance the criminal justice and public safety information services mission.