Sept. 28, 2006

 

KANSAS TO RECEIVE $407,220 FEDERAL GRANT
TO IMPROVE CRIMINAL RECORD SYSTEMS

TOPEKA, KAN. – A U.S. Department of Justice grant worth more than $400,000 will help the state of Kansas update its criminal justice information systems.

“Our goal is to close the gaps in criminal information databases and provide law enforcement officers in Kansas with access to all the records they need at a moment’s notice,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren.

The Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics is providing the $407,220 grant through the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP). The program provides money to help states automate and upgrade records that link to systems administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation including the National Sex Offender Registry, the National Protection Order File, the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, the National Crime Information Center and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which supports instant background checks for purchasers of firearms.

The Kansas governor’s office will use the grant funds to pay for entering data into the state’s computerized criminal history system and to contract with a vendor to provide programming services to link local agency systems with state and federal criminal records systems.

The objectives of linking the systems include:

– Immediately identifying individuals with prior criminal records in any state.
– More effectively identifying felons and others prohibited from purchasing firearms.
– Checking backgrounds of persons responsible for child, elder and disabled care
– Identifying offenders with a history of domestic violence or stalking.
– Making informed decisions about pretrial release and detention of suspects following arrest, prosecutions of career criminals and appropriate confinement for convicted offenders.

For more information about NCHIP see the Web site below:

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/nchip.htm

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