2011 NCHIP Project Summaries
| Year: |
2011
|
FED Award: | $158,674.00 |
| OPM Grant ID: |
NCHIPDPS1101
|
State Match: | $17,631.00 |
| Agency: |
Department
of Public Safety
|
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| Title: |
Disposition Backlog; Criminal History Records
(Part 3)
|
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| Summary: | Connecticut
has a backlog of approximately 500,000 paper court disposition records that
date back to before 1993. These disposition records are not attached to the
Connecticut Computerized Criminal History Records (CCH). Such cases in the
CCH are without dispositions. The
proposed of this grant is to provide overtime to the assigned SPBI personnel
and those personnel working at State Police Headquarters that have a similar
job classification as SPBI personnel and are certified in NCIC, to work
solely on the backlog of the 500,000 court disposition abstracts by updating
the records in the CCH. The goal for this project is the updating of Connecticut’s Criminal History Records so that SPBI will be providing a complete record to requestors. This will enable SPBI to work towards becoming National Fingerprint File (NFF) compliant. SPBI cannot participate in NFF until its disposition records are more complete. The Connecticut records in III provide less than 20% dispositions; this project will increase the III dispositions as well. Special NOTE: This is the third year that DPS is seeking funds for this purpose. Approximately 800,000 records have been completed to date. DPS is in the process of investigating the use of temporary workers instead of overtime for existing staff. It is thought that this would be more cost effective and help to clear up the backlog in a timelier manner. It is estimated that currently approximately 270,000 records are completed a year. |
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| FED Grant ID: |
2011-MU-BX-K049
|
TOTAL Project Cost |
$176,305.00
|
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| Year: |
2011
|
FED Award: |
$191,396.00
|
| OPM Grant ID: |
NCHIPJUD1102
|
State Match: |
$21,266.00
|
| Agency: |
Judicial Branch
|
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| Title: |
Automation of Felony Arrest Records
|
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| Summary: | The
State of Connecticut’s 2009 assessment of NICS records showed nearly a 25%
discrepancy in felony arrest records available in the criminal court records
system (CRMVS) and the state’s criminal history repository (DPS CCH). To
resolve this discrepancy and make more records available to NICS, the record
keeping system in the criminal courts should be updated to receive felony
arrest data from Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS)
maintained by state and municipal law enforcement agencies. By linking a case
in AFIS with the corresponding case in CRMVS at the outset of the criminal
proceeding, court disposition records maintained in CCH and III should be
more accurate and timely. The work activities summarized below will improve the court record keeping systems and procedures for disseminating the records to NICS and DPS CCH: (1) Assess the court intake procedures for felony arrests; (2) Asses the feasibility of using the CIDRIS framework to accommodate felony arrest records; (3) Develop a process for exchanging arrest data with AFIS; (4) Reprogram the CRMVS to receiving arrest data; (5) Reprogram other Judicial Branch computer systems that handle felony arrest records; (6) Publish standards for law enforcement agencies to send AFIS data to the Judicial Branch; (7) To the extent that resources are available for law enforcement agencies, implement automated data exchanges for felony arrest records. |
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| FED Grant ID: |
2011-MU-BX-K049
|
TOTAL Project Cost |
$212,662.00
|
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| Year: |
2011
|
FED Award: |
$246,690.00
|
| OPM Grant ID: |
NCHIPJUD1103
|
State Match: |
$27,410.00
|
| Agency: |
Judicial Branch
|
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| Title: |
Domestic Violence Records Improvements
|
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| Summary: | In
2008, the Judicial also implemented a paper court form to assist with the
development of records for misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence (MCDV) in
the criminal courts. Once the paper forms are completed in the local courts,
they are faxed to a central office for validation, and then the information
is entered manually into the National Instant Criminal Background Check
System (NICS). This process must be automated to make more MCDV records
available to NICS, and to improve the accuracy and timeliness of the records.
