Title: An Overview of OJP Bureaus, Offices and Cops: Information Technology
Initiatives
Series: File Conversion
Author: Bureau of Justice Assistance
Published: August 2001
Subject: information systems, criminal justice -- general
58 pages
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U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Assistance

BJA Bureau of Justice Assistance

AN OVERVIEW OF OJP BUREAUS, OFFICES AND COPS
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES

JUNE 2001

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U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
810 Seventh Street NW.
Washington, DC 20531

John Ashcroft 
Attorney General

Office of Justice Programs
World Wide Web Home Page
www.ojp.usdoj.gov

Bureau of Justice Assistance
World Wide Web Home Page
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA

For grant and funding information contact U.S. Department of Justice Response
Center 1-800-421-6770

NCJ 189098

The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice
Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National
Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention,
and the Office for Victims of Crime.

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Table of Contents                                 

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Office of Justice Programs Current Role

o The Federal Role
o The Global Criminal Justice Information Network Initiative (Global)
o Office of Justice Programs Information Technology Initiatives

Chapter 2: An Overview of Bureaus, Offices and COPS Information
Technology Initiatives

o Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
o National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
o Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
o Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
o The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
o The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)
o The Violence Against Women Office (VAWO)

Appendix A: Partnerships and Affiliations

Appendix B: BJA Information Technology Initiative: Vision, Mission, Goals and
Objectives

Appendix C: Website Guide

Appendix D: Glossary

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Introduction

The 21st century may well be viewed by historians as an era dominated by
citizen demands for effective and efficient government services. In recent years,
electronic information has become a driving force in commerce and popular
culture and, in many ways, it has helped fuel an atmosphere of ever-growing
public expectations. Funding strategies and successful programs that support
high standards in education, strong economic development and safe
communities are highly prized solutions sought after by government officials
throughout the country.

It is in this environment that the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) has been
recognized by state, local and tribal governments as a resource for supporting
the development of information systems that would enable the appropriate
sharing of justice information. This unique environment also represents a time
when special attributes affecting program management include sweeping
changes in information technology (IT) capabilities, OJP funding growth, and
dependence on attaining unprecedented cooperation among a diverse group of
public and private stakeholders. These are exciting and challenging times for
individuals who are assigned the responsibility of coordinating activities to meet
the needs and demands of the justice community. 

The term frequently used to describe information sharing across various justice
disciplines is integration: the application of technology to improve information
management and information sharing between justice enterprise agencies at all
levels of government. Supporting the endeavors of the justice community to
electronically share information is the focus of the Global Justice Information
Network Federal Advisory Committee and the OJP and COPS technology
initiatives described in this document.

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Chapter 1

Office of Justice Programs Current Role

The Federal Role

The Federal Government has historically supported state and local criminal
justice initiatives through legislation providing for financial support of various
criminal justice initiatives. Since 1968, legislative initiative has addressed civil
uprisings, juvenile justice, multi-jurisdictional drug crime, victims' rights and
assistance, violence against women, and community oriented policing. Funding
for information technology equipment, training and technical assistance is
available through a variety of U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) programs,
most notably the COPS Grant program, Local Law Enforcement Block Grants
program, Edward Byrne Grant program, and the Juvenile Justice Accountability
Incentive Block Grant program, among others. Traditionally, funding from these
programs has been "program," or purpose specific, and has led to the
implementation of different computer systems with limited purposes serving the
various justice components in state, local, and tribal governments. Many of
these "stove-pipe" systems are incapable of sharing information and perpetuate,
rather than alleviate, the inefficiency of the justice enterprise.

The role of Federal Government in solving communication and information
sharing problems in state, local, and tribal justice systems is to encourage and
facilitate the design and implementation of "enterprise-wide" technology
solutions. The federal role is not to mandate technology design, but rather to
offer planning support and guidance from a national perspective. Federal
Government coordination is critical to the development of justice information
systems within an "enterprise framework;" a broad, yet defined set of principles,
standards, and policies for justice integration.

The Global Criminal Justice Information Network Initiative (Global)

In 1998, the Global Justice Information Network Federal Advisory Committee
charter was signed, granting Global the authority to serve as an advisory body
reporting to the Attorney General or his/her designee under the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (FACA). Today, the membership of Global
represents many of the premier agencies and organizations from across the
country that influence and guide the justice community. It is expected that
Global will play a vital role, as a unique body of leaders helping to build a
national consensus, guide national policy and facilitate the development of
national standards. 

There are four subcommittees within Global which focus on the following areas:
security, privacy/public access, infrastructure/standards and communications.
One goal of Global is to coordinate efforts to facilitate appropriate information
sharing among the various bodies who manage local, state, interstate, federal,
and international criminal records systems. Global is further committed to
support improved information sharing among law enforcement officials, public
defenders, prosecutors, courts, correctional facilities, probation and parole
officers and other affiliated government agencies when appropriate.

Achieving effective and efficient information sharing across the country requires
a comprehensive state, local and tribal justice information sharing effort, a
comprehensive federal information sharing effort, and the coordination of these
efforts nationally and with the international justice community. The role of
Global will be crucial to the success of this endeavor. 

The Office of Justice Programs Information Technology Initiatives

The Fiscal Year 2000 (FY 2000) and 2001 (FY 2001) Information
Technology Initiatives were designed to capitalize on OJP's resources and
authority to support and facilitate state, local, and tribal integrated justice
systems. OJP's future strategy is to support information sharing at the state,
local, and tribal levels through additional action items, field outreach, education,
training, and technical assistance and to coordinate with Global and the
Department's other technology initiatives.

In FY 2001, OJP's Information Technology Initiative is pursuing projects in
eight broad areas of concentration:

1.) State and Local Government Architectures and Standards to facilitate the
appropriate sharing of information across organizational boundaries;
2.) An Information Technology Initiative website to support state and local
government efforts to build integrated information systems;
3.) Privacy initiatives to provide policy guidance, principles, impact assessment
capabilities and guidelines for public access to justice-related electronic
records;
4.) Strategic planning for implementation of information sharing initiatives at
state and local government levels and self assessment techniques and tools for
measuring progress towards integration at state and local government levels;
5.) Technical assistance and technology assistance to state, local and tribal
components of the justice community;
6.) Project management education and training for project managers of
information sharing initiatives;
7.) Governance models for state and local governments;
8.) Collaborative initiatives with non-traditional partners from state and local
government and industry, working toward common objectives affecting the
justice community.

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Chapter 2


An Overview of OJP Bureaus, Offices and COPS Information Technology
Initiatives 

1. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)[1]

The U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is a
component of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and is the United States'
principal source for criminal justice statistics. BJS collects, analyzes, publishes,
and disseminates information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and
the operation of justice systems at all levels of government. It also provides
financial and technical support to state statistical agencies and administers
special programs that aid state and local governments and Indian Tribes in
improving their criminal history records and information systems. To learn more
about BJS, visit their website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/.

The following are BJS Information Technology Initiatives.

National Criminal History Improvement Program

The National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP), established in
1995, helps states develop and upgrade criminal record information systems
(including records of protection orders, sex offender registries and automated
fingerprint identification systems) and make such records accessible on an
interstate basis through FBI administered systems, including the National Instant
Criminal Background Check System (NICS), the Interstate Identification Index
(III), the National Protection Order File, the National Sex Offender Registry,
and the Integrated Automated Identification Index (IAFIS). To date, over $400
million has been awarded directly to states under the program and all states and
eligible territories have received annual awards. 

Technical Assistance and Criminal Records Policy Program: In addition to
direct funding, NCHIP, under an award to SEARCH, supports: direct technical
assistance to states; national task forces, workshops and conferences; and an
ongoing privacy program. Under the NCHIP privacy program, BJS and
SEARCH established a Task Force on Privacy, Technology and Criminal
Justice Information and supported both a conference on privacy issues and a
national survey of public attitudes toward uses of criminal record data. NCHIP
is currently supporting a follow-on survey to identify public attitudes toward
uses of biometric identifiers and planning to convene a conference on privacy
issues during 2001. To assist criminal justice personnel and policy makers in
assessing progress relevant to operation of NICS and III, NCHIP surveys the
status of state record systems every two years. The next survey will present
data as of year-end 2001. A survey of state privacy legislation is conducted
every two years. 

Firearm Inquiry Statistics: Under the NCHIP, BJS conducts the Firearm
Inquiry Statistics (FIST) survey which collects data on the number of NICS
pre-sale firearm inquiries, the number of applications rejected, and the basis for
rejections in states which serve as points of contact to the NICS system.
Findings describing background checks for firearms transfers, including inquiries
and rejections by surveyed states and made directly by the FBI, for calendar
year 2000, are expected to be released in the summer of 2001. 

National Incident Based Reporting System Implementation Program: This
program is designed to improve the quality of crime statistics in the United
States by implementing the National Incident-Based Reporting System
(NIBRS). The program provides funding to states (in conjunction with units of
local government) and tribes that want to participate in the FBI's new approach
to uniform crime reporting, NIBRS. BJS issued a public solicitation in FY 2000
to state and local jurisdictions to implement NIBRS. FY 2001 funds allocated
to NIBRS will enable BJS to fund additional applications submitted in response
to that solicitation.

Criminal Case Tracking System for Tribal Jurisdictions: BJS, with funding from
BJA and cooperation with the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Indian
Affairs, will fund up to two American Indian jurisdictions to develop an
automated criminal case-tracking system. The integrated system, which links
police, court, and corrections data, will enable tribal jurisdictions to track
violent offenders, domestic abuse cases, the impact of drug testing, and
probation and other forms of supervised release. It is anticipated that BIA will
make the system available to all interested tribes pending completion and
testing.

National Tribal Justice Technical Assistance Center: A national technical
assistance center will be established in FY 2001 for tribal criminal justice
agencies to obtain expertise in developing their statistical collection and
reporting processes as well as to ensure their participation in national
information systems. Technical assistance will include oversight for the
conversion to NIBRS-compliant crime reporting and the development of other
types of crime data to ensure participation in BJS statistical reporting programs.
Technical assistance will also be provided to help tribal authorities participate in
national criminal justice information systems (anti-stalking, criminal history
background checks, NCIC). The Center will be pro-active in identifying good
models in Indian Country for statistical collection/analysis activities, undertaking
multi-tribe demonstrations, and locating tribal agencies most in need of
assistance. The Center should be self-initiating in terms of their activities with
tribes and will ensure a high level of coordination with BIA tribal law
enforcement policies, practices, and new initiatives. 

Crime Victimization Survey: Software is now available to help communities
conduct local crime and attitudinal surveys. The Crime Victimization Survey
(CVS) software package, designed by BJS and the Office of Community
Oriented Policing Services (COPS), allows communities to conduct their own
telephone surveys of residents to collect data on crime victimization, attitudes
toward policing, and other community issues. Using the established methods
and questions of the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), this
software allows communities to generate crime and victimization estimates that
facilitate comparisons among similar jurisdictions. 

The software is available free of charge from the BJS website at
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cvs.htm or from NCJRS for a small shipping
and handling fee by calling 1-800-851-3420. To date, more than 1,800
requests for copies and downloads of the software have been made from police
departments, local agencies, and criminal justice researchers. Many of these
requests have come from other countries, including Israel, Ireland, and South
Africa. In addition to the software, both the online file and the CD-ROM
include the CVS Software User's Manual, released 10/99 (NCJ 176361) and
Conducting Community Surveys: A Practical Guide for Law Enforcement
Agencies, released 10/99 (NCJ 178246), which is a brief overview of the
issues related to conducting local surveys. The CD-ROM version comes with
printed copies of both documents. 

Criminal Victimization Surveys in Indian Country: Funds will be provided to
universities and colleges to carry out crime victimization surveys among
residents of Indian Country. Three to five sites will be awarded funds to
conduct crime victimization surveys among tribal residents. Special emphasis
will be made to collect detailed information on the role of alcohol in violent
crime victimizations and to better understand the characteristics of domestic
violence incidents. The Crime Victimization Survey (CVS) software developed
by BJS will be made available to participating grantees. CVS software contains
the survey instrument used by the NCVS and can be easily adapted for local
use. Funds will be provided for development and implementation of the survey
instrument, sample design, data collection, analysis, and reporting of survey
findings. 

