Fla. Stat. § 943.6871 — Florida Code / Title XLVII / Chapter 943 / Section 943.6871
943.6871 Criminal justice data transparency.
Status: in_force

In order to facilitate the availability of comparable and uniform criminal justice data, the department shall:

(1) Collect, compile, maintain, and manage the data submitted by local and state entities pursuant to s. 900.05 and coordinate related activities to collect and submit data. The department shall create a unique identifier for each criminal case received from the clerks of court which identifies the person who is the subject of the criminal case. The unique identifier must be the same for that person in any court case and used across local and state entities for all information related to that person at any time. The unique identifier shall be randomly created and may not include any portion of the person’s social security number or date of birth.

(2) Promote criminal justice data sharing by making such data received under s. 900.05 comparable, transferable, and readily usable.

(3) Create and maintain an Internet-based database of criminal justice data received under s. 900.05 in a modern, open, electronic format that is machine-readable and readily accessible through an application program interface. The database shall allow the public to search, at a minimum, by each data element, county, judicial circuit, or unique identifier. The department may not require a license or charge a fee to access or receive information from the database.

(4) Develop written agreements with local, state, and federal agencies to facilitate criminal justice data sharing.

(5) Establish by rule: (a) Requirements for the entities subject to the requirements of s. 900.05 to submit data through an application program interface. (b) A data catalog defining data objects, describing data fields, and detailing the meaning of and options for each data element reported pursuant to s. 900.05. (c) How data collected pursuant to s. 900.05 is compiled, processed, structured, used, or shared. The rule shall provide for tagging all information associated with each case number and unique identifier. (d) Requirements for implementing and monitoring the Internet-based database under subsection (3). (e) How information contained in the Internet-based database under subsection (3) is accessed by the public.

(6) Consult with local, state, and federal criminal justice agencies and other public and private users of the database under subsection (3) on the data elements collected under s. 900.05, the use of such data, and adding data elements to be collected.

(7) Monitor data collection procedures and test data quality to facilitate the dissemination of accurate, valid, reliable, and complete criminal justice data.

(8) Develop methods for archiving data, retrieving archived data, and data editing and verification.

(9) Keep all information received by the department under s. 900.05 which is confidential and exempt when collected by the reporting agency confidential and exempt for purposes of this section and s. 900.05.

(10)(a) By October 1, 2019, assist the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Information Systems Council in developing specifications for a uniform arrest affidavit to be used by each state, county, and municipal law enforcement agency to facilitate complete, accurate, and timely collection and reporting of data from each criminal offense arrest. The uniform arrest affidavit must at a minimum include all of the following: 1. Identification of the arrestee. 2. Details of the arrest, including each charge. 3. Details of each vehicle and item seized at the time of arrest. 4. Juvenile arrestee information. 5. Release information. The uniform arrest affidavit specifications must also include guidelines for developing a uniform criminal charge and disposition statute crosswalk table to be used by each law enforcement agency, state attorney, and jail administrator; and guidelines for developing a uniform criminal disposition and sentencing statute crosswalk table to be used by each clerk of the court. (b) By January 1, 2020, subject to appropriation, the department shall procure a uniform arrest affidavit, a uniform criminal charge and disposition statute crosswalk table, and a uniform criminal disposition and sentencing statute crosswalk table following the specifications developed under paragraph (a). The department shall provide training on use of the affidavit and crosswalk tables to each state, county, and municipal law enforcement agency, clerk of the court, state attorney, and jail administrator, as appropriate. (c) By July 1, 2020, each state, county, and municipal law enforcement agency must use the uniform arrest affidavit, each state attorney and jail administrator must use the uniform criminal charge and statute crosswalk table, and each clerk of the court must use the uniform criminal disposition and sentencing statute crosswalk table.

History: s. 7, ch. 2018-127; s. 53, ch. 2019-167.