2017 National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP)

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.

The Connecticut Office of Policy and Management (OPM) will use NCHIP funding for two projects to be assigned to agencies that have the sole development and implementing responsibility for that particular project.

Under the 2017 NCHIP priority areas, the following projects will be conducted:

1) Protection Order Synchronization: Through a subaward with the State of CT Judicial Branch (JB), the JB will collaborate with several organizations to improve the protection order process and modernize or expand some external systems that hold Protection Order Registry (POR) records. The improvement steps include: 1) conduct an analysis and reconciliation of old protection orders that are not linked to the national file and determine if the order is still active; 2) review various records created through the legacy interface to determine whether any duplicate records exists; and 3) the conversion of pre-existing records that are active and need to be converted from the old court file to the new record number format in the registry interface. The project supports the 2017 NCHIP priority area for automating access to information concerning persons prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm and transmitting relevant records to III, NCIC, and the NICS Index.

2) CCH and AFIS Replacement: The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) will use funds to continue to support its CCH and AFIS replacement projects with resources dedicated to the testing, interface development, staff training, project management, and independent verification and validation of project deliverables. The resources are necessary to ensure the success of its comprehensive strategy to modernize the State Police Bureau of Identification (SPBI) criminal history repository. The Criminal Records Unit and Fingerprint Identification Unit within the SPBI are responsible for the collection, maintenance and dissemination of fingerprint-supported criminal history throughout the state and in participation with NCIC. The overall strategy that DESPP continues to follow is a comprehensive update to criminal identification and disposition history databases coupled with automation of internal and external processes including; replace CT’s current criminal history system, use systematic processes to clear suspended and paper records, upgrade out-of-date mission critical AFIS system to meet all Next Generation Identification (NGI) capabilities, develop applicant front-end system for automation of applications, and outsource fingerprinting solution that meets all CHRI applicant needs.

As part of the replacement of the CCH activities along with the conversion of the criminal history information, a number of database deficiencies have been identified that contribute to deficient and incorrect criminal history information. DESPP will seek technical resources to address database deficiencies and project management resources to address implementation planning and coordination tasks. The CCH and AFIS replacement project addresses a number of 2017 NCHIP priority areas including updating and automating case outcomes from courts and prosecutors in state records and federal databases such as III, NCIC and the NICS Index.

(CA/NCF)