Cybercrime Statistics: In 2001, BJS began development of a comprehensive
statistical program to measure changes in the incidence, magnitude, and
consequences of electronic or cybercrime. Cybercrime statistics will include
data on both personal and property crimes, ranging from e-mail threats and
harassment to illegal use of or access to networks to commit fraud or theft. BJS
will work with the Census Bureau to operationalize this plan for collecting data
on electronic crime. There may be supplements to ongoing commercial and
household surveys and enhancements of periodic collections from law
enforcement agencies and the courts.

Survey of DNA Crime Laboratories: This survey collects data from all public
and private DNA laboratories on management and administrative statistics,
including staff size and characteristics, staff training, budgets, deoxyribonucleic
acid (DNA) testing procedures, processing policies, and archival capacity. The
survey also obtains information on the degree of laboratory compliance with
national standards and participation in the national database of DNA samples. 

The survey was first conducted in 1998, and again in early 2001. BJS continues
to work closely with the state and local crime laboratory directors and the
FBI[AE]s Forensic Science Systems Unit in the design and conduct of the
2001 survey. Findings are useful to crime laboratory directors to compare
procedures and capacities among laboratories, as well as to measure
compatibility between the national DNA database and state databases. 

Web-based Data Collection: New capabilities, emerging technologies, more
efficient computer languages, and improved standards offer promising
improvements for the way BJS collects justice statistics. In 2000, BJS began
experimental use of the web to collect administrative data from selected state
and local criminal justice agencies. BJS currently maintains over 2 dozen data
collection programs that obtain information describing the workload of
approximately 50,000 federal, state and local agencies, offices, and institutions.
Until now, all BJS collection efforts sent paper questionnaires to law
enforcement agencies, prosecutor's offices, probation offices, local jails, courts,
pretrial release agencies, public defender offices, and prison and parole
authorities. Like many other governmental and private-sector data managers,
BJS has begun the transition from paper-based data collection to direct Internet
submission of information to a database. In FY 2001, BJS will conduct data
collections using the Internet for the Survey of DNA Crime Laboratories, the
Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, and the Annual Survey
of Jails.

BJS Website Database and On-line Analysis Capabilities: Aside from the
hundreds of BJS reports and numerous links to other sites available to users,
the BJS website provides a number of significant features to enhance user
access including regularly updated Key Facts at a Glance; a keyword search
capacity; access to simple spreadsheets covering a wide variety of crime and
justice issues; and on-line tabulation, datasets, and codebooks to access and
analyze NCVS data, Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) data, Federal
Justice Statistics Program files, and BJS data on prison admissions and
releases. With funding support from the NIJ, BJS is currently creating an on-
line database of criminal justice statistics focusing on summary-level statistics by
jurisdiction. State and local data are included in the prototype database. The
sources of the data include the Uniform Crime Report (UCR), SHR, the 1996
Census of Law Enforcement Agencies, and the 1997 Law Enforcement
Management and Administrative Statistics. 

Association of State Corrections Administrators (ASCA) Performance
Measures Project: BJS, NIJ and the OJP Corrections Program Office (CPO)
are currently conducting a 2-year effort to improve correctional information
systems. The project builds upon the inventory and State and Federal
Corrections Information Systems. The report provided a baseline for
developing outcome measures and an assessment of the capacity of existing
systems to produce accurate, comparable data. As a follow up, this project
will identify approximately eight correctional performance measures and select
a subset of up to four measures for development and improvement. A project
consultant and advisory panel will assist ASCA members to reach common
definitions for the categories being measured and to restructure data collection
processes, as needed.

2. National Institute of Justice (NIJ)[2]

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) supports research and development
programs, conducts demonstrations of innovative approaches to improve
criminal justice, develops new criminal justice technologies, and evaluates the
effectiveness of OJP-supported and other justice programs. NIJ also provides
major support for the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), a
clearinghouse on justice issues, and can be found online at www.ncjrs.org. To
find out more about NIJ, visit their website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/.

The following are NIJ Information Technology Initiatives.

AGILE Project: The Advanced Generation of Interoperability for Law
Enforcement (AGILE) Project is designed to perform research and develop
key communications and information technology tools that law enforcement will
need in the future, including shared databases, information access, knowledge
mining, security, and the transfer of voice, images and data and their
convergence with wireless technologies.

Technology Standards: NIJ is working with the Office of Law Enforcement
Standards (OLES) at the National Institute of Standards (NIST) to identify,
adopt, and, when necessary, develop a suite of information technology
standards for use by public safety agencies. Funding in FY 2001 will be used to
accelerate wireless standards' activities so that they will be in sync with
information technology activities.

Cybercrime: NIJ plans to develop a series of cybercrime quick reference
guides for use in crime investigations and prosecutions. Other activities include
plans to (1) develop a national Software Reference Library for use by
computer forensic examiners; (2) perform verification of commercially available
and Government-generated computer forensic software tools; and (3) provide
technology assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies in the
Northeast United States. NIJ is building a National Electronic Crime
Partnership Initiative (NECPI) with all of the Federal Agencies, Federal
Programs, Task Forces, State and Local Criminal Justice Agencies, Private
Industry, and Academia. The focus of the NECPI is to provide conduits
between these various groups to promote sharing and prevent duplication in the
area of cybercrime.

Communication Interoperability and Information Sharing: NIJ is funding various
communications and information technology initiatives in the areas of adaptive
surveillance, facial recognition, high intensity drug tracking areas, inter-regional
information sharing among law enforcement agencies, tracking/locating projects,
voice recognition technologies, and the Southwest Border Anti-Drug
Information System.

Crime Lab Improvement Program: NIJ is seeking to improve the capacity and
capability of public labs. Forensic areas include DNA, trace evidence,
impressions, toxicology, ballistics, and questioned documents. Objectives
include (1) development of forensic testing capabilities in states with limited
testing access (2) improving or expanding testing in state and local labs that
already conduct testing (3) fostering compatibility and cooperation among labs
concerning the implementation of national databases; and (4) helping state
forensic labs meet national standards.

DNA Backlog Reduction: NIJ funding is aimed at reducing the backlog of
DNA testing of convicted offenders. The program provides assistance to states
that have a backlog of samples awaiting DNA analysis. The objectives are to
achieve rapid analysis of unanalyzed samples, with results being uploaded into
the National DNA Index System (NDIS) through the Combined DNA Index
System (CODIS), and to analyze convicted offender samples in a more timely
manner so that their profiles may be entered into state and national DNA
databases. This will assist states in the investigation of crimes involving
biological evidence.

DNA Research and Development: NIJ funding supports a program that
harnesses the tremendous growth in the field of DNA technology by directing
research toward the development of highly discriminating, reliable, economical,
portable, and rapid DNA testing methods for suspect identification or exclusion
in violent crime investigations. Projects implemented under this program will
improve the speed, sensitivity, and reliability of current and new forensic DNA
markers.

Non-DNA Forensics Research and Development: This program funds
innovative research projects that have the potential to enhance or improve the
use and reliability of the non-DNA forensic sciences in the criminal justice
system. Grants are awarded through a competitive solicitation process which
may focus on a specific area of forensic science, including pathology, trace
evidence, toxicology, document examination, entomology, odontology,
firearms, and fingerprint identification.

3. Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)[3]

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), a component of the U.S. Department
of Justice, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), supports innovative programs that
strengthen the Nation's criminal justice system by assisting State and local
governments in combating violent crime and drug abuse. Established by the
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as amended, BJA
accomplishes its mission by providing funding, evaluation, training, technical
assistance, and information support to State and community criminal justice
programs, thus effectively forming partnerships with State and local
jurisdictions. To learn more about BJA, visit www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/.

Funding Strategies and Award Guidance

The implementation of funding and award guidance strategy to promote the
efficient and coordinated deployment of information technology funding from
OJP and its Bureaus is a crucial objective. The basis for OJP's funding strategy
is found in over 40 of its Bureaus' statutory provisions that contain express or
implied language authorizing the purchase of information technology. Each of
these statutes provides for and encourages the development of information
sharing systems to further the fight against crime. Coordinating these statutes in
a strategy that provides necessary planning, training, and technical assistance
grants is key to enabling state and local governments to implement technologies
that are interoperable within, as well as outside, individual state, local, regional,
and federal information systems and networks. 


Additionally, the field has recommended that OJP use its funding authority to
promote and encourage communication and coordination between state and
local jurisdictions. To this end, OJP has adopted special condition language for
all OJP technology awards. The language requires recipients of information
technology funding to advise a point of contact designated by each Governor in
their state that they are undertaking an information technology project. This
guidance strategy is designed to ensure that state agencies and local
jurisdictions receiving federal information technology funding are in
communication with bodies responsible for statewide justice integration
initiatives and can use their resources to build interoperable, rather than
isolated, systems.

The following are BJA Information Technology Initiatives.

Architecture and Standards

NASCIO/NASIRE[4] Architecture Project: BJA is partnering with the
National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) to
conceptualize and implement appropriate architectures, frameworks and
information-sharing standards to facilitate and simplify the movement of justice
information across jurisdictional boundaries. More information may be found on
the NASCIO website, www.nascio.org.

Functional Standards

National Center for State Courts: BJA has several initiatives aimed at
supporting state courts through partnerships with the National Center for State
Courts (NCSC) and some of their affiliated organizations such as the
Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA), the National Association
of Court Management (NACM), and the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ).
The NCSC has developed functional standards for civil case management
systems and is working on the development of functional standards for adult
criminal and juvenile case management systems and for domestic relations
courts. They have plans to develop similar standards for traffic and probate
courts. More information on NCSC may be found at www.ncsconline.org. 

American Probation and Parole Association: The American Probation and
Parole Association (APPA) has submitted a concept paper proposing the
development of functional standards for probation and parole similar to those
currently being developed by the courts. To learn more about APPA activities,
visit www.appa-net.org.

Corrections Technology Association: BJA is exploring the possibility of
partnering with the Corrections Technology Association (CTA) to develop
functional standards for the corrections community in cooperation with the
Association of State Corrections Administrators (ASCA). 

Global Justice Information Network (Global)

Global serves as a focal point for justice information activities in order to
facilitate the coordination of technical, funding and legislative strategies at the
state, local and federal levels (see Page 1 for a detailed description of Global).
Globals' Infrastructure and Standards Working Group (ISWG) will make
recommendations and support OJP's efforts to coordinate the distribution of
standards developed by components of the justice system and provide a
collaborative forum for resolution of variances. For more information on Global,
please visit www.it.ojp.gov.

Technology, Data, Policy, and Functional Standards: BJA and Global are
working cooperatively with the NIJ AGILE program and the National Institute
for Standards in Technology (NIST) on wireless and integrated technology
standards. NIST works with industry to develop and apply technology,
measurement and standards. More information on NIST may be found at
www.nist.gov. Additionally, BJA is collaborating with Global on a number of
state and local information privacy guidelines.

XML Standards Initiative 

OJP sponsored a workshop in March 2001 that brought together teams
responsible for implementing leading edge applications of XML used to
facilitate exchange of information in the electronic filing community of the courts,
the law enforcement intelligence community and the criminal record history
community (rap sheets). The workshop produced recommendations regarding
the role that OJP and Global should play in coordinating the development and
implementation of XML applications in the justice community.

Integrated Justice Information Website

The OJP Integrated Justice Information website is designed to serve as a
resource for individuals and organizations interested in working, researching and
developing issues concerning integrated justice information systems. The
website will be the central vehicle to access information about the many
initiatives, grantees, technical technology assistance providers, and other
activities that support OJP's efforts. It is scheduled to become operational in
August 2001 at URL www.it.ojp.gov. Agencies, organizations and practitioners
are encouraged to visit and provide input, ideas and content contributions
concerning the site.

Practitioners Working Group: The Institute for Intergovernmental Relations
(IIR) convenes a practitioner council comprising state and local officials critical
to the integrated justice information process. These officials include
commissioners, chief information officers, law enforcement personnel, state
legislators, judges, justices, court administrators, court clerks, juvenile services
employees, probation/parole officers and corrections officials. This council
provides advice on the design and content of the Integrated Justice Information
website, as well as general recommendations for the integrated justice
information initiative. More information on IIR may be found at www.iir.org. 

REI Development of Integrated Justice Information Website: BJA has selected
REI Systems Inc. as the vendor of choice for providing Internet access, server
operation and website design. REI Systems Inc. offered three approaches for
consideration. Work is proceeding on the development of the preferred site
option for public release in August 2001.

