The obstacles to information sharing among law enforcement and other criminal justice system components are significant issues that have an impact on the safety of Americans. In today's electronic age, with the advent of the Internet and other emerging technologies, the public has grown to expect justice system integration and appropriate information sharing.
All law enforcement and criminal justice agencies at the federal, state, and local levels need to find ways to overcome the difficulties in sharing information. Doing so not only increases their abilities to solve crimes and keep communities safer but also helps them meet their increasing responsibilities with limited time and resources. Although criminal justice agencies must be responsible for sharing information, BJA is committed to providing the resources and assistance needed to make this task as easy as possible.
- BJA will enhance the Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS) by working to increase the number of federal, state, local, and other law enforcement agencies that use it. Wider use of this innovative system, which allows agencies to both share and control their own information and to benefit from the information of other agencies, will go far to increase the intelligence sharing and secure communications among the thousands of law enforcement agencies nationwide.
- Through the Information Technology Initiatives, BJA will continue to help the criminal justice system share information by providing research and guidance on strategic planning and governance; standards, infrastructure, and architecture; privacy and information quality; security; and resource management issues. In addition, BJA will continue to maintain the Information Technology web site, which provides this information to the public.
- Through the Global Justice Information Network—a group of key officials from federal, state, tribal, local, and other justice-related organizations—BJA will bring together representatives from the justice community to overcome the barriers to sharing justice information across agencies, disciplines, and levels of government.
- BJA will continue to support enhanced forensic capabilities, including the use of DNA evidence, to assist in law enforcement, prosecution, and defense needs.
- We will continue our support for the highest quality DNA training and technical assistance for prosecutors.
- We will also continue to support the need to include courts and prosecutors' offices in integrated information systems and for collaborative case management systems at the local level.
Related Publications
Criminal Intelligence: Concepts and Issue Paper
Criminal Intelligence Model Policy
Improving Public Safety through Justice Information Sharing
This Issue Brief from the National Governors Association's Center for Best Practices examines the importance of information sharing among the components of states' justice systems.
Integrated Criminal Justice Information Systems
This document educates state legislators, as well as elected officials and judicial branch officials in state and local governments, about information integration and sharing.
Mission Possible: Strong Governance Structures for the Integration of Justice Information Systems PDF or ASCII
This monograph presents the methodologies and findings from a study of the type, quality, and capability of existing justice information integration and governance structure models.
Regional Information Sharing Systems Program HTML or PDF
This Program Brief describes the Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS) Program that supports federal, state, and local government efforts to combat criminal activity that extends across jurisdictional boundaries. This document discusses the key program elements and accomplishments of the RISS Program, the only multijurisdictional criminal intelligence system operated by and for state and local law enforcement agencies.
To search for more BJA publications, visit our Publications database.
Related Web Sites
Information Technology Association of America (ITAA)
National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO)
National Center for Rural Law Enforcement (NCRLE)
National Center for State Courts (NCSC)
National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLETC)
SEARCH
For more links, search our Related Web Sites database.
Training
In addition to the RISS Program and Global Justice Information Network, the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR) provides training and technical assistance support for the Criminal Intelligence Systems Operating Policies Program (28 C.F.R. Part 23).
For detailed information on other BJA-sponsored technology training, go to Training and Technical Assistance page.
