2018 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. The OPM will provide technical and grant support and continue its role of coordinating the Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) interrelationships on behalf of these projects. Under the 2018 NCHIP priority areas, the following projects will be conducted: 1) Bench Warrants & Pre-Trial Orders: The Judicial Branch will hire consultants to assist with reprogramming the criminal court computer system (Criminal System) and the computer systems that are used to create and disseminate information electronically for bench warrants and protection orders. The reprogramming will increase the number of court records submitted to NICS and improve the timeliness, accuracy, and completeness of records in the National Protection Order File and other criminal justice systems. NCHIP funds will be used to support programming of the criminal court computer system and the court warrants system, and for records analysts to enter and audit court data in the state and federal systems while the computer programming is underway. The Judicial Branch developed the disposition module for the Criminal System in all criminal courts throughout the state with assistance from NCHIP 2014. The Criminal Systems disposition module is a modern, intranet based system that presently enables a clerk to promptly record accurate and expanded disposition information in a criminal case in any court throughout the state. This project includes the design, development, and implementation of a second module for the system that will enable court clerks to process arrest records in the Criminal System, thereby establishing the new Criminal System as the original source for arrest and disposition records in the criminal courts. 2) Computerized Criminal History (CCH) and Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) Replacement: The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) will use NCHIP funds to continue to support its CCH and AFIS replacement projects with resources dedicated to the testing, interface development, staff training, project management, database conversion, 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. DESPP's FY17 NCHIP award resulted in the development and approval of a plan delivering an integrated Automatic Biometric Identification System (ABIS) and CCH solution through a single vendor cloud hosted platform. Activities for the FY18 project include: replacing CT's criminal history system; clearing suspended and paper records; upgrading out-of-date mission critical AFIS to meet all NGI capabilities; developing applicant front-end system for all applicant flows; outsourcing fingerprinting solution that meets all CHRI applicant needs; and developing the payment processing system. The CCH and AFIS replacement project addresses a number of 2018 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 Indices. (CA/NCF)