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How can I determine if my Department or Agency qualifies to join the system

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  • Current: How can I determine if my Department or Agency qualifies to join the system

Access is governed in part by 240 Indiana Administrative Code 5-2-10 Security; Confidentiality, and Federal Title 28, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 534. An agency and their employees will be permitted access to the system if it meets the criteria which follow:

1. The agency is a governmental agency and meets the definition of a criminal justice agency as contained in the Department of Justice Regulations on Criminal Justice Information Systems (Title 28, Code of Federal Regulations [CFR], Part 20, Subpart A). These regulations in Section 20.3 define a criminal justice agency as “(c) . . . (1) courts; (2) a governmental agency or any subunit thereof which performs the administration of criminal justice pursuant to a statute or executive order, and which allocates a substantial part of its annual budget to the administration of criminal justice (‘allocates a substantial part’ has been interpreted to mean more than 50 percent by the originator of the Regulations). State and Federal Inspector General offices are included. (d) The ‘administration of criminal justice’ means performance of any of the following activities: detection, apprehension, detention, pretrial release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, correctional supervision, or rehabilitation of accused persons or criminal offenders. The administration of criminal justice shall include criminal identification activities and the collection, storage, and dissemination of criminal history record information.”

Any court that hears civil cases only (with the exception of domestic violence and stalking cases) does not qualify for an NCIC 2000 ORI assignment, e.g., some probate courts. Any correctional facility that houses only juveniles who are not involved in the criminal justice process but who are orphaned or declared incorrigible does not qualify for an NCIC 2000 ORI assignment.

Effective October 1999, 28 CFR, Part 20, was amended to authorize delegation by criminal justice agencies to noncriminal justice agencies of dispatching and data processing/information services pursuant to statute, regulation, executive order, or interagency agreement. The management control agreements previously required will be considered one type of interagency; hence, the mandatory and exclusive language in this publication dealing with management control agreements is not entirely correct in light of this amendment, and a Technical Operational Update will be issued to clarify any uncertainty.

2. A governmental agency not meeting the qualifications set out in (1) must meet the definition of an agency under management control of a criminal justice agency as defined in the Computerized Criminal History Program Background, Concept and Policy as approved by the NCIC Advisory Policy Board, March 1, 1984, (Policy Paper). The definition contained therein is as follows: “. . . the authority to set and enforce (1) priorities; (2) standards for the selection, supervision, and termination of personnel; and (3) policy governing the operation of computers, circuits, and telecommunications terminals used to process criminal history record information insofar as the equipment is used to process, store, or transmit criminal history record information. Management control includes, but is not limited to, the supervision of equipment, system design, programming, and operating procedures necessary for the development and implementation of the computerized criminal history program. Such management control guarantees the priority service needed by the criminal justice community. A criminal justice agency must have a written agreement with the noncriminal justice agency operating the data center assuring that the criminal justice agency has management control as defined above.”

Noncriminal justice governmental agencies are sometimes tasked to perform dispatching functions or data processing/information services for criminal justice agencies. The performance of such tasks does not convert an otherwise noncriminal justice agency into a criminal justice agency as described in (1) above. Title 28 CFR, Part 20, authorizes the delegation of such tasks to noncriminal justice agencies if done pursuant to executive order, statute, regulations, or interagency agreement. Criminal history record information contained in the III System and FIRS (Fingerprint Identification Records System) may be made available to noncriminal justice governmental agencies performing criminal justice dispatching functions or data processing/ information services for criminal justice agencies; and to private contractors pursuant to a specific agreement with a criminal justice agency or noncriminal justice governmental agency, as previously described, for the administration of criminal justice pursuant to that agreement. Additionally, the agreement must incorporate a security addendum that specifically authorizes access to criminal history record information, limits the use of the information to the purposes for which it is provided, ensures the security and confidentiality of the information consistent with 28 CFR, Part 20, provides for sanctions, and contains other provisions as the Attorney General may require. Agencies meeting the above criteria are assigned an ORI number with the numeric character 9 in position eight of the ORI. The ninth position is an alphabetic character representing the type of agency.

3. A governmental regional dispatch center may qualify for an ORI assignment related to the NCIC 2000 files and III. A center is a cooperative effort entered into by political subdivisions in a particular area for the purpose of providing consolidated and computer-assisted dispatch for public safety, that is, police, fire, and rescue services. In many cases, the law enforcement departments involved are abolishing their communications sections and turning the communications functions over to a consolidated regional system. In management control situations, the state Control Terminal Agency (CTA) must submit a copy of the management control agreement to FBI CJIS. Agencies meeting the above criteria are assigned an ORI number ending with the alphabetic character N.

4. A nongovernmental railroad or campus police department is one which performs the administration of criminal justice and has arrest powers pursuant to a state statute which allocates a substantial part of its annual budget to the administration of justice as defined by the Department of Justice Regulations on Criminal Justice Information Systems (28 CFR, Part 20, Subpart A) and which meets training requirements established by law or ordinance for law enforcement officers. These agencies are assigned an ORI ending with the alphabetic character E.

5. Public Law 99-169 (as amended) the Security Clearance Information Act (SCIA), authorizes the Department of Defense (DOD), the National Security Agency (NSA), the Defense Security Service (DSS), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Department of State (DOS), and the FBI to receive criminal history record information on individuals investigated by them for access to classified information or assignment to or retention in sensitive national security duties. For national security purposes, these agencies have access to all files; however, any inquiry resulting in a positive response must be immediately turned over to a proper law enforcement agency(s) before proceeding with the SCIA investigation. Other NCIC 2000 access, e.g., record entry/cancellation, is prohibited. These agencies are assigned a special ORI ending with the alphabetic character R to clearly identify the SCIA agencies.

How Do I Apply for Access to the System?

A letter from the Agency Head must be submitted to:
IDACS Committee Chairman
Indiana State Police
IGCN - 100 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2259

The letter must be accompanied by copies of the local, state, or federal statute that empowers the agency. This documentation will be reviewed by State Police Legal authority and then submitted to the F.B.I. for final approval.

My Agency already has been approved for access to the System. How do we go about connecting to the network and application?

A letter stating the request from the Agency Head must be submitted to:

IDACS Committee Chairman
Indiana State Police
IGCN - 100 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2259

The IDACS System Coordinator, or his/her representative, will contact the agency and provide policy and procedural information on joining the system.

How can I contact IDACS by phone?

The IDACS section phone number is:

(317) 232-8292