An assessment of alternatives for a national computerized criminal history system
Office of Technology Assessment · ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society · 1982
The United States already has a national criminal history system .It is partly manual and partly computerized, and includes criminal record and fingerprint card repositories maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) criminal identification file (known as Ident) and 49 State identification bureaus .The national system also includes the computerized criminal history (CCH) files in the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and in 27 States .Seven other States are in the process of implementing a computerized index .As of October 1981, Ident held about 6 million automated criminal history records, NCIC/ CCH held about 1 .9million, and the 27 State CCH files collectively held about 11 .5 million records .For the interstate exchange of criminal history records, the national system uses the U .S .Mail, the NCIC communication network, and the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS) .The many local and metropolitan criminal history record systems, either manual or automated, are also part of this national system .CCH . .Legislation represents one of the strongest measures to provide Federal direction and ensure accountability and control .Legislation could provide explicit authority for a national index or other national CCH system, and include statutory quidelines for its operation and use .In addition to the areas listed above, legislation could address access, review, and challenge procedures ; criminal penalties ; privacy standards ; and possibly a prohibition on unauthorized intelligence or surveillance use of a national CCH system .In sum, legislation appears to be the most appropriate vehicle for guiding the full implementation of a national CCH system in a way that will enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the criminal justice process, protect civil and constitutional rights, and properly balance the roles and responsibilities of the Federal and State Governments .