In addition, other court records must be cross-referenced to determine
whether pre-existing MCDV records must be made available to NICS. The work activities summarized here will (a) improve the timelines, accuracy, and completeness of permanent protection order records in NCIC and SLFU, and (b) automate the process of making MCDV records available to NICS: (1) Assess the current process for developing permanent protection order records in the local courts, and entering the records in POR; (2) Review and update permanent protection order records in POR and NCIC; (3) Develop a procedure for entering protection order records in NICS, when applicable; (4) Assess the current process for developing MCDV records in the local courts, and entering the records in the NICS; (5) Develop an automated process for developing MCDV records in the local courts; (6) Develop an automated process for entering MCDV records in NICS; (7) Cross-reference court conviction records with other computer systems to identify MCDV records that were not developed in the local courts, and if applicable, enter the MCDV records in NICS. |
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| FED Grant ID: |
2011-MU-BX-K049
|
TOTAL Project Cost |
$274,100.00
|
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NCHIP Related Grant Awards
2011 National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP)
The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007, Pub. L. No. 110-180 (“the NIAA”) was signed into law on January 8, 2008. The NIAA amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 (“the Brady Act”) (Pub. L. No. 103-159), under which the Attorney General established NICS. Among other things, the Brady Act requires Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) to contact the NICS before transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person to obtain information on whether the proposed transferee is prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm under state or federal law.
The NIAA seeks to address the gap in information available to NICS about such prohibiting mental health adjudications and commitments and other prohibiting factors. Filling these information gaps will better enable the system to operate as intended to keep guns out of the hands of persons prohibited by federal or state law from receiving or possessing firearms.
In this regard, the NIAA authorized a grant program to assist states in providing certain information to the NICS.
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| Year: |
2011
|
FED Award: |
$374,280.00
|
| OPM Grant ID: |
NARIPOPM1101
|
State Match: |
$0.00
|
| Agency: |
Office
of Policy and Management (OPM)
|
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| Title: |
Establish/Support NICS Record Improvement Task
Force
|
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| Summary: | OPM
will establish, lead and support a NICS Record Improvement Task Force as a
subcommittee of the Criminal Justice
Policy Advisory Commission (CJPAC). In managing the work of the Task Force,
OPM will actively solicit the advice and
counsel of the Department of Public Safety (who will be a subcommittee
member), the State of Connecticut’s NICS Point
of Contact, which has statutory authority to promulgate regulations related
to NICS, firearms transactions, and firearms
permits. The Task Force will guide the development and implementation of both ongoing and long-range records improvement plans, with its primary activities anticipated to include the following: (1) Explore options for improving the quality, completeness and availability of NICS records; (2) Provide support for the completion of the annual NIAA Estimates; (3): Develop recommendations for achieving improvements in the quality, completeness, and availability of NICS records; (4) Review of the NICS Record Assessment; (5) Identification of record and reporting problems; (6) Review of legislation and administrative procedures related to reporting, maintaining, sharing, and use of relevant records. |
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| FED Grant ID: |
2011-NS-BX-K005
|
TOTAL Project Cost |
$374,280.00
|
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| Year: |
2011
|
FED Award: |
$1,893,060.00
|
| OPM Grant ID: |
NARIPJUD1102
|
State Match: |
$0.00
|
| Agency: |
Judicial Branch
|
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| Title: |
CRMVS Criminal Disposition Module
|
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| Summary: | The
Connecticut Judicial Branch proposes to design and build an electronic record
system that will provide more timely and complete electronic disposition
records in the criminal courts and separate the maintenance and reporting of
criminal dispositions from the main body of CRMVS processing. The court
records system is the Criminal Motor Vehicle System (CRMVS), a statewide case
management system, which was originally designed to schedule and track