National Center for Rural Law Enforcement Development of Content for
Integrated Justice Information Website: Through a grant award, the National
Center for Rural Law Enforcement (NCRLE) will collect and coordinate the
provision of content for the Integrated Justice Information website. Content will
include integrated justice materials prepared as part of the initiative,
procurement documentation, standards materials, contact references,
governance recommendations, privacy documentation, funding alternatives,
business case models, a calendar of events and other helpful resources. Visit
the NCRLE website at www.ncrle.net. 

Privacy

OJP is implementing a three-part program aimed at improving the attention paid
to privacy in the development and implementation of justice information
systems. The initiative resulted in the creation of the following documents.

Privacy Design Principles for an Integrated Justice System provides
implementers with a broad list of privacy issues to be considered before and
during the development of integrated systems.

Privacy Impact Assessment for Justice Information Systems provides
implementers with a road map for determining the level of privacy protection
offered by existing and planned systems and guidance on how to protect
sensitive systems and the data those systems manage.


Public Access to Criminal Justice Electronic Records guides policy makers in
determining what data should be made public and raises awareness about the
substantial concerns that shape access to this information. 

As a future component of the OJP Privacy Initiative, OJP is exploring the
possibility of combining the three documents and publishing the finished
product. The Privacy Initiative continues to follow an inclusive strategy that
involves a wide band of support. For example, the University of New Orleans
held a National Privacy and Ethics Conference in FY 2001 and is currently
working on a project exploring privacy and ethics. Other significant partners
include NCJA, BJS, SEARCH and the Justice Management Institute. 

Strategic Planning and Assessment 

National Governors Association Initiative: BJA is partnering with the National
Governors Association (NGA) to conduct a series of workshops focused on
development of implementation plans for integration of justice information
systems. BJA has provided funds to each participating state to attend the
workshops and help prepare implementation plans. The initiative's goals are to
support the governors of states in their endeavors to become more personally
involved in the integration development process and to provide incentives to
states to compete for additional implementation grants based on competitive
review of their plans by NGA and an advisory board established by NGA.
Additional grant funding under the CITA Program will be provided by BJA in
2001 to states whose implementation plan for integration activities have been
recommended for funding by NGA and their Advisory Board. 

International Association of Chiefs of Police Initiative: BJA funded the
development of an Information Integration Planning Model by the International
Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). The documented version of this
product is available from the IACP and will reside on the www.it.ojp.gov
website. Follow-on funding is resulting in work currently underway by the
IACP to leverage the work done on the model through their Statewide
Information Sharing Program. For more information on the IACP, visit
www.theiacp.org.

Center for Technology in Government Self-Assessment of Integration
Capability: BJA is working with the Center for Technology in Government
(CTG) to develop a project to measure and assess the degree of maturity of
integration in justice information systems. CTG will provide a web-enabled
capability that allows organizations to determine where they currently stand in
integration and information sharing technology. To find out more, visit CTG at
www.ctg.albany.edu.

Information Exchange Points Study: BJA is partnering with SEARCH to
identify and document key exchange points where justice information is
transferred from one jurisdiction to another in the justice enterprise. A
computerized model is being developed to illustrate this flow of information and
to facilitate the development of appropriate standards for integration. For more
information about SEARCH activities, go to www.search.org.

Technical and Technology Assistance 

Indian Country Initiatives: BJA and the OJP American Indian and Alaska
Native Affairs Office are partnering with the Office of Tribal Justice to facilitate
the planning, design and implementation of integrated information systems by
various Indian Nations. In particular, BJA has supported an effort to share
justice information among the Navajo, Hopi and Zuni nations. BJA also
supported the Navajo Nation's Summit on Integration in March 2001.

Courts: BJA has several initiatives aimed at supporting state courts through
partnerships with the NCSC and their affiliated organizations (COSCA,
NACM and CCJ). This includes providing technical assistance to the courts,
support tools for small and rural courts, the development of functional standards
for case management systems, the development of a data dictionary and the
development of a "web crawler" capability to facilitate gathering appropriate
information from various state court administration web pages. 

SEARCH/BJA Integration Conferences: Each year SEARCH sponsors more
than 75 national conferences, symposia and workshops throughout the country.
The 2001 conferences will present the latest developments concerning how
justice agencies can share information on an interagency, inter-jurisdictional, or
multi-jurisdictional basis while taking into account privacy, confidentiality, data
ownership, security, governance structure and other challenging issues. 

SEARCH Justice Information Systems Technical Assistance Program: 
SEARCH offers technical assistance to local and state justice agencies in the
development, management, improvement, acquisition and integration of their
automated information systems. SEARCH works with both individual justice
agencies and multi-disciplinary groups of justice agencies to assist them in
planning for and integrating their information systems at local, regional and state
levels. SEARCH technical assistance programs have provided on-site and in-
house technical assistance to justice agencies throughout the country. 

Business Case Assistance: BJA has funded the development of guidance to
state and local governments for the preparation of business case concepts to
aid state and local governments in securing needed resources and leadership
support for integration and information sharing. The Center for Technology in
Government (CTG) developed a guideline document based on input gathered
during a workshop combining the participation of elected and appointed
executives with leaders from the criminal justice community. The document is
available on the OJP website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/integratedjustice and will
also be available at www.it.ojp.gov in August 2001.

Law Enforcement Intelligence: BJA is sponsoring the quarterly meeting of the
Law Enforcement Intelligence Forum (LEIF) to recommend appropriate
processes, standards and policies for improving the management of intelligence
information by the law enforcement community. The Forum fosters discussions
on methods of integration by researching and analyzing existing and proposed
systems. LEIF is comprised primarily of officials with an interest in law
enforcement intelligence systems from state and local law enforcement agencies
across the United States. Additionally, the Forum includes federal agency
representation. To link to the LEIF website, visit www.iir.com. 

Justice Integration Earmarks: BJA will monitor initiatives established by
Congress as earmarks for projects to implement integrated justice information
systems. Examples of this type of project include initiatives in eastern Kentucky,
southwestern Alabama and Minnesota. 

Grantee and Technical Assistance Provider Coordination: There have been
two conferences in recent years concerning grantee and technical assistance
(T.A) provider coordination. The most recent was held in April of 2001, in
Madison Wisconsin. The objectives of the conferences were as follows: to
provide an opportunity for each grantee to brief other grantees concerning the
initiative they have undertaken or are planning to undertake in response to OJP
tasking and grant funding from OJP; to provide an opportunity for grantees to
learn from other grantee organizations about OJP-funded criminal justice
information integration and information sharing initiatives that are either
underway or planned for the near future; to exchange views concerning ways to
leverage the value to be attained from existing and planned initiatives; and to
provide recommendations to OJP concerning ways to more adequately
coordinate initiatives planned and funded by OJP. The objective for the T.A
provider meeting was to determine additional coordination measures that may
be needed in support of T.A providers.

Training

Integrated Justice System Project Management: BJA is partnering with the
Industry Working Group (IWG), Auburn University and the University of New
Orleans Center for Society Law and Justice to develop a curriculum aimed at
educating and certifying state and local officials in the field of Integrated Justice
System Project Management. The first course offering based on this curriculum
will be provided by Auburn University in September, 2001. Visit the IWG
website at www.ijis.org.

University of New Orleans Courses: The Center for Society Law and Justice,
University of New Orleans, provides, under a cooperative agreement with
BJA, specialized training and technical assistance related to criminal justice
information systems. The Center offers training programs and conducts
research, policy and conference services responding to needs defined by OJP.
Recent activities include a national privacy and ethics conference, a study on the
consequences of non-integrated information systems, and a survey of project
management resources. Courses offered include: Managing Criminal Justice
Technologies into the 21st Century, Deploying Power Users for the 21st
Century and Criminal Justice Information Technology Project Management.

NCJA/IWG Institute Decision Maker Seminars on Emerging Technologies: 
Seminars on Emerging Technologies for Integrated Justice are designed
specifically for persons responsible for the planning and purchase of justice
technology. Seven seminars for the period August 2001 through May 2002
have been scheduled at various locations across the country. These seminars
will be particularly important for state, local and tribal government officials and
legislators who make decisions concerning the purchase and operation of
justice technologies in their jurisdictions. For further information on these
seminars, contact the staff at NCJA by calling (202) 624-1140.

Governance Models

State Governance Models: BJA has been working with NCJA to survey the
states in order to identify and document the characteristics of state-level
governance models employed to oversee the development and implementation
of integrated criminal justice systems. To learn more about NCJA activities,
visit www.ncja.org.

Local Governance Models: BJA is partnering with Public Technology, Inc.
(PTI) to conduct surveys at the local level to determine how local governance
structures manage and affect the integration of justice systems at the municipal,
county and regional levels. PTI held a workshop for local officials to construct
the local governance survey. The survey was distributed to local officials to
complete at a National League of Cities annual conference in both Internet and
paper formats. Select members from PTI, the National Association of Counties
(NACO), and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA)
were asked to complete the survey. Published results from the local survey and
analysis will be available on the OJP Integrated Justice Information website in
August 2001. 

Non-Traditional Partnerships, Agreements and Memorandums of
Understanding

Industry Working Group: BJA is working with the private sector through an
Industry Working Group (IWG) to elicit private sector viewpoints on various
planned policy and implementation initiatives and to get recommendations for
improvement of government approaches to procurement reform, technology
refreshment, standards, and software development. Also, BJA is examining the
feasibility of tasking a non-profit spinoff of the Working Group to provide
technology assistance to various state and local government organizations that
request help in managing the confusing aspects of information technology. 

Transportation Systems: A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been
signed by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and DOJ regarding
Joint Integrated Information Systems Projects. The objective of this
understanding is to develop and exploit advanced technology and systems that
will permit accomplishment of a nationwide sharing of information to enhance
and improve the ability of transportation, public safety and emergency
personnel to respond to emergencies and natural disasters. This agreement
establishes a working relationship for the development of national standards and
prototypes to be used in the creation, integration and application of technology
programs. 

National Governors Association: BJA is partnering with the National
Governors Association (NGA) to support an endeavor to more personally
involve the governors of states in the integration development process and to
provide incentives to states to compete for additional implementation grants
based on competitive review of their plans by NGA and an advisory board
established by NGA. 

Council for State Governments: BJA is exploring ways to support the efforts of
the Council of State Governments (CSG) to conduct an intergovernmental
conference in 2002 with a focus on integration of justice information systems
across the executive, legislative and judicial branches of state government.
Additional plans call for partnering to develop a series of teleconferences for
elected and appointed state executives on various aspects of integration and
information sharing in state government.

National Conference of State Legislators: BJA is working in partnership with
the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) to identify legislative
initiatives affecting the justice community and to elevate the understanding of
integration and information sharing issues in the minds of state legislators. A
compilation of legislation concerning integrated justice from around the country
is available at www.ncsl.org.

Federal Web Consortium (Digital Government Consortium): OJP has entered
into an Interagency Agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to
join the Federal Web Consortium. This Agreement allows OJP to attend
Federal Web Consortium symposiums, exchange ideas with other federal
agencies about the future of technology, learn what research is being conducted
that might affect our future plans, identify research needed to assist OJP in
improving support to the criminal justice community, and partner with NSF and
other research agencies to pursue projects that will be mutually beneficial.
Federal Web Consortium membership allows OJP to become familiar with the
research community and to inform and excite them about developing new
technologies with criminal justice applications. OJP staff members have
regularly attended local Web Consortium presentations on cutting edge
technologies in areas such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and
knowledge (data) management.

Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) Critical Infrastructure
Awareness Campaign: OJP, through a MOU between OJP, BJA, NIJ,
OJJDP, and the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property
Section, has partnered with ITAA to develop an awareness campaign to
educate youth to the seriousness and danger of computer hacking to both
themselves, and to society at large.

Deliverables

The Business Case for Integration

Justice practitioners have voiced a need for an education and marketing tool for
executives, legislators, the judiciary, and the public that explains the necessity
and benefits of integrated justice. The field refers to this tool as the "Business
Case for Integration." OJP asked the Center for Technology in Government
(CTG) of the State University of New York at Albany to work with elected
officials and justice leaders to develop a guideline for assisting justice
practitioners in designing business cases for their integration initiatives. CTG
convened a Business Case Workshop and the subsequent document has been
viewed as a powerful tool to reach government and elected officials to gain
support for justice integration. The business case guideline examines strategies
and guidelines that help practitioners garner funding and support by explaining
how integration improves the fairness, efficiency, and economy of the justice
system toward the ultimate goal of increased public safety. A copy of And
Justice for All: Designing Your Business Case for Integrating Justice Information
can be obtained on the web at www.ctg.albany.edu. It will also be available on
the Integrated Justice Information website, www.it.ojp.gov, in August 2001. 

