U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Program Report Tribal Criminal History Records Improvement Program (T-CHRIP) Improving Criminal History Records in Indian Country, 2004-2006 July 2007, NCJ 218913 -------------------------------------------------------- This file is text only without graphics and many of the tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in spreadsheet format (.csv) and the full report including tables and graphics in .pdf format are available from: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/ichric06.htm -------------------------------------------------------- Steven W. Perry BJS Statistician Between FY 2004 and 2006, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) made 17 awards totaling nearly $2.8 million to tribal justice agencies through the Tribal Criminal History Records Improvement Program (T-CHRIP). The main goal of the program is to improve the completeness, quality, and accessibility of tribal criminal history records. Federally recognized tribes located in New Mexico and Arizona received more than half of the T-CHRIP funds awarded. Among the 341 federally recognized tribes located in the 48 contiguous States, 165 operated a tribal police department, 175 operated a tribal court, and 71 operated a tribal jail or detention facility, according to information in the BJS Census of Tribal Justice Agencies, 2002. More than half of the federally recognized tribes are located in Public Law 83-280 States, where primary jurisdiction for felonies falls under the State authority.***Public Law 83-280 (commonly referred to as Public Law 280 or P.L. 280), enacted in 1953, transferred Federal jurisdiction over offenses involving Indians in Indian Country to States or gave States an option to assume jurisdiction. See .*** Established in 2004, T-CHRIP supports federally recognized tribes to promote justice related data sharing across tribal, State, and national criminal records systems. The capturing, reporting, and sharing of fingerprints and access to complete arrest disposition records will improve the ability of justice agencies to identify individuals for criminal justice and noncriminal justice purposes. Noncriminal justice purposes include identifying persons -- * subject to protection orders * ineligible to be employed or licensed for specific occupations * subject to sex offender registration * ineligible to purchase firearms. The capacity of tribal justice agencies in Indian Country to share criminal history data varied by State and tribe. In the 2002 census an estimated 72% of tribes reported that they did not regularly submit criminal history records to State or Federal databases. Fewer than 25% said they submitted basic criminal records to State or Federal repositories. Three- quarters of the tribes did not submit sex offender information to the National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR), and fewer than 20% indicated that their justice agencies were electronically networked within their jurisdiction or with Federal, State, or local law enforcement agencies. In FY 2004 and 2005 BJS awarded approximately $1.5 million in T-CHRIP funds to nine tribes in six States to promote the development of a criminal history infrastructure. In FY 2006 BJS awarded approximately $1.2 million in additional T-CHRIP funds to six tribes in three States. The tribes received direct funding to purchase and install electronic livescan fingerprinting equipment that conforms to State and FBI standards and to train staff in its use. Program goal emphasizes information sharing The goal of T-CHRIP is to improve public safety in Indian Country by enhancing the quality, completeness, and accessibility of criminal history records and by implementing criminal justice and noncriminal justice background check systems. Objectives of T-CHRIP include: * providing direct financial and technical assistance to improve criminal history records systems and facilitate background checks for criminal justice and authorized noncriminal justice purposes * developing the infrastructure to connect tribal record systems to State or FBI records' systems and criminal records databases of other tribes * providing training and technical assistance to tribes to ensure that record systems conform to State and FBI standards, use the most appropriate technologies, and adhere to privacy and confidentiality regulations * evaluating improvements in tribal and national record holdings and criminal records sharing. Criminal history records represent a chronological description of offenders and their contacts with the criminal justice system. These records include offender fingerprint identification and notations of arrest and subsequent court dispositions. Criminal record systems are dependent on up-to-date automated fingerprint identification systems to ensure transactions accurately identify the correct individual and that such records can be reliably linked across jurisdictions in a timely manner. T-CHRIP supported range of activities T-CHRIP allowable expenses include AFIS participation, record automation, and training and technical assistance. Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems T-CHRIP has supported tribal participation in electronic fingerprinting systems for 11 tribes across the U.S. T-CHRIP awards may be used to purchase equipment, develop procedures, and implement protocols related to activities involving the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), State repository, and the operation of the offender registry. This may include purchase of fingerprint capture and storage equipment for relevant agencies. Funds for this purpose must be justified on the basis of geographic, population, criminal and noncriminal background check inquiries, or other related factors. LiveScan can only be purchased where the State has established an AFIS system compatible with FBI standards. Systems funded under T-CHRIP must be compatible with FBI standards for national data systems. Record automation Complete criminal history records require disposition information. Tribal record automation includes activities to develop electronic criminal justice records. T-CHRIP funds may be used to convert manual fingerprint records to electronic records that conform to FBI specifications and requirements (i.e., scanning inked fingerprint cards into an AFIS system). T-CHRIP funds may be used to automate and update criminal records, including arrest records, court dispositions, domestic violence and protection/restraining orders, DWI/DUI convictions, and sex offender records. The funds can be used to enhance the transmission of tribal records to State and national systems. Training and Technical Assistance Limited funds may be used to cover costs of training and participation in State, regional, or national meetings (including travel) on the use and implementation of livescan. BJS also makes available technical assistance to tribal authorities through the Tribal Violence Prevention Technology Assistance Program. T-CHRIP funded 12 tribal projects from FY2004 to 2006; four projects received multiple awards Fiscal Year 2004 American Indian Development Associates (AIDA): Pueblos of Acoma, Laguna, and the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation (New Mexico), $400,000. Stockbridge Munsee Community(Wisconsin), $48,280. Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians(LTBB)(Michigan), $139,222. Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians(North Carolina), $291,430. National Center for Rural Law Enforcement(NCRLE) at the University of Arkansas, Hopi Tribe (Arizona) and the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation (New Mexico), $450,000. Fiscal Year 2005 Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation (FMYN) (Arizona), $49,936. Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, located on the Flathead Indian Reservation (Montana) $86,477. Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Michigan), $21,834. Fiscal Year 2006 National Center for Rural Law Enforcement(NCRLE): White Earth Indian Reservation (Minnesota), $350,000. Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians(LTBB)(Michigan), $137,764. Pueblo of Isleta (New Mexico), $184,552. American Indian Development Associates (AIDA): Pueblos of Acoma, Laguna, and the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation (New Mexico), (2007-2008) $607,273. OJP launches Indian Country Justice and Safety Web site The new Tribal Justice and Safety in Indian Country web site is a resource available to improve the safety of Native American communities. This web site contains information on crime statistics, crime prevention, courts, corrections, law enforcement and other public safety issues. For additional resources that are available to improve tribal criminal data access and collection, research and evaluation, and information sharing, see . ------------------------------------------------------ Tribal Violence Prevention Technology Assistance Program BJS has funded SEARCH (the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics) to provide tribal jurisdictions with technical assistance for criminal record development and improvement. This includes participation in the National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR), National Sex Offender Public Registry (NSOPR), State and Federal protection order registries, National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), National Crime Information Center (NCIC 2000), and the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). Technical assistance is also available to help tribal jurisdictions respond to criminal history record-related provisions contained in two recent legislative enactments: * Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (Public Law No: 109-162) * Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law No: 109-248). For information on technical assistance, contact SEARCH at . ------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. Jeffrey L. Sedgwick is director. This Program Report was written by Steven W. Perry, under the supervision of Steven K. Smith. Kristen A. Hughes provided verification. Joanna S. Bradford produced and edited the report under the supervision of Doris J. James. Jayne Robinson prepared the report for final printing. July 2007, NCJ 218913 -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- This report in portable document format and in ASCII and its related statistical data and tables are available at the BJS World Wide Web Internet site: . -------------------------------------------------- End of file 07/09/07 ih