TITLE
The Mayor and City Council shall discuss and possibly take action to provide consent to submit a grant application to Gerald Hardt Memorial Criminal Justice Records Improvement Program (CJRIP) through the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission in an amount not to exceed $5,000 for overtime to decrease the records backlog. Consent to submit a grant application provides the City Manager authority to sign all necessary documents to complete the application. There is a 25% matching requirement of $1,250. If the grant is awarded, the Maricopa Police Department will request a transfer from General Fund in FY12-13 to cover this expense. Discussion and Action.
AGENDA ITEM DESCRIPTION
In 2009, the Maricopa Police Department was awarded a grant in the amount of $5,000 from the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission, Gerald Hardt Memorial Criminal Justice Records Improvement Grant for overtime to reduce the records backlog.
Funding for this program began in 1992 when Congress initiated a requirement that each state allocate at least five percent of its total Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Formula grant toward the improvement of criminal justice records. The Commission continued to approve five percent of the Byrne/JAG funding for the Gerald Hardt Memorial Criminal Justice Records Improvement Grant Program to support the Arizona Records Improvement and Information Sharing Plan (AZ RIISP). The Arizona Criminal Justice Commission has approved the use of the Byrne/JAG funding to projects pursuant to the Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005, 42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq., Section 500.
The goal of the AZ RIISP is to improve the timeliness, completeness, accuracy, and accessibility of the State's criminal justice information systems, with an emphasis on criminal history information. High priority is given to encouraging automation, establishing uniform automated procedures for reporting arrests, and/or disposition of information to the criminal history records and Central State Repository. Criminal justice agencies are strongly encouraged to integrate and share criminal justice records with other criminal justice agencies in an effort to increase efficiency and improve the quality of criminal justice information.
To achieve this goal, grants are made available to state, county, local, and tribal criminal justice agencies. Preference will be given to projects that develop or enhance procedures that ensure arrests and/or disposition information submitted and accessible through the database. Due to funding limitations, it is suggested that agencies work together to facilitate automated interfaces at the local level.
Maricopa Police Department requests $5,000 for approximately 240 hours of overtime to assist with data entry for the backlogged data. Specifically, the backlog issue relates to quality control for arrest records, charges, etc. The Arizona Criminal Justice Information System (ACJIS) audits agencies on a regular basis for accuracy of information. The Maricopa Police Department was recently audited and "passed"; however, significant time and effort is incurred by Police Department staff to ensure compliance. Additionally, information from fingerprint cards need to be up-to-date to ensure charges and convictions are properly reported (the implications of un-reported charges and convictions impact domestic violence, concealed carry permits, etc.). It is imperative Maricopa Police Department stay in full compliance with state and federal mandates.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends submitting a grant application to Gerald Hardt Memorial Criminal Justice Records Improvement Program (CJRIP) through the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission in an amount not to exceed $5,000 for overtime to decrease the records backlog.