BJS FY 2015 National Criminal History Improvement Technical Assistance Program (NCHIP TA)

The overall objective of the National Criminal History Improvement Technical Assistance Program (NCHIP TA) is to provide direct technical assistance to states, territories, and tribal jurisdictions to insure that records systems are developed and managed to conform to FBI standards, ensure jurisdictions are using the most appropriate technologies, and adhere to the highest standards of practice with respect to privacy and confidentiality. An additional component of this program includes routine collection and evaluation of performance measures to ensure that progress is being made in improving state and national records holdings and information sharing and exchanges. The NCHIP TA program has been supported by BJS since 1995.

This will be an 18 month supplement to the initial award made in FY 2015. The proposed project will provide technical assistance to states under the NCHIP and the NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP) to enhance and improvement criminal history systems and related records.

Technical assistance provided under this award includes direct onsite visits, telephone services, regional workshops, training sessions, and data collection and publication of criminal history related surveys and materials. Direct onsite and in-house technical assistance will include supporting states, local jurisdictions, and tribes in: 1) improving the accuracy and completeness of criminal history records to support both criminal justice and noncriminal justice purposes; 2) implementing multi-agency and multi-jurisdiction information exchanges to improve criminal records and to support tactical and strategic decision-making; 3) expanding and enhancing analytical capabilities using existing records management systems and other administrative data sets; and 4) increasing the number of qualifying records submitted to the NICS Index. Additionally, SEARCH will organize, convene, and facilitate (with oversight from BJS) a regional workshop to allow state and federal criminal record practitioners to share information on common challenges and introduce best practices focused on one or more issues that affect the quality and completeness of the Nation’s criminal history record information. SEARCH will also initiate efforts to develop the 2018 survey of state criminal history information systems. (CA/NCF)

Note: This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law.