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National Crime Information Center

National Crime Information Center (NCIC)

An automated database of criminal justice and justice-related records maintained by the FBI. The database includes the "hot files" of wanted and missing persons, stolen vehicles, and identifiable stolen property, including firearms. Access to NCIC files is through central control terminal operators in each state that are connected to NCIC via dedicated telecommunications lines maintained by the FBI. Local agencies and officers on the beat can access the state control terminal via the state law enforcement network. Inquiries are based on name and other nonfingerprint identification. Most criminal history inquiries of the Interstate Identification Index (III) system are made via the NCIC telecommunications system. NCIC data may be provided only for criminal justice and other specifically authorized purposes. For criminal history searches, this includes criminal justice employment, employment by federally chartered or insured banking institutions or securities firms, and use by state and local governments for purposes of employment and licensing pursuant to a state statute approved by the U.S. Attorney General. Inquiries regarding presale firearm checks are included as criminal justice uses.

Criminal Justice Information Services Advisory Policy Board (APB)

Successor to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) APB, the CJIS APB is comprised of 30 criminal justice officials who provide policy input to guide the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the administration of its CJIS Division. The CJIS Division administers the NCIC, the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), and other information system programs determined by the FBI director to have some relationship with these programs.

National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) Awards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Bureau of Justice Statistics
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2005 www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs
  Contact: Stu Smith 202/307-0784
  After hours: 301-983-9354

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AWARDS $26 MILLION TO ENHANCE
STATE CRIMINAL JUSTICE RECORDS

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Department of Justice today announced awards of $26 million to state agencies and tribes to improve the completeness, quality and accessibility of the nation's criminal record systems. Of this amount...

National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP), Awards

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 4:30 P.M. EDT Bureau of Justice Statistics
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2006 www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs
  Contact: Stu Smith 202/307-0784
  After hours: 301-983-9354

JUSTICE AWARDS $11 MILLION TO ENHANCE STATE CRIMINAL JUSTICE RECORDS

WASHINGTON—The Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) today announced almost $11 million in awards to state agencies to improve the completeness, quality and accessibility of the nation's criminal record...

Interstate Identification Index (III)

An "index-pointer" system for the interstate exchange of criminal history records. Under III, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) maintains an identification index of persons arrested for felonies or serious misdemeanors under state or federal law. The index includes identification information, (such as name, date of birth, race, and sex), FBI Numbers, and State Identification Numbers (SID) from each state holding information about an individual. Search inquiries from criminal justice agencies nationwide are transmitted automatically via state telecommunications networks and the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) telecommunications lines. Searches are made on the basis of name and other identifiers. The process is entirely automated and takes approximately five seconds to complete. If a hit is made against the Index, record requests are made using the SID or FBI Number, and data are automatically retrieved from each repository holding records on the individual and forwarded to the requesting agency. Participation requires that the state maintain an automated criminal history record system capable of interfacing with the III system and capable of responding automatically to all interstate and federal and state record requests.