Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2015, $304,157)
Project Description
The goal of the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) is to improve the Nation's safety and security by enhancing the quality, completeness, and accessibility of criminal history record information and by insuring the nationwide implementation of criminal justice and noncriminal justice background check systems. BJS provides direct financial and technical assistance to the states to improve criminal history and other related records and to build their infrastructure to connect to national record check systems both to supply information and to conduct the requisite checks.
Under the 2015 NCHIP, the Nevada Department of Public Safety (NDPS), Records Bureau will use funds to replace 13 Livescan workstations statewide. In October 2013, the Records Bureau became aware that its livescan devices were running on Windows XP, and that Microsoft had announced End of Life (EOL) for XP operating systems on April 8, 2014. Records Bureau staff began assessing the impact to the availability of arrest records should this EOL support interrupt the transmission of criminal fingerprints to the State Repository. During this assessment, it was discovered that livescan devices containing fingerprint image scanner hardware were not compatible with Windows 7. Due to various projects, such as non-criminal fingerprint processing for the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) for intake fingerprint processing, DPS Parole and Probation (P&P) for supervision and a DNA initiative currently underway in the State of Nevada, the Records Bureau asserts that the upgrade will ensure that Nevada's criminal arrests are entered into the state Computerized Criminal History System (CCH) and the FBI, Interstate Identification Index (III) within hours of arrest. Additionally, DPS indicates that the project will assist the state in its efforts to electronically transmit the intake and supervision fingerprints of offenders to NCIC/III, resulting in more complete and timely criminal history records available.
(CA/NCF)