Use and Management of Criminal History Record Information: A Comprehensive Report (outside cover) Use and Management of Criminal History Record Information: A Comprehensive Report (inside cover) U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Lawrence A. Greenfeld Acting Director Acknowledgements. This report was prepared by SEARCH, The National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics, Dr. Francis J. Carney Jr., Chairman, and Gary R. Cooper, Executive Director. The project director was Sheila J. Barton, Director, Law and Policy Program. The report was written by Robert R. Belair, SEARCH General Counsel, and Paul L. Woodard, SEARCH Senior Counsel. Assistance on some sections of the report was provided by Virgil L. Young Jr., Section Chief, and Emmet A. Rathbun, Assistant Section Chief, Criminal Justice Information Services Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Support was provided by Jane L. Bassett, Publishing Assistant; Twyla R. Cunningham, Manager, Corporate Communications; Robert L. Marx, Senior System Specialist; and Teresa E. Nyberg, Executive Secretary. The project was conducted under the direction of Carol G. Kaplan, Assistant Deputy Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Report of work performed under BJS Grant No. 92-BJ-CX-K012, awarded to SEARCH Group, Inc., 7311 Greenhaven Drive, Suite 145, Sacramento, California 95831. Contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Bureau of Justice Statistics or the U.S. Department of Justice. Copyright © SEARCH Group, Inc. 1993 The U.S. Department of Justice authorizes any person to reproduce, publish, translate or otherwise use all or any part of the copyrighted material in this publication with the exception of those items indicating they are copyrighted or reprinted by any source other than SEARCH Group, Inc. The Assistant Attorney General is responsible for matters of administration and management with respect to the OJP agencies: the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Institute of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Office for Victims of Crime. The Assistant Attorney General further establishes policies and priorities consistent with the statutory purposes of the OJP agencies and the priorities of the Department of Justice. ii Foreword The Bureau of Justice Statistics is pleased to publish Use and Management of Criminal History Record Information: A Comprehensive Report. The report is the first descriptive review of the Nation’s criminal history information systems and discusses in nontechnical terms the complex, interrelated network of local, State and Federal information systems that provide criminal history records to both criminal justice and noncriminal justice users. The report is the latest in BJS’s efforts to assist States in improving the quality of criminal history record information and to ensure that accurate data is readily available for operational and research purposes. We hope that the report will be of value to policymakers and practitioners addressing the critical issues relating to criminal history record information which will accompany expanded development of systems for the interstate exchange of this information. Lawrence A. Greenfeld Acting Director Bureau of Justice Statistics iii Contents Glossary G-1 Chapter II 19 Background Overview of 19 State-level systems Introduction 1 Purpose of this report existing 20 Federal-level systems 1 Background criminal history 1 Repositories of criminal record systems history record information 1 —State systems Section 1 20 Establishment of early 2 —Federal systems Evolution of police departments 2 Timely criminal history criminal history 20 Early identification and record information issues record systems recordkeeping systems 2 —Data quality 21 Efforts to establish criminal history 2 —Decentralized recordkeeping record systems 2 —New technologies 21 —LEAA efforts to 3 Content of this report establish State systems 22 —FBI efforts to establish Chapter I 5 Background Federal systems How the criminal justice Section 2 22 Background system works Information 23 Identification information and how it maintained in 23 —Personal description uses criminal the Nation’s 23 —Fingerprints history records criminal history 23 Criminal history information record systems 23 Juvenile record information Section 1 5 Criminal codes and procedures 23 Other information Typical State 6 Police agencies 23 —Interim dispositions criminal justice 6 Local detention facilities 24 —Felony flags system 6 Prosecution agencies 24 —Misdemeanor data structure 6 Courts 24 Master name indexes 7 Corrections agencies 24 —Contents, usage 24 —Number of records indexed Section 2 7 Investigation Typical State 7 Arrest Section 