Governance Structures

See Pages 16 and 17 for a description of the state and local surveys conducted
by PTI and NJCA. 

Privacy 

OJP is implementing a three-part program aimed at improving the attention paid
to privacy in the development and implementation of justice information
systems. This resulted in the creation of Privacy Design Principles for an
Integrated Justice System, Privacy Impact Assessment for Justice Information
Systems and Public Access to Criminal Justice Electronic Records. To learn
more about the content of these papers, see Page 13.

Procurement Processes

OJP is involved with developing a strategy to improve procurement processes
for information technology initiatives, including RFPs. The field has
recommended that OJP work with legislatures and the private sector to rethink
the procurement process. Currently, the IWG is developing a white paper,
working with NCSC to develop a model RFP, and creating a PowerPoint
education tool highlighting the steps to developing useful RFPs and successful
strategies used in current RFPs. These resources are designed to illustrate how
state and local governments can overcome outdated procurement processes
and design and implement procurement for integrated and interoperable justice
systems. This information is available on the IWG website at www.ijis.org. 

NASCIO Architecture Survey 

In 1998, the Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded NASCIO a grant to
conduct a State Information System Architecture Survey. The NASCIO
architecture survey gained national attention in 1999, resulting in a vision and
plans to develop an architecture template to be adopted by the states.
NASCIO continues work to implement the architectural template (planning
guideline) at the state and local level.



4. Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)

Awarded through a competitive application process, the COPS MORE
(Making Officer Redeployment Effective) program provides funding to state
and local law enforcement for Information Technology that results in sworn
officer time savings or redeployment into community policing. In FY 2001, the
COPS Office will have $81 million in discretionary funding to apply towards the
fourth year of the COPS MORE Technology Initiative. Common technology
applications funded under the program include mobile computing, computer
aided dispatch (CAD) and records management systems (RMS), and
associated hardware, software and networking infrastructure. Since 1994,
close to $1 billion has been awarded to close to 3,500 state and local law
enforcement agencies for technology through this program and through other
COPS technology efforts including the Tribal Resources Grant Program and the
Advancing Community Policing (ACP) programs. 

Given the limited funding available in FY 2001 for COPS MORE, award
amounts have been capped at $1 million for agencies serving populations over
150,000, $500,000 for agencies serving populations between 50,000 and
150,000, and $250,000 for agencies serving populations less than 50,000.

COPS Training and Technical Assistance: Since 1994, COPS has invested
over $700 million in information technology resources for state and local law
enforcement via the COPS MORE discretionary program. Recognizing the
challenges to acquiring and implementing Information Technology, the COPS
Office took specific steps in FY 1999 and 2000 to assist its 3,500 technology
grantees with direct technical assistance. This assistance has come in the form
of on-site assistance for agencies with serious challenges, redeployment
workshops, information technology conferences, and distance learning materials
to overcome information technology impediments and ultimately achieve and
document their required efficiency gains.

To date, over 1100 grantee representatives have either attended a technical
assistance meeting or received direct on-site/phone assistance from COPS and
its technical assistance providers. In FY 2000, technical assistance training
sessions were held in Boston, Chicago, Austin, San Diego and Washington,
D.C. The course objectives were to help new grantees overcome challenges to
successful technology development and implementation, and to engage all
attendees in the process of strategic information technology planning to support
management, user and community priorities. Additionally, the redeployment
workshops completed this training by providing guidance on how to track and
monitor the efficiency gains generated from the information technology
investments. 

In FY 2001, a greater emphasis has been placed on grantees who were funded
for more complex and sophisticated information systems. The largest 100
grantees have been selected to attend workshops in 5 locations around the
country. The session objectives are similar to those of FY2000 but will also
focus on regional and large-scale information systems and data integration and
on realizing the efficiency gains from the deployment of technology that agencies
are required to monitor and report to the COPS office. 

To find out more about COPS current or future training courses, and to learn
more about COPS MORE activities, visit www.usdoj.gov/cops.

5. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) provides
grants to states and units of local government to help them improve their
juvenile justice systems. OJJDP also sponsors innovative research,
demonstration, evaluation, statistics, replication, technical assistance, and
training programs to help improve the nation's understanding of delinquency
prevention and response to juvenile and delinquency. Visit the OJJDP website
at http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org.

The following are OJJDP Information Technology Initiatives.

Planning for the Technologically Advanced Juvenile Justice System: The
Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant Program (JAIBG) conducts
training programs for interested communities. The goal of the training is to
provide the participants with the skills and knowledge necessary to be able to
begin the process of developing an integrated system including the sharing of
information in their juvenile justice communities. There are eight identified
training objectives: Identify stakeholders and coordinate with other agencies
and systems; develop appropriate project scope and goals; identify three new
technologies and their usefulness in developing an integrated justice system;
identify the essential components of an effective system design; list five ways in
which technology can impact the organization; identify four decision points for
sharing information and maintaining confidentiality; identify at least two funding
and technical assistance resources; and develop a basic planning and project
management strategy to implement an information technology system in their
juvenile justice communities. This activity is part of the JAIBG training and
technical assistance program. OJJDP has funded the program at $4.6 million
each of the past three years.

Information Systems to Prevent Juvenile Delinquency Training and Technical
Assistance: The purpose of this program is to advance more effective and pro-
active responses to at-risk youth and youth involved in the juvenile justice
system. It also supports solutions to juvenile delinquency by providing training
and technical assistance on information sharing to juvenile justice, education,
health, child welfare, and other youth-serving systems or organizations that
foster multi-disciplinary and multi-agency solutions. OJJDP and the Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Administration, through an interagency agreement,
awarded $500,000 in FY 2000 to begin this program. OJJDP will provide
additional funding in FY 2001 to enhance the program.

National Statistics on Juvenile Offenders and Victims: OJJDP's Research
Division monitors trends regarding juvenile victims and offenders, including
self-reported offending and official statistics on juvenile offenses, juvenile
arrests, juvenile offenders, and juvenile victims. Working with other branches of
DOJ (e.g., BJS, FBI) and other government agencies (e.g., Bureau of the
Census, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Bureau of Labor
Statistics), the Research Division gathers information that offers the most
complete look at the nature and extent of juvenile delinquency and victimization
in the United States. The Research Division also produces Juvenile Offenders
and Victims: A National Report, which distills the most frequently requested
information about juvenile crime and victimization into a user-friendly format.
This report is available by calling 800-638-8736, or online at
http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/. 

To help gather and manage this information, the Research Division supports the
following:

The National Juvenile Courts Data Archive: The archive collects, stores, and
analyzes data about youth referred to U.S. courts for delinquency and status
offenses. OJJDP Fact Sheets and bulletins about these data inform the field on
a regular basis of trends and their implications for the juvenile justice system.

Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement: Conducted for the first time in fall
1997, the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP) collects detailed
information on youth in juvenile residential placement facilities as a result of
contact with the juvenile justice system. Examples of the type of information
CJRP collects include characteristics of juveniles in the facilities (date of birth,
race, sex, and most serious offense), court of jurisdiction (juvenile or criminal
court), adjudicatory status (pre-adjudication or post-adjudication), and the
state or county that has jurisdiction over the juvenile. OJJDP and the Bureau of
the Census developed CJRP to more accurately represent the number of
juveniles in placement and to describe the reasons for their placement. The new
census is expected to result in more accurate, timely, and useful data on the
juvenile population, with less reporting burden for facility respondents.

Survey of Youth in Residential Placement: This survey will examine the
characteristics of juveniles placed out of the home because of contact with the
justice system, including their demographic makeup and offense history. It will
also examine risk and protective factors encountered by these individuals and
their experiences in custody. OJJDP anticipates a 2-year development phase
with the first full implementation of the survey in 2001. This will be the first time
that researchers will collect individual-level data directly from a national sample
of juveniles in placement.

Juvenile Residential Facility Census: OJJDP has created a census of juvenile
facilities that will provide important information on how these facilities function.
The census covers security arrangements, health services, mental health
treatment, substance abuse treatment, education opportunities and resources,
and facility capacity. The Bureau of the Census initiated a feasibility test of this
project in October 1998. The first full implementation took place in October
2000 and the results will be available in the Fall of 2001. 

Juvenile Probation Survey: OJJDP is developing a survey of juvenile probation
that will complement the various censuses that deal with juvenile custody.
Juvenile probation has rightly been described as the workhorse of the juvenile
justice system. However, few data exist on the use of this sanction, and no data
exist on the number of juveniles under probation at any one time. This new
survey will fill that gap. OJJDP has entered into an agreement with the Bureau
of the Census to develop the survey, which will be field tested in 2001 and
fielded in 2003.

Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC)Task Force Program: As of
November 3, 2000, 30 task forces, composed of more than 125 law
enforcement agencies, participated in the Internet Crimes Against Children
Task Force (ICAC Task Force) Program. These regional task forces provide
forensic, prevention, and investigative assistance to parents, educators,
prosecutors, law enforcement and other professionals working on child
victimization issues. 

OJJDP administers the program with the ICAC Task Force Review Board
(Board)[5] and has established operational and investigative standards to
facilitate interagency case referrals. Composed of law enforcement managers
and prosecutors from participating agencies, the Board reviews undercover
operation proposals and formulates policy recommendations. The standards
foster information sharing to avoid redundant or disruption of ongoing
investigations, ensure the probative quality of undercover operations, and
facilitate interagency case referrals through the standardization of investigative
practices.

Congress in the FY 1998 Justice Appropriations Act, Public Law 105-119,
directed OJJDP to stimulate creation of "state and local law enforcement
cyber-units to investigate child sexual exploitation." Congress continued the
ICAC Task Force Program through the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency
Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1999, Public Law 105-277, and Fiscal
Year 2000 Consolidated Appropriations Act, Public Law 106-113. The FY
2001 Conference Report provides $6.5 million to continue the ICAC Task
Force Program. This brings the total program funding to $13 million in three
years.

Community Assessment Centers (CACs): OJJDP's Community Assessment
Center (CAC) initiative is designed to help facilitate earlier and more efficient
prevention and intervention service delivery at the front end of the juvenile
justice system. During FY 2000, Human Service Associates, Inc. (HSA) in
Orlando, Florida and the Denver Juvenile Court in Denver, Colorado worked
to develop a fully operational CAC. Grantees are implementing a centralized
point of intake and assessment for juveniles who have come or are likely to
come into contact with the juvenile justice system. Grantees are also conducting
immediate and comprehensive needs assessments on youth at the front end of
the juvenile justice system; implementing a management information system
(MIS) to manage and monitor youth served; and providing integrated case
management for youth including making service recommendations, facilitating
access to services, conducting follow-up and periodically reassessing youth. To
effectively monitor a youth's progress through multiple treatment programs,
possibly in different systems, CACs need an infrastructure that supports
integrated case management. The CAC concept advocates developing a
comprehensive and integrated data system for multiple agencies and service
providers to use to accomplish this task. Ultimately, an integrated MIS would
serve as the cornerstone of the single point of entry and assessment process. 

For CACs, OJJDP has awarded approximately $3.2 million over four years,
including $250,000 in training and technical assistance.

SafeFutures: OJJDP has supported the SafeFutures (SF) Partnerships to
Reduce Youth Violence and Delinquency programs since 1995. The program
emphasizes the importance of providing a continuum of care at all
developmental stages for youth who are or at risk of being delinquent. Since
1995, OJJDP has awarded annual grants of up to $1.4 million each year to
Boston, MA; Contra Costa County, CA; Fort Belknap Indian Community,
MT; Imperial County, CA; St. Louis, MO; and Seattle, WA. The sites have
been developing comprehensive plans that provide appropriate prevention,
intervention and treatment services and graduated sanctions for at-risk and
delinquent youth. During FY 2000, the sites focused on refining this continuum
of care approach through better integration and coordination of services,
including work toward implementing management information systems to better
share information across systems. Specific attention has also been given to
systems change and program sustainment. For the SF Program, OJJDP
awards, including training and technical assistance, total approximately $42.3
million.

