A REPORT OF THE NATIONAL TASK FORCE ON COURT AUTOMATION AND INTEGRATION
Amir Holmes · 2000
Delaware was the first State to implement an integrated criminal justice information system (CJIS) that supported electronic sharing of criminal justice information among the criminal justice community. While Delaware CJIS has been in existence since 1990, it is constantly changing to meet the needs of system participants — State and local police, the Attorney General’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office, the Courts (Justice of the Peace Courts, Courts of Common Pleas, Family Courts and Superior Courts), and the Department of Correction.1 In 1982, the Delaware State Legislature passed Title 11, Chapter 86, §8603, thereby creating the Delaware Justice Information System (DELJIS) Board of Managers (hereafter referred to as The Board), which was tasked with establishing “policy for the development, implementation and operation of comprehensive data systems in support of the agencies and courts of the criminal justice system of the State.” The Board has met on a monthly basis since its inception and has overseen the development of Delaware’s integrated Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS). In addition, a State agency, known as DELJIS, was formed to oversee the day-to-day operations of the CJIS. According to Larry Webster, Director of the State Administrative Office of the Courts, Delaware’s small geographical size and limited number of local agencies facilitated the integration of justice information systems because “every added agency adds exponentially [to the challenges of integrating justice information systems].” Delaware has only three counties — Kent, Sussex and New Castle. The State has no county prosecutors; the State Attorney General’s Office handles all local prosecutions. Similarly, there are no local jails in the State; all detention facilities are part of the State Department of Correction. Finally, there are no county courts in Delaware; all courts are part of the State system. With these factors in its favor, the Delaware criminal justice community was poised to electronically share information by the end of the 1980s.