Opinion ID: 75812
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The GCIC System

Text: The Clayton County Sheriff’s Department has employees trained as terminal operators who enter criminal warrants into the GCIC system and who are instructed to validate the outstanding warrants in the GCIC system annually to safeguard against invalid warrants remaining on the system. As part of the validation process, terminal operators are supposed to contact the entity that issued the warrant to verify that the warrant has not been recalled or withdrawn. The State of Georgia requires that terminal operators complete the GCIC training workbooks and certification requirements. The terminal agency coordinator is an employee of the Sheriff’s Department who has completed advanced GCIC training and certification requirements. The terminal agency coordinator supervises the 2 The bench warrant referencing the DUI and speeding charges was not cleared from the CJIS until July 3, 1998. Grech’s CJIS entry, however, indicated that on March 16, 1985, Grech pled guilty to the DUI charge and entered a nolo contendere plea on the speeding charge. In their depositions, both Captain Glaze and warrant officer Melba Hensel indicated that there may have been an error in Grech’s CJIS entry because March 16, 1985, was the date on which the DUI and speeding citations were given, rather than the date on which Grech entered his pleas. 5 training and certification of terminal operators and acts as a liaison between the GCIC and Sheriff’s Department. In addition, the GBI audits law enforcement agencies, such as the Clayton County Sheriff’s Department, every two years to ensure compliance with the GCIC rules and regulations. Auditors obtain a statistical sample of active wanted, missing person, and stolen vehicle files from the audited agency and review its files for compliance with the GCIC rules and regulations, including a review of the agency’s training records and validation procedures. Grech contends that the audit reports regarding the Clayton County Sheriff’s Department for 1996 and 19983 demonstrate that the Sheriff’s Department performed poorly in many of the areas reviewed by auditors, particularly with respect to the training of its GCIC terminal operators and the validation of the GCIC entries to ensure that only accurate, valid information is maintained on the GCIC system.