Systems Improvement Training and Technical Assistance Project: The primary
goal of the Systems Improvement Training and Technical Assistance Project
(SITTAP) is to help the juvenile justice and child welfare systems, and the
communities they serve, to develop, expand, and enhance their skills and
capacity to make systemic changes leading to an integrated system of care for
at-risk and delinquent youth and their families. In FY 1998, the Institute for
Educational Leadership (IEL) received funding from OJJDP to implement
SITTAP. SITTAP seeks to: (1) strengthen and sustain the capacity of selected
sites (six SF and five Safe Kids/Safe Streets sites) so that they are far more
able to achieve and sustain their systems reform goals; and (2) use the SF and
Safe Kids/Safe Streets (SKSS) experiences to educate and inform other
communities and the field about how they can more effectively pursue
community-based systems reform. Through SITTAP, IEL is building a talented
learning community of training and technical assistance providers with diverse
backgrounds, knowledge and expertise in systems change. Work to improve
communities' sharing of information and information technology capacity is
critical to SITTAP's ongoing systems reform work. For SITTAP, OJJDP has
made awards totaling approximately $1.1 million.

OJJDP Formula and Block Grants Programs: The State and Tribal Assistance
Division of OJJDP provides grant funding to states for a variety of juvenile
crime prevention strategies. As part of this effort, many states and units of local
government choose to use grant funds to establish and maintain interagency,
information-sharing databases. The information technology enables the juvenile
and criminal justice systems, schools, and social service agencies to make more
informed decisions regarding early identification, control, supervision, and
treatment of juveniles who repeatedly commit serious delinquent or criminal
acts. 

Through training and technical assistance providers, the State and Tribal
Assistance Division have provided assistance to communities on how they can
share information on juveniles while still protecting the confidentiality
requirements of local, state and federal laws. As a result of the technical
assistance, many communities have adopted policies that have increased the
coordination and effectiveness of services for juvenile offenders. 

Tools and Strategies for Protecting Kids on the Internet: Public Law 105-314
(Protection of Children from Sexual Predators Act of 1998) Title IX, Section
901, mandated that "not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Attorney General shall request that the National Academy of Sciences
(NAS), acting through its National Research Council, enter into a contract to
conduct a study of computer-based technologies and other approaches to the
problem of the availability of pornographic material to children on the Internet,
in order to develop possible amendments to Federal criminal law and other law
enforcement techniques to respond to the problem." 

In response to this Congressional mandate, the Computer Science and
Telecommunications Board and the Board on Children, Youth, and Families of
the National Research Council (NRC) developed a proposal to convene a
committee of experts to explore the pros and cons of different technology
options and operational policies needed to support the use of those options. At
the request of OJJDP and the Department of Education, the study's scope was
broadened beyond the original mandate to address a range of issues and topics
pertaining to children's use of the Internet. OJJDP and the Department of
Education awarded NAS $500,000 to complete the study.

The subject of controlling children's access to inappropriate materials on the
Internet is highly charged politically and emotionally in the national debate. As a
general rule, any approach to this problem is cast in simplistic terms of
"protecting children from exposure to harmful material" vs. "protecting free
speech and open access to information." The final report for this project will
include: (1) an objective description of the costs and benefits of various tools
and strategies that can be used to promote children's safe and appropriate use
of the Internet; (2) an explication of how "packages" of different tools and
strategies that can be used together to promote different social goals; and (3)
case studies of how different communities have approached the promotion of
safe and appropriate children's use of the Internet. Providing a better
understanding of different tools and strategies can promote a more reasoned
consideration of various public policy options. The study is expected to provide
a foundation for a more coherent and objective national debate on the subject,
but it will avoid making specific policy recommendations that embed particular
social values in this area.

Risk Focused Policing at Places: An Experimental Evaluation of the
Communities That Care Program in Redlands, California: The Police
Foundation is conducting a randomized experimental evaluation of the Redlands
California Communities That Care (CTC) program, which uses a problem-
oriented policing approach that uses mapping techniques. The CTC program in
Redlands uses mapping to identify census block groups where the risk of
juvenile delinquency is high. The Redlands Police Department then employs a
problem-oriented approach to develop and implement strategies to reduce risk
factors in these areas while simultaneously reinforcing protective factors. The
program is aided by crime and data mapping tools which allow the police
department to draw from multiple databases in defining areas for intervention
and developing innovative solutions. 

The Police Foundation is working closely with the Redlands Police Department
to randomly assign block groups to either the control group or experimental
group. The control block groups will continue to receive the same services and
the experimental groups will get enhanced services and treatment. The use of
the CTC student survey will be used to determine risk in sites as well as
monitor changes over the course of one year. The Redlands, California Police
Department and School District have agreed to cooperate fully with the Police
Foundation in conducting this evaluation. OJJDP provided $30,000,000 in
funding.

6. The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)

The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) administers victim compensation and
assistance grant programs created by the Victims of Crime Act of 1984
(VOCA). OVC also provides funding, training and technical assistance to
victim service organizations, criminal justice agencies, and other professionals to
improve the nation's response to crime victims. OVC's programs are funded
through the Crime Victims Fund, which is derived from fines and penalties
collected from federal offenders. Visit OVC's website at
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/.

The following are OVC Information Technology Initiatives.

Efforts To Assist the Field in Using Technology to Serve Crime Victims

Pan Am 103/Lockerbie Family Website: OVC awarded a grant to Syracuse
University College of Law to design, implement and maintain a website for the
purpose of informing families of the 270 victims of the Pan Am 103 bombing
about developments in the Lockerbie criminal trial, which began on May 3,
2000. The website includes an accurate, comprehensive, and objective
overview of the trial as well as information about other aspects of the Pan Am
103/Lockerbie case. The website is password protected, accessible only to the
victims' family members and a small group of others designated by OVC. The
layout of the site is user-friendly and easily navigated by persons with average
Internet experience. The content of the site includes: legal documents and
information; information about travel and other services for families provided by
OVC; official messages to families from OVC, the Scottish Crown, police, and
U.S. Department of State; interactive sections including a message board for
the families to use among themselves; a question and answer forum for
contacting Syracuse; relevant links to the media's Lockerbie pages or search
engines programmed by Syracuse; a Scottish legal glossary; and other
background information.

American Medical Women's Associations: OVC awarded a grant to the
American Medial Women's Association (AMWA) to educate physicians and
other health care professionals throughout the nation about comprehensive and
effective approaches to recognizing and treating victims of domestic violence.
This, in turn, will improve the health outcomes of women at risk for and
victimized by domestic violence. To accomplish this objective, the AMWA will
adapt the educational curriculum developed by the Family Violence Prevention
Fund in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic
Violence, titled, Improving Health Care Response to Domestic Violence: A
Resource Manual for Health Care Providers into a web-based format. The
web-based curriculum will be promoted through AMWA publications,
leadership mailings, member and nonmember listservs, and in a special mailing
to solicit interest in website linkages from related medical, specialty and
women's health organizations. 

Sexual Assault Resource Service: OVC has awarded grant funding for the past
three years to the Sexual Assault Resource Service of Minneapolis to develop
and administer a website (www.sane-sart.com) for Sexual Assault Nurse
Examiners (SANEs) and other members of Sexual Assault Response Teams
(SARTs). This site provides up-to-date information and direct technical
assistance to SANEs and SARTs across the nation to improve their response
to victims of sexual assault, and to enhance their efforts to investigate and
prosecute these crimes. The site serves as a central registry for SANE
programs throughout the country, with 443 programs signed up as of May
2001. These SANE programs provide aggregate program data via secure
access, which, in turn, is used to develop and refine information and technical
assistance that is provided to them. Currently, the grantee is assembling a panel
of national experts who can respond to queries from the field, covering a broad
range of victim, investigative and prosecutorial issues. 

Denver Victim Services 2000: OVC made funding available to the Denver
Victim Services 2000 site to use technology to improve agency and community
response to crime victims. The Denver initiative focuses on the development of
an information system that uses both simple and complex innovations to
enhance services, increase efficiency, and improve the way victim service
providers do their job. The system enables electronic mail communication over
the Internet, allowing victim service providers to easily share agency information
about training and other activities. It also provides a continually updated,
comprehensive online resource directory for easy use by service providers and
the general public; facilitates coordinated case management, ensuring integrated
services for victims across multiple agencies and eliminating duplication and re-
victimizing intake processes; and eases discussion of communication, efficiency,
and access to information throughout the country by victim services providers
and crime victims.

Wiconi Wawakiya Telemedicine Project: OVC provided funding to the Wiconi
Wawakiya, Inc. organization to provide support for the provision of state-of-
the-art medical evaluations for maltreated children on the Crow Creek
reservation and surrounding reservations in South Dakota. The goal of the
project is to encourage collaboration and reduce the need for multiple
interviews or examinations of child abuse victims. Through this project, medical
professionals are able to provide on-line consultation to the medical practitioner
while the child is being examined and throughout the case. A forensic
interviewer has online consultation and technical assistance available from an
expert panel of peer reviewers at a remote location. The project also supports
a multidisciplinary approach for the investigation and prosecution of child abuse
to include federal and tribal law enforcement, state and Bureau of Indian Affairs
social services, and mental health services from Indian Health Services.

Automated Compensation System Project: OVC has authorized State Victim
Assistance and Compensation grantees to use Federal formula grant funds to
develop automated systems to facilitate the delivery of services and assistance
to crime victims. Crime victim compensation programs are updating and
developing new automated claims processing systems, creating web pages, and
moving toward online submission of applications for benefits. States are using
Federal VOCA funds to develop and maintain automated grants' management
systems, with direct services funds being used for automated case tracking and
victim notification systems, for web pages, and email communications among
victim service providers.

Crime Victimization Survey Software and Crime Mapping Software: OVC is
committed to assisting states in building their capacity to manage VOCA
funding. With a significant increase in federal funding and the resulting growth in
programs, OVC is promoting data driven program planning at the state level.
OVC is working with BJS to adapt the NCVS software for use by states to
assess the needs of crime victims, those who do and do not report crime. In
addition, the NIJ Crime Mapping Research Center is working with OVC to
develop a bulletin that will inform state administrators on the use of geographic
information systems (GIS) software in crime and victim services mapping. OVC
has authorized states to use federal administrative funds to fund both of these
initiatives.

Training Materials Adaptation to Web-based Format: Through its Training and
Technical Assistance Center, OVC tasked a consultant to develop an
electronic handbook/guide in laymen's terms to provide technical assistance to
OVC grantees in creating informational and training material, especially in
Web-ready formats for up-load onto OVC's website. In addition, OVC has
asked the consultant to adapt the existing "victims and the media"
curricula/training material into succinct, on-line training sessions for upload onto
OVC's website or hyperlink from OVC's website to a remote host site.

Efforts To Improve Access to OVC Resources and Internal Department
Operations

American Association of University Affiliated Programs (AAUAP): With grant
funding provided by OVC, the AAUAP has developed an on-line searchable
database of descriptions and contact information for training resources that
focus on victims of crime with disabilities, including book listings, training
manuals, videos, and training programs. The database, which is expected to be
available during the summer of 2001, is for the use of service providers,
educators, victim assistance professionals, criminal justice personnel,
researchers and persons with disabilities. Information contained in the on-line
resource guide can be accessed by organization name, product title, product
type, target group, and by keyword entry for convenience in searching.
Organizations and individuals will be able to enter and edit information about
available resources.

OVC Training and Technical Assistance Consultant Database: OVC
developed and maintained an automated consultant database whose members
have relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities with respect to the criminal justice
system and are experienced and skilled in planning, program development,
service delivery, and assessment. This consultant database is organized by
subject area, such as domestic violence, child abuse, DUI/DWI, program
management and development, Native American issues, victim-offender
mediation, workplace violence, restitution, compensation and victim services.
The database is continually updated to include new consultants with a wide
range of expertise, experience, diversity, and geographic representation. The
database is used by both OVC staff and available to the public through OVC's
website for selection of consultants to provide training and technical assistance.

Automated Nationwide Victim Information and Notification System: OVC
provided funding to support the development of an automated victim
information and notification system for the Federal criminal justice system.
OVC has transferred funding to the Executive Office for United States
Attorneys to take the lead in this project with assistance of a working group
composed of representatives from the FBI, OVC, and the Bureau of
Prisons (BOP). The automation group hired an outside consulting agency, Price
Waterhouse Coopers, to develop a detailed Requirements Analysis that: (1)
determines each component's requirements for an automated system; (2)
reviews current available systems that may be expanded to meet the specific
needs of this initiative; (3) conducts an independent estimate to determine
system cost; and (4) establishes timelines associated with accomplishing
required tasks. The analysis was completed in January 1999, and the next step
is to develop a pilot project. The expected outcome of the system is to establish
an automated victim's information database and a means to provide timely
notification of mandated events in the Federal criminal justice system among the
FBI, U.S. Attorney's offices, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. This system
will be easily adapted to other investigative agencies at a later date.

Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) ListServ: OVC has a highly successful VOCA
state administrators listserv in place. The listserv provides the means for OVC
to provide state grantee administrators with updated information on funding,
instructions on changes in grant making, new publications, and other information
relevant to their programs. Administrators respond regularly with questions
specific to their state programs and provide information to OVC on promising
practices in their states. OVC has recently implemented a new listserv for
subgrantees to provide them with information on new publications, funding and
cutting-edge issues, and to collect further information on promising practices.

7. Violence Against Women Office (VAWO)

VAWO, through its discretionary and formula grant programs, is funding
information technology projects for several states, tribes and local communities
in order to enhance offender accountability and victim safety, and to ensure
coordinated community responses to domestic violence. Projects include the
development of multi-agency case tracking systems which allow the secure
sharing of information on domestic violence cases among the courts, law
enforcement, prosecution, probation and parole, and domestic violence victim
advocacy service providers. Other projects focus on enhancing evidence
collection, including digital images, increasing on-scene law enforcement access
to domestic violence case data, developing and linking protection order
registries, and enhancing existing criminal justice data systems to accommodate
domestic violence case data. 

The Violence Against Women Act of 2000 adds as a purpose of the grants to
Encourage Arrest and Enforcement of Protection Orders through the provision
of technical assistance, computers and other equipment to criminal justice
agencies to facilitate the widespread enforcement of protection orders across
state and tribal jurisdictions. Future VAWO funding for information technology
initiatives will support development and enhancement of protection order
registries and the replication of effective technologies developed under previous
grants. For example, the State of New York, in partnership with the Center for
Court Innovation, has developed a model Internet-based case tracking system
to improve the efficiency of domestic violence case processing and tracking in
felony and misdemeanor domestic violence courts. The system links the courts
with law enforcement, prosecutors, batterer intervention programs, probation,
and victim advocacy service providers. Innovations in this system include the
use of electronic orders of protection, signed digitally by the judges, and then
uploaded automatically to the state domestic violence registry; links between
multiple agencies and the court which allow for secure and timely updates on
offender compliance with treatment and probation terms; and the ability to add
new multi-disciplinary partners to the secure Internet-based system at minimal
cost.

To learn more about VAWO, please visit www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo/.

----------------------------

Notes

1. The Crime Information Technology Act (CITA) was authorized with the
passage of Public Law 105-251 on October 9, 1998, and provides assistance
to states, in conjunction with local governments, to establish or upgrade justice
information systems and identification technologies. BJS received CITA
discretionary funding in FY 2000 in the amount of $19.5 million and in FY
2001 BJS received $15.7 million in funds. To learn more about the CITA
authorizing legislation or the 17 Purpose Areas designated for funding under
CITA please visit, www.ojp.usdoj.gov/cita.
 
2. NIJ funding under CITA was $3.8 million for FY 2000 and $4.2 million for
FY 2001. 

3. The BJA funding that supported this initiative within OJP in FY 2000 was
$11.0 million from CITA and $3.8 million from the Local Law Enforcement
Block Grants (LLEBG) Program.

4. NASIRE officially changed its name to NASCIO in May 2001. For
simplicity, all comments about the organization will be referred to as NASCIO,
regardless if they took place while the organization was named NASIRE. 

5. Board Legal Advisor is the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. The
FBI, U.S. Customs Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children are technical advisors. 

----------------------------

Appendix A: Partnerships and Affiliations

Collaborating Organizations and Associations 

Global Justice Information Network Federal Advisory Committee 

Administrative Office of the US Courts 

AAMVA - American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators

ACA - American Correctional Association

APPA - American Probation and Parole Association

Attorney General Advisory Committee

COSCA - Conference of State Court Administrators

CJISAPB - Criminal Justice Information Services Advisory Policy Board

US Postal Inspection Service, NCIC Federal Service Coordinator

Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal Justice Information Services Division

IACP - International Association of Chiefs of Police

Interpol - U.S.N.C.B

MCCA - Major Cities Chiefs Association

NAAG - National Association of Attorneys General


NACM - National Association for Court Management

NASCIO - National Association of State Chief Information Officers

NCSC - National Center for State Courts

NCSL - National Conference of State Legislators

NCJFCJ - National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

NCJA - National Criminal Justice Association

NDAA - National District Attorney's Association

NGA - National Governors' Association

NLADA - National Legal Aid & Defender Association

NLETS - National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System

NSA - National Sheriff's Association

Office of Investigative Agency Policies

Yavapai-Prescott Tribal Police Department

SEARCH

State and Provincial Police Division, IACP

USDOJ - United States Department of Justice

United States Department of Treasury

Attorneys General

NAAG - National Association of Attorneys General

Corrections

ACA - American Correctional Association

ASCA - Association of State Correctional Administrators

CTA - Corrections Technology Association

Courts

COSCA - Conference of State Court Administrators

NACM - National Association for Court Management

JTC - Joint Technology Committee

NCSC - National Center for State Courts

Criminal Justice

IIR - Institute of Intergovernmental Research

NCJA - National Criminal Justice Association

SEARCH - Search Group, Inc.

VIJ - Vera Institute of Justice

Defense Bar

NLADA - National Legal Aid and Defender Association

NPDA - National Public Defender's Association

General

CSG - Council of State Governments

ICMA - International City/County Management Association

NACO - National Association of Counties

NCSL - National Conference of State Legislatures

NGA - National Governors Association

NLC - National League of Cities

NSGIC - National States Geographic Information Council

USCM - U.S Conference of Mayors

Information Technology

CTG - Center for Technology in Government, Albany, NY

PII - Partnership for Intergovernmental Innovation

NASCIO - National Association of State Chief Information Officers

NECCC - National Electronic Commerce Coordinating Council

PTI - Public Technology, Inc.

----------------------------

Appendix B

BJA Information Technology Initiative: Vision, Mission, Goals and Objectives

Vision

The Information Technology Initiative (ITI) will be an instrument designed to
connect the needs of state, regional, local, tribal and transnational agencies with
the resources of BJA, and throughout the Office of Justice Programs, to
facilitate the effective use of information technology across all components of
the justice community.

Mission

ITI will serve those seeking knowledge pertaining to the application of justice
information systems and technology; it will strive to foster appropriate
interagency and inter-jurisdictional exchange of information, support the
formulation of appropriate standards, facilitate the emergence of cooperative
strategies for planning and development and promote a consensus model of
national partnerships.

Goals

ITI will serve the interests and needs of all components of the state, regional,
local, tribal and transnational justice enterprise by supporting the promotion,
planning, funding, and implementation of integrated information technology
systems, thereby improving the quality of justice, the safety of law enforcement
personnel and the well-being of citizens.

ITI will focus on facilitating the exchange of appropriate information among a
diverse group of public and private stakeholders, members of academia and all
branches of government.

ITI will promote an environment that supports endeavors in which consensus
regarding models, approaches and standards can be reached.

Objectives

ITI will encourage coordination and assistance between OJP Bureaus and
Offices, and affiliated partners, to support the collection, organization and
analysis of information from members of the justice community, provide access
to these resources and offer a forum for open dialogue between interested
parties.

ITI will advocate the use of an approach that recognizes the value of creative
partnerships, multi-agency planning and collaborative decision making to
achieve innovative problem-solving and information sharing.

----------------------------

Appendix C

Website Guide

Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) - www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/

Information on CITA funding - www.ojp.usdoj.gov/cita

National Criminal Justice Reference Servcice (NCJRS) - www.ncjrs.org 

National Institute of Justice (NIJ) - www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/

Crime Victimization Survey Software -
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cvs.htm

Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) - www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/

National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) -
www.nascio.org

National Center for State Courts (NCSC)- www.ncsconline.org

American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) - www.appa-net.org

Global Justice Information Network Federal Advisory Committee (Global) -
www.it.ojp.gov

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) - www.nist.gov

Integrated Justice Information - www.it.ojp.gov

Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR) - www.iir.org

Law Enforcement Intellegence Forum - www.iir.org 

National Center for Rural Law Enforcement (NCRLE) - www.ncrle.net

International Association of Chief's of Police (IACP) - www.theiacp.org

Center for Technology in Government (CTG) - www.ctg.albany.edu

SEARCH - www.search.org

Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) - www.usdoj.gov/cops

Business Case Assistance Documentation -
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/integratedjustice

Industry Working Group (IWG) - www.ijis.org

Integrated Justice Information Systems Institute (IJIS) - www.ijis.org 

National Governors Association (NGA) - www.nga.org

National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) - www.ncsl.org 

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) -
http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org

Office of Victims of Crime (OVC) - www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/

Violence Against Women Office (VAWO) - www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo/ 

----------------------------

Appendix D

Glossary

AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System)--A database of digitized
offender fingerprint files. A user can enter a fingerprint and a computer will
generate a list of possible matches within minutes. The matches are then
examined and verified by a fingerprint expert.
                                 
ANSI--American National Standards Institute. See Standards organizations.

AVL (Automatic Vehicle Locator)--Uses Global Positioning System
technology to locate the position of patrol cars on a digital map. This
information assists the dispatcher in knowing which calls should be assigned to
which officers.

Agency--A governmental unit; in the narrowest sense, a governmental unit of
the executive branch.

Architecture--Those characteristics of a network, operating system and/or
application program which facilitate information interchange. May refer to either
hardware or software or a combination of both.

Asynchronous Communication--A communication pattern in which the two (or
more) parties involved are not communicating at the same time. Telephone
conversations are an example of synchronous communication: both parties must
be on the telephone at the same time. An email message is an example of
asynchronous communication: one party can send a message and the other can
read it hours or days later.

Authentication--Any of the methods used to assure that the alleged source of
the received data is the actual source, and that the message received is the
same as the one sent in every respect.

Bios (Basic Input/Output System)--Controls the startup of the machines or
computers and other functions such as the keyboard, display, and disk drive.
The BIOS is stored on read only memory and is not erased when the computer
is turned off. The BIOS on newer machines is stored on flash read-only
memory, allowing it to be erased and rewritten to update the BIOS.


Broadband--A general term for high-volume, multiple-channel
telecommunications capacity available via a single medium (e.g., a wire or
cable). While narrowband (the equivalent of one telephone voice channel) is
adequate for the transmission of text and numerical data, broadband
connections allow the efficient and reliable delivery of voice, data, and video
over one integrated network. Because multimedia content is seen as vital to
businesses and consumers alike, electronic networks are increasingly moving to
broadband, which in turn will have important long-term implications for
commercial development and civic life. 

CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch)--A computer system which assists 911 call
takers and dispatch personnel in handling and prioritizing calls. Enhanced 911
will send the location of the call to the CAD system, which will automatically
display the address of the 911 callers on a screen in front of the call taker.
Complaint information is then entered into the computer and is easily
retrievable. The system may be linked to MDT's in patrol cars allowing a
dispatcher and officers to communicate without using voice. The system may
also be interfaced with NCIC, AVL, or a number of other programs. 

CDPD (Cellular Digit Packet Data)--A data transmission technology which
uses unused cellular phone channels to transmit data in packets.

CIO (Chief Information Officer)--The CIO is the highest-level person
responsible for policy concerning information systems and telecommunications
systems.

CJIS-WAN (Criminal Justice Information Services Wide Area Network)--A
nationwide state- to-federal network operated by the FBI to serve fingerprint-
based information exchange.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheet)--Used to format structured data for display or
printing. See also XSL.
          
CTO (Chief Terminal Officer)--In each state, the single person responsible for
intrastate connections with the information systems and networks provided by
FBI.

Client/Server Architecture--A network model in which a computer or process
(server) provides services to the workstations (clients) connected to that
computer (server). This architecture allows the client to share resources such as
files, printers, and processing power with other clients.

Collective Data--Distinguished from transaction data. A collective data object
contains data from several transactions (e.g., an incident description plus all the
outcomes of the incident, or all incidents in a time period with their outcomes).

Common Native Language--Information sharing technique which relies on
multiple databases but a single data dictionary.

Compliant--The ability of hardware and software to satisfy a particular
requirement such as manipulation of four-digit dates.