criminal court cases. The goal of this project is to increase the completeness and number of records available for firearms eligibility determinations. The activities included in this project support movement toward the completion of this goal and address the two main categories of need, court record assessment and improvement and automation of court records, with priority placed upon prohibiting mental health adjudications. The activities are as follows: (1) Collaborate with Connecticut’s NICS work group to assess the completeness and availability of records, develop a record improvement plan, and implement projects to support the completion of the record improvement plan; (2) Assess the completeness and availability of criminal court records; (3) Carry out and expand the state’s preliminary NICS Record Improvement Plan; (4) Develop and put in place new court procedures for creating criminal court disposition records that include information required by NICS; (5) Design, test and implement a new electronic system for disposing of cases in the state’s criminal courts; (6) Procure and install the necessary computer equipment to host, operate, and maintain the new electronic criminal disposition system; (7) Procure and install the necessary computer equipment in local courts that will allow court personnel to perform data processing functions that support the new electronic criminal disposition system. |
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| FED Grant ID: |
2011-NS-BX-K005
|
TOTAL Project Cost |
$1,893,060.00
|
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| Year: |
2011
|
FED Award: |
$887,880.00
|
| OPM Grant ID: |
NARIPPCA1103
|
State Match: |
$0.00
|
| Agency: |
Office of the Probate Court
Administrator
|
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| Title: |
Probate Court Case Management System
Improvements
|
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| Summary: | The
probate courts originate mental health records for all civil proceedings that
result in federal firearms disqualifications with all new “mental health”
records entered in the NICS Denied Person File under a state protocol that
was implemented in 2006. However, each mental health record must pass through
four separate facilities or distinct computer domains, with several manual
data entry steps and duplicative processes performed, for the record to be
made available to NICS. Local probate courts fax documents to Probate Court
Administration (PCA) and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction
Services (DMHAS). As a part of the 2011 NARIP project, the reporting process will be automated, and pre-existing records will be validated and made available to NICS to both increase the number, and improve the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness omental health records contained in NICS. This component of Connecticut’s 2011 NARIP Project will be composed of two major activities: (1) Identify mental health records in local probate courts from the past twenty (20) years and enter this data into PCMS so that it can be made available to NICS; (2) Build an electronic interface between the local probate courts PCMS system and DMHAS to feed NICS without manual intervention. |
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| FED Grant ID: |
2011-NS-BX-K005
|
TOTAL Project Cost |
$887,880.00
|
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| Year: |
2011
|
FED Award: |
$271,660.00
|
| OPM Grant ID: |
NARIPMHA1104
|
State Match: |
$0.00
|
| Agency: |
Mental Health and Addiction
Services
|
||
| Title: |
Improve Reporting of Mental Health Information
to NICS
|
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| Summary: | As
part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), DMHAS, Judicial Branch and Department of Public Safety,
DMHAS uploads confidential civil commitment data through a secure system to
the FBI, to which other agencies have no access. This data is, however, also
not available to DMHAS in the current data management system, but it is
necessary for DMHAS to utilize this data in preparing reports (e.g., FOI
reports) and conducting audits of NICS data uploaded to the FBI. These tasks
are now accomplished by hand count of stored paper files. The present task is
to automate these processes by
upgrading our electronic data systems. DMHAS’ Division of Safety Services (DSS) must be able to access NICS data electronically for the preparation of mandatory reports, especially FOI requests. The FBI requires periodic audits of randomly selected cases that have been uploaded to the NICS. In order to continue to protect the confidentiality of civil commitment data, these audits must be conducted by DMHAS DSS. DMHAS DSS needs to be able to access a secure, confidential database of data uploaded to NICS by DMHAS in order to conduct these audits. Each year, DMHAS must provide updated 20-year estimates of data on civil commitments and commitments for restoration of competency to stand trial that become part of the required submission to the FBI under Federal law. DMHAS provides this data to the Judicial Branch, from which it is forwarded to the FBI. These tasks should be accomplished electronically by the creation of a database to which uploaded NICS data will be incorporated and stored, with the capacity for generating automated and ad hoc reports. The project will automate the records transmission process, so the proposed data exchange between the PCMS, DHMAS, and DPS will be compatible with information sharing standards for the NICS Denied Person File. |
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| FED Grant ID: |
2011-NS-BX-K005
|
TOTAL Project Cost |
$271,660.00
|
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