FY 2019 NARIP

The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007, Pub. L. 110-180 ("NICS Improvement Act"), was signed into law by the President on January 8, 2008. The NICS Improvement Act amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 ("the Brady Act") (Pub. L. 103-159), under which the Attorney General established the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The Brady Act requires Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) to contact the NICS before transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person for information on whether the proposed transferee is prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm under state or federal law. The NICS Improvement Act authorizes grants to be made in a manner consistent with the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP).

Under the 2019 NARIP priority areas and consistent with complementary funding under NCHIP, the Iowa Department of Public Safety (DPS) will use NARIP funds to assist in the replacement of the state’s current criminal history system. By replacing the aging system, the DPS will be able to maintain past improvements in criminal history record quality and availability while implementing new digital workflows used to apply manual disposition information more quickly and eliminate considerable data entry that is subject to human error. By reducing the time lapse in applying these manual dispositions, Iowa’s records will be more timely, accurate and available to the NICS program resulting in improved screening of potential firearms purchasers. The DPS will also be able to implement a process of continual data quality review through a dashboard approach. Upon implementation, the DPS will monitor numerous data points in the criminal history record system to identify any anomalies or other issues that could affect record quality through changes in data submission patterns from Iowa law enforcement agencies, prosecutors or the courts. The DPS is focused on improving the overall quality of Iowa’s criminal history records with an emphasis on improved disposition application to records. The project, funded in part with state and other federal funding, will further improve the quality of records through the implementation of a data quality dashboard that will use analytics to allow the DPS to monitor criminal history data submissions and address any identified shortcomings.

(CA/NCF)