Computer Crime Mapping--Allows a department to display calls for service on
a computerized pin map, which aids in crime analysis efforts.

ConOps (Concept of Operations)--A description at a relatively high level of the
participants in information sharing, the information flows involved and the
functional requirements at each step of sharing.

Consolidation--Information sharing technique that relies on tightly coupled
application programs interacting with a single database.

Conversion--Translating valid values into another format on a permanent basis.

DTD (Data Type Declaration)--A specification in SGML and XML. See
Semantic Data. 

Data--The raw material of information. Data may be structured or unstructured;
dynamic or static; textual or graphic. Raw data plus its associated metadata
equals information.

Database--A set of data structured to support the storage, retrieval, and
analysis of information, often custom-designed for specific business
applications. Databases are central to information processing since they allow
new and more efficient ways of assembling records and organizing work. A key
step in developing databases is implementing consistent definitions or standards
so that data can be meaningfully shared among users. Examples include
standard charts of accounts for financial data, standard methods of coding
geographical information, and standard templates for archiving audio and video
material. See Standards.

Data Dictionary--A file which defines the basic organization of a database. It
will contain a list of all files in the database, the number of records in each file,
and the names and types of each field.

Data Esperanto--Information sharing technique which relies on the ability of
each sharing system to transform from its own database format to a single
transfer format, and from that transfer format to its own format.

Data Schema--Definition of the permissible data to be included in a specified
data element, or by extension to all data elements of a file, table or document.
See Semantic Data.

Data Standards--Agreed-upon descriptions of the terms, meanings, and
formats of the data elements required for operation of automated systems and
interchange of those data elements among different systems.

Data Warehouse--Information sharing technique which relies on a separate
database created by transforming data from several sources into a single
database, along with application programs to retrieve the transformed data.

Digital--Data that has been created, transmitted, or stored as a string of signals
coded as "1" (on) or "0" (off). Data in digital form (text, numbers, graphics,
voice, video, etc.) can be stored and processed by computers and
communicated at high speed over electronic networks with complete accuracy
and reliability. Exact copies of digital data can be made in which the copy is
indistinguishable from the original. 

Digital Signature--Any of the methods used to assure that the alleged source of
a message is the actual source, and that the attached message is the intended
one.

Document--As used in this report, an information-exchange message for
structured information; the document structure, data content and edit
requirements are per-defined before the information exchange takes place. See
also Message.

800 Megahertz--Refers to public safety radio systems using channels located in
or near the 800 MHZ band. Approximately 300 channels located in the 800
MHZ spectrum band have been assigned for use by state and local public
safety entities. The disadvantage is that this higher frequency has less range and
so a greater infrastructure is needed to cover the same range as lower
frequencies. Currently there are problems with incompatibility between different
800 MHz trunked systems built by different vendors.

E-government--A term commonly used to describe the interaction between
government and citizens over the Internet. E-government has evolved rapidly
from merely publishing or disseminating government information electronically,
to online interactions and transactions between government and citizens. As
governments begin to reorganize and integrate their work processes to take
advantage of computer networks, e-government may come to define a new or
transformed relationship between citizens and government enabled by
networks.

EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer)--Refers to the transfer of government
benefits (funds or resources) to individuals through the use of a card
technology. Individuals access their benefits through Automated Teller
Machines or retail point-of-sale terminals.

Electronic Commerce (or e-commerce)--Transactions where money is
exchanged for valuable goods and services with either the money and/or the
goods and services transported over computer networks.

Encryption--The act of scrambling information into a form called a cipher,
usually to keep it from being read or modified by unauthorized parties. This is
achieved through the use of algorithmic "keys" that scramble the information at
one end and unscramble it at the other. Computer-based encryption can be
used both for purposes that society wants to prevent (criminal and terrorist
communications) as well as those it wants to support (private and secure social
and commercial communications). The reader of an encrypted file must have a
key to decrypt the file.

Exchange Point--An event within a process at which information sharing does
or should occur; either information is collected which is useful to another entity,
or information from another entity is needed, or both.

Firewalls A system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a
private network. Often used to prevent internet users from accessing private
networks connected to the Internet.

Formatting Data--Metadata which expresses the appearance of data on a page
or screen. XSL and CSS style sheets contain formatting data.

Function--A capability of an application program, for example case initiation,
meeting notification, decision outcome recording, etc. 

Functional Specifications--A formal description of a software system that is
used as a blueprint for implementation. Specifications should state the purposes
of the program, provide implementation details and describe the specific
functions of the software from the user's perspective.

Functional Standards--Descriptions of the required features, functions, and
operational capabilities of automated systems as defined by a qualified group of
practitioners and experts. Functional standards describe WHAT a system must
do, not HOW it must do it or which data elements it must contain or use.

GIS (Geographic Information System)--A set of hardware and software tools
used to gather, manipulate and analyze geographically referenced data into a
map to facilitate analysis, decision making and planning. GIS is used by many
government agencies. For example, transportation departments use GIS to
determine the most efficient corridors for highway construction, and housing
departments' use GIS to help select the best locations for urban renewal
projects. For justice purposes, a GIS may use or include a CAD system, crime
mapping program, AVL system, and GPS.

GPS (Global Positioning System)--A system that uses satellites and small,
portable receivers to determine the physical position of an object or person. It
provides coded satellite signals that can be processed by a GPS receiver
enabling the receiver to compute position, velocity and time. Increasingly
ubiquitous, GPS are used to track the locations of airplanes, boats, cars, and
even individuals to within an accuracy of a few meters.

GUI (Graphical User Interface)--Often pronounced "gooey," a GUI uses a
computer's graphic systems to make a program more user friendly. A GUI may
include standard formats for representing text and graphics which make it easier
to share data between programs running on the same GUI.

Governance Model--A model associated with a specific ConOps which
describes the rules for making decisions concerning ongoing operation of a
system, in this case the information sharing system. Items include requirements
for participation, placement of and services to be provided at the central site,
expenses and payments, adoption of and changes/additions to the sharing
vocabulary or document list, and sanctions for inappropriate behavior. 

HTML (Hypertext markup language)--A message tagging method used to
instruct concerning the appearance of the message, primarily on the screen. See
Markup Language and World Wide Web.

HTTP (Hyper Text Transmission Protocol)--See Transmission Protocols.

Hardware--Broadly, the physical components of information technology:
computers, peripheral devices such as printers, disks, and scanners, and the
cables and switches that link digital networks. The key components of
computer hardware are microprocessor chips, which have doubled in
productivity every 18 months, as measured by instructions executed per dollar
(a phenomenon referred to as Moore's law). See Software.

IAFIS (Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System)--IAFIS is a
new (July 1999) national on-line fingerprint and criminal history database run by
the FBI. Criminal justice agencies which submit urgent electronic requests for
identification will receive a response within 2 hours.

IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force)--See Standards Organizations.

III (Interstate Identification Index)--Run by the FBI, this system, part of IAFIS,
contains criminal history records for almost 30 million offenders and can be
queried using a name, birth date, and other information. (ask how much info
req.)

IT (Information Technology)--The umbrella term that encompasses the entire
field of computer-based information processing: computer equipment,
applications and services, telecommunication links and networks, digital
databases, and the integrated technical specifications that enable these systems
to function interactively. See also Information Infrastructure. The rapid
development and expansion of these technologies over the last 20 years have
ushered in the current historical period widely referred to as the "Information
Age" or "Information Revolution," comparable in economic and social
magnitude to the Industrial Revolution of the early 19th century. The profound
transformations brought about by computer networking have made information
processing (rather than industrial manufacturing) the key factor in economic
productivity and global commerce, thereby supplanting large segments of the
traditional blue-collar labor market with a white-collar force of information or
knowledge workers.

Information Infrastructure--The interdependent capacities and standards for
digital communication and data processing (both hardware and software) that
support the flow of information, much as a highway infrastructure supports the
flow of vehicles. (Hence, the vernacular catchphrase, "Information
Superhighway," as a general reference to the interconnected system of
computer networks exemplified by the Internet.) The ongoing expansion of this
information infrastructure raises vital issues about when and how to establish
and refine the technical standards on which it operates, including important
related questions about funding, security, privacy, and collective democratic
values.

Information System--Computer hardware, software, network and personnel
directed toward the collection, organization, and dissemination of information.

IP (Internet Protocol)--See Transmission Protocols.

ISO (International Standards Organization)--See Standards Organizations.

ISO 8859-1--International standard for an 8-bit character set. First 128
characters (7 bits) are the same as ANSI/ASCII codes.

Interface--A program or device which connects programs and/or devices.

Internet--The vast global network-of-networks that uses open rather than
proprietary standards to support computer-based communications at an
incredible large and efficient worldwide scale. Originally developed by the U.S.
Defense Department (DARPA) for use in research in the 1960s, the Internet
has become the foundation of our information infrastructure, an ever-expanding
universe of network services and applications organized in geographically
dispersed rather than centralized form.

Intranet--A secure private network which uses TCP/IP protocols.

Knowledge-based Economy--A term used to describe an economy in which
the defining factor of production is knowledge. The 19th century saw the rise of
the industrial-based economy in which goods were produced in large industrial
manufacturing plants. Today, a growing number of people produce, use, and
share knowledge in their day-to-day work. Because information can be
expressed digitally, computer networks have enabled the rapid growth of the
knowledge-based economy.

LAN (Local Area Network)--A computer network that connects workstations
and personal computers and allows them to access data and devices anywhere
on the LAN. A LAN is usually contained within one building.

LAWN (Local Area Wireless Network)--A LAN that uses high frequency
radio waves rather than wires to communicate between nodes.

LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)--A standardized way to
connect with a directory which might hold passwords, addresses, public
encryption keys, and other exchange-facilitating data.

Laptop--A computer which has capabilities beyond that of the Mobile Data
Computer. It may contain report writing and accident reconstruction programs. 

Leadership--Any act by an individual member on the behalf of a group, with the
intent to get the group to better meet its goals. Leadership for previously known
problems relies heavily on authority and technical expertise, while leadership for
new or adaptive problems relies on getting the group to confront the
inadequacies of its old values and routines, and thereby develop more effective
solutions. In general, the challenges of the information age (which involve a high
degree of confusion and conflict resolution) call for adaptive leadership.

Legacy System--Older software and hardware systems still in use and generally
proprietary. 

Live Scan--A machine which replaces ink and roll fingerprints. Fingers are
rolled across a platen and scanned into a computer and then converted to a
digital form of storage. Fingerprint cards are then printed out on a laser printer.
The machine will immediately reject low-quality prints.

MDC (Mobile Data Computer)--A microcomputer used by law enforcement
to access databases for information on persons and property. The MDT uses
wireless communication and allows an officer to exchange information with the
dispatcher and other officers without using voice channels.

MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions)--A set of Internet standards
used to express, in email format, data which does not fit the limitations of the
basic standard.

Marginal Cost--The cost of the next in a series of products. Typically, first
products cost more because of the expenditures required to set up the
production process, with the unit cost then falling over time as the volume of
activity increases. For most manufactured goods, however, diminishing returns-
to-scale eventually cause marginal costs to rise. With information-technology
products, by contrast, the dynamics are dramatically different: extremely high
set-up costs (hundreds of millions of dollars for some software products)
followed by almost zero costs for extra copies and no diminishing returns-to-
scale for extremely high production volumes. Pricing policies for information
goods are thus markedly different than for traditional industrial goods, and
pricing policies in the economy at large are likely to change as the Information
Age progresses.

Markup Language--A method of providing context to a message. The context
may provide a description of how each portion of the message should appear
on paper or in print (SGML, HTML, XML) or the semantic data (q.v.) for
each portion of the message (XML). The method for providing the context is to
enclose each message portion in beginning/end markers called tags, hence the
description tagged-field formats.

Message--Alternatively means the same as Document or can refer to
unstructured data requiring human inference for interpretation.

Metadata--Data about data. There are at least three types of metadata:
semantic data, which gives the meaning of the "raw" data; formatting data which
describes the appearance of the data on-screen or on-page; and intellectual
property data which describes data ownership conditions.

Multi-Functional--Pertaining to an information exchange which crosses between
two entities which have different operational objectives. School-to-probation
exchanges are multi-functional; school-to-school district exchanges are not.