3 24 Background criminal justice 10 Booking The current 25 Number of records process 11 Initial court appearance status of the 25 —State records 11 Preliminary hearing Nation’s 25 —Federal records 11 Pretrial release decision criminal history 25 Extent of automation 12 Prosecutor review record systems 25 —State criminal history files 12 Grand jury indictment 25 —State criminal fingerprint files 12 Arraignment 26 —Federal files 12 Trial court action 26 Reporting of information 13 Appeal to the repositories 13 Sentencing 26 —Types of information reported 13 Correctional supervision 28 —Reporting requirements 28 —Time frame in which Section 3 14 Background reporting takes place How 14 Police uses 28 Access methods for criminal justice 14 Pretrial release uses authorized requestors practitioners 15 Prosecutor uses 28 —Criminal justice inquiries use criminal 15 Court uses 29 —Noncriminal justice inquiries history records 15 —For bail, pretrial and trial decisions 29 —Computer searches 15 —For sentencing decisions 29 Response times 16 —For probation and parole decisions 16 Corrections uses 16 Types of information needed 17 Time frames within which information is needed v Section 4 29 Accuracy and completeness Section 2 45 Background The product 31 Linking of arrest and disposition data Automated 45 —Problems with manual of the 31 —Current practice fingerprint fingerprint processing repositories: 31 —Case-tracking systems processing 46 Fingerprint image production The criminal 32 —Charge-tracking systems and transmission history record 32 Content and format 46 —Live-scan devices 32 —Differences in content 46 —Card-scan devices 33 —Differences in format and 46 Use of automated fingerprint terminology identification systems to search files 33 —Problems in deciphering records 46 —AFIS benefits 33 —Calls for reform 47 —State AFISs 47 —Federal AFIS Chapter III 35 Overview of Chapter V 49 Background laws regulating National criminal history criminal history record systems record checks and the Section 1 35 Constitutional doctrines Interstate Constitutional 35 Common law doctrines Identification and common Index law doctrines Section 1 50 Current practice Section 2 36 Federal statutes and regulations Maintenance 50 —Fingerprint submissions Statutory and 36 —Statutes and use of 50 —Disposition submissions regulatory 36 —Regulations current FBI 51 —Extent of automation requirements 36 State statutes and regulations files 51 Authorized users of data 52 Terminal access to FBI files Section 3 37 Federal data quality regulations 52 —Criminal justice inquiries Two key 37 —Completeness provisions 52 —Noncriminal justice inquiries issues — data 37 —Accuracy provisions quality and 38 State data quality laws and strategies Section 2 52 Background dissemination 38 —Mandatory reporting requirements The Interstate 53 Use of III for criminal justice pur- 38 —Transaction log requirements poses 38 —Other requirements Identification 57 Use of III for noncriminal 39 —Data quality strategies Index justice purposes 39 Dissemination of criminal 57 —Revision of State laws and history record information policies necessary 39 —Dissemination for 58 —Uniform dissemination criminal justice purposes standard proposed 39 —Dissemination for noncriminal 58 —Pilot test underway justice purposes 40 —Dissemination trends Section 3 59 Benefits of III participation 41 —Statutory dissemination III system 61 Benefits of NFF participation policies in the early 1990s impact 61 —Duplicate files eliminated 61 —Uniform dissemination standard Chapter IV 43 Background 62 —Faster response times The impact 62 Burdens of III participation of new 62 Expected overall impact technologies Section 4 62 Background Section 1 44 Automated arrest reporting The proposed 62 Emergence of the III compact Automated 44 —Problems with manual reporting III compact 63 —Compact advantages reporting to the 44 —Automation aids in arrest reporting 63 —Compact development status repositories 44 —Benefits 63 Compact provisions 44 Automated disposition reporting 44 —Reporting by local prosecutors, courts 44 —Reporting by State courts systems 44 —Reporting by State corrections 45 —Benefits vi prior convictions ` Chapter VI 65 Background Appendix 8 96 Sample criminal history record Federal formats: Florida, Hawaii, Utah, initiatives Virginia and criminal history records Appendix 9 110 Federal Bureau of Investigation/ Bureau of Justice Statistics Section 1 65 IAFIS Recommended Voluntary Reporting FBI system 66 CJIS Division Standards for Improving the Quality upgrades 66 NCIC 2000 of Criminal History Record 66 Short-term goals Information Section 2 66 Background Appendix 10 112 Overview of State criminal Federal 67 Telephone checks history record systems, 1992 database