NCIC (National Crime Information Center)--A computer system maintained
by the FBI, which can be queried by local agencies via state computer systems
known as "control terminal agencies." NCIC contains 17 files with over 10
million records, as well as 24 million criminal history records within the
Interstate Identification Index (one of the 17 files). Files include the III, the
Missing Persons File, the Unidentified Persons File, the U.S. Secret Service
Protective File, and the Violent Gang/Terrorist File.

NCIC 2000--System in development which will improve the current NCIC
system. NCIC 2000 will allow for the electronic transmission of photographs,
mugshots, photographs of stolen property and fingerprint data. It will have an
ASIS capability which will identify someone based on a right index fingerprint
when the subject presents no identification or is suspected of presenting a false
I.D. NCIC 2000 will also include expanded fields which will allow for 
additional information, improved search techniques and a capability to link all
records relating to the same crime. A mobile imaging unit installed inside police
cars will contain a hand-held fingerprint scanner, a hand-held digital camera,
and a small printer. This unit is expected to become a main component of the
NCIC 2000 system.

NIBRS (National Incident Based Reporting System)--NIBRS is an incident-
based reporting system run by the FBI through which data are collected on
each single crime occurrence. NIBRS data are designed to be generated as a
by-product of local, state, and federal automated records systems. NIBRS
collects data on single crime incidents and arrests within 22 offense categories
made up of 46 specific crimes called Group A offenses. For each of the
offenses coming to the attention of law enforcement, specific facts are collected.
In addition to the Group A offenses, there are 11 Group B offense categories
for which only arrest data are reported. NIBRS is expected to eventually
replace UC.

NIST (National Institute of Standards)--See Standards Organizations.

NLETS (National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System)--A high-
speed communications network and message switching that connects almost
every law enforcement agency in the country. It allows local agencies to make
inquiries into state databases to access criminal history records, vehicle
registration records, driver's license files etc. NLETS also interfaces with
NCIC and other national files and allow states to exchange information with
each other. 

Network--A set of communication paths (or channels) and the points (or
nodes) they connect, including switches to determine which channel will be used
when more than one is available. Computer networks, like telephone networks,
can be thought of as telecommunications highways over which information
travels. Networks benefit greatly from economies of scope and scale. Digital
networks typically use packet-switching rather than circuit-switching to greatly
increase efficiency and throughput. See Switching.

Node--In a network, a node can be a computer or some other device such as
a printer. Every node has a unique network address. 

OMG (Object Management Group)--See Standards Organizations.

Object Oriented Programming--Combines data structures and functions
(computer directions) to create "objects." Makes it easier to maintain and
modify software.

Open Architecture--The system design allows it to easily be connected to
devices and programs made by other manufacturers.

Open-Source--Computer programs that are distributed as open-source are
distributed along with access to the source code, the program instructions as
written by the programmer. Once distributed as open-source, the author of the
program must allow users to modify the code and redistribute it freely, while
users are prohibited from selling the program or any derivative thereof. The
open-source nature of the program is usually protected by an open-source
license such as the GNU General Public License (GPL). The rationale behind
open-source is that a larger community of programmers will use, improve, and
develop the program.

Open Standard--Standard arrived at under the aegis of a Standards
Organization (q.v.). So-called proprietary standards are not open, nor are most
so-called industry standards.


Operating System--The basic program used by a computer to run other
programs. An operating system recognizes input from the keyboard, sends
output to the display screen, and keeps track of files and directories on the disk
and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers. Operating
Systems provide a platform for other software applications.

Pen-based Computer--A computer that the user interacts via an electronic pen
or stylus rather than a keyboard or mouse. Most PDAs or hand-held
computers are pen-based computers.

Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)--A small hand-held computer that can be
carried around by an individual, and that is most commonly used for personal
management tasks such as storing phone numbers, reading email, or scheduling.
As wireless technologies continue to develop, PDAs are also being used to
communicate over networks. 

Platform--Underlying hardware or software for a system. The term is often
used as a synonym for operating system.

Portal (or Internet Portal)--On one level, a gateway or single point of entry
through which the user can access related information from a variety of sources.
For example, many governments are launching portals as a single point of entry
to government information. It is interesting to note, however, that as
governments adjust to the concept of a single point of entry, they are beginning
to rethink how they interact with constituents. Rather than organizing the user's
experience around agency boundaries, they are breaking down these
boundaries to organize information and interactions around the user's needs.

Privacy-- Involves the right to control one's personal information and the ability
to determine if and how that information should be obtained and used; Entails
restrictions on a wide range of activities relating to personal information: its
collection, use, retention and disclosure. 

Productivity--The ratio of goods produced in relation to the resources
expended in production. Increasing living standards largely depend upon
increasing productivity. Production processes that use information efficiently
will typically be much more productive overall than older industrial production
methods. This is the principal driving force behind the commercial, social, and
political changes catalyzed by information technologies.

Proprietary--Generally refers to a system whose manufacturer will not divulge
specifications that would allow other companies to duplicate the product. 
Also known as a closed architecture.

Public Goods--Goods with impacts that "spill over" beyond those directly
involved in buying and selling, thus weakening market forces as the mechanism
for efficient resource allocation. Computer-based services have the potential of
providing many positive spillovers to the public sector, since the marginal cost
of IT production over time is virtually zero. One of the paramount political
questions of the Information Age is where to draw the boundary between
public and private benefits and, therefore, who should pay. 

QOS (Quality of Service)--A guarantee of service quality for an information or
telecommunication service; it may include promises concerning time between
failures and time to repair failures, minimum bandwidth availability, database
accuracy or other measurable descriptors of the service to be provided.

RMS (Records Management System)--A system which stores computerized
records of crime incident reports and other data. May automatically compile
information for UC or NIBS reporting. Can perform greater functions when
integrated with other systems such as CAD and GPS. 

Regression Test--A test performed before production to identify and prevent
errors and verify that unchanged software will continue to function as designed.

Relational Database Management System--A type of database management
system which stores data in related tables. New types of data can more easily
be added and the user can view the data in multiple ways.

Rosetta--Information sharing technique which relies on the ability to transform
from any one of many database formats to any other of the same large number
of database formats; a many-to-many transformation capability.

SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language)--A legacy tagging standard.
Its progeny includes HTML and XML. See Markup Language.

SQL (Structured Query Language)--Database language used by a relational
database to query, modify, and manage information.

Scalable--Describes how well a system can be adapted and expanded to meet
increased demands.

Scope Creep--The slow and continuous expansion of the scope, resulting in a
broad, unfocused and unmanageable scope, usually leading to cost-overruns,
missed deadlines, and loss of original goal.
   
Security--Encompasses data, computer and network, physical and procedural
security which must be deployed to protect personal information from a wide
range of threats; Complimentary term to privacy, but not synonymous.

Semantic Data--Data about the meaning of the data in a message. This can be
expressed as a data schema, a data dictionary, an XML, or SGML DTD (data
type declaration).

Server--A computer program that provides services to other programs or
computers. Also used to describe the computer on which such a program
operates. In the "client-server" network model, client programs make requests
from servers connected to the same network. On the World Wide Web (see
below), a browser acts as a client program, making requests for files or other
information from web servers. These servers can be located any place in the
world that is connected to the Internet. 

Smart Card--A small electronic device or token (often the size of a credit card)
that stores information in a memory chip. Information can be added, read, or
changed using a smart card reader.

Software--A catchall term for the sets of instructions (programs) in an
electronic format used to operate computer hardware. Software production
and maintenance today has become a primary determinant in the success or
failure of business and government organizations. 

Spectrum--Radio spectrum refers to the array of channels, like the channels on
a television, available for communications transmissions. Commonly referred to
as spectrum, these channels are a finite natural resource; they cannot be
created, purchased or discovered.

Standards--In the context of electronics, standardized technical specifications
allow functions to be coordinated by automatically adhering to the set standard. 
Thus, standards for the voltages used for signaling allow devices to "talk to one
another" in a consistent format, and standards for financial accounting allow for
the meaningful aggregation and analysis of financial databases. With information
technologies there is an inherent tension between the creation of new
capabilities through innovation (a few people trying new ways to do things) and
the subsequent applications of those capabilities through standardization (many
people following established ways of doing things). Determining when and
how to set standards is therefore a critical leadership issue, as is deciding
whether such standards should be "open" for use by the general public or
whether they should be protected by copyright or patent statutes.


Standards Organizations--Organizations which have defined procedures for the
determination that a standard is necessary, the creation of a standard, and the
periodic review of a standard. ANSI, IETF, ISO, NIST, OMG, WWWC
(W3C) are examples of standards organizations.

Structured Data--Data (q.v.) which carries with it the associated semantic data
(q.v.) or a pointer to it.

Style Sheet--A method for describing the appearance of a document in print or
on screen, such as CSS and XSL.

Switching--The engineering mechanism that designates alternate channels or
paths in a telecommunications network. Historically, telephone networks have
used circuit-switching, where an entire channel between two connections is
made available for the duration of the communication. Most computer
networks, by contrast, have been designed to use packet-switching, which
breaks up the transmitted data into individual units or "packets," each of which
contains the destination address of the data. The packets are then
independently routed through the network and reassembled by the computer at
the destination address. Packet-switching allows data from multiple users to
efficiently use the same path on the network. Major developments are now
underway to enable packet-switched networks to carry digital voice and video
more effectively.

Systems Software--Operating system and all utilities that enable the computer
to function.

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)--Standard
transmission protocols used to connect hosts on the Internet.

TQM (Total Quality Management)--A management philosophy that became
popular in the 1980s and 1990s. TQM is focused on continuously improving
the performance of all individuals and processes in achieving customer
satisfaction.

Tag--A marker within an information exchange document which points to a full
description of the semantic data associated with the tagged data. <DateBorn>
is an XML tag which points to a precise description of how to read the
numbers which follow it as a date, and which date it is (the date of birth).

Tagged Field--Tagging is a method of imposing structure on a document. Each
information field has a tag; each tag has a name which points to data-
dictionary-like information such as meaning and edit criteria.

Technical Standards--Descriptions of the requirements for hardware, system
software (as opposed to application software), communications, and other
aspects of the technology infrastructure needed to support a software
application.

Transaction Data--The descriptors or attributes of a single activity (e.g., the
court disposition transaction data includes the court name, data, case, charges,
decisions, sentences).

Transmission Protocols--Transmission protocols provide the mechanism for the
transfer of information. IP controls transmissions between networks and is the
fundamental mechanism of the Internet and many large WANs. TCP provides
a mechanism for information transfer on a single WAN, and is often used with
IP. HTTP is the key transmission protocol of the World Wide Web and
provides for hot links to a URL.

UCR (Uniform Crime Reports)--A city, county, and state law enforcement
program, run by the FBI, which provides a nationwide view of crime based on
the submission of statistics by law enforcement agencies throughout the country. 
The following offenses are recorded: murder and non-negligent manslaughter;
forcible rape; robbery; aggravated assault; burglary; larceny/theft; motor vehicle
theft; arson; and hate crimes.

UML (Unified Modeling Language)--An industry standard language for
describing, specifying, visualizing, and documenting an automated system or the
business processes that an automated system must support through its features,
functions, and capabilities. 

URL (Universal Resource Locator)--A unique address for a page on the
World Wide Web.

Validation--Evaluation of a system during or at development completion to
determine if it satisfies all the requirements.

W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)--See Standards Organizations.

WAN (Wide Area Network)--Two or more LANs connected via telephone
lines and radio waves.

Web Browser--A software application used to locate and display web pages.
May be able to display graphics, sound, and video in addition to text.


World Wide Web (www or the Web)--Standardized tools and software that
allow non-technical users to find, display, and communicate text, graphics,
voice, and video located on the Internet. The Web's fundamental components
include HTML (hypertext markup language), pointers or hyperlinks (which
rapidly access specific material that may reside on computers halfway around
the world), and browsers (software that allows users to display and interact
with Web content). Web technology is credited with democratizing the Internet
by simplifying and streamlining key networking tools and functions for the
general public.

XML (Extensible Markup Language)--A message tagging method used to
mark up a document with semantic data and style data. See Markup Language,
XSL.

XSL (XML Style Sheet)--A method used to format structured data for display
or printing, as well as to convert from one XML form to another.

Note: The terms and definitions contained within this glossary are a compilation,
with additions, modifications, and deletions that were provided through the
generous support of the following organizations and related publications:

The Harvard Policy Group on Network-Enabled Services and Government,
Eight Imperatives for Leaders in a Networked World

International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), 
An Information Integration Planning Model 

National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), Toward
National Sharing of Governmental Information

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC).