LAW ENFORCEMENT RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS …

1 Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal Justice Information Services Division LAW EN FOR CEM EN T R ECOR D S M AN AGEM EN T S YS TEM S ( R M S s ) a s Th e y P e r ta i n to FB I P r o g r a m s a n d S ys te m s In te g r a te d Au to m a te d Fi n g e r p r i n t Id e n ti fi c a ti o n S yste m ( IAFIS ) : N e x t Ge n e r a ti o n Id e n ti fi c a ti o n ( N GI) In te r s ta te Id e n ti fi c a ti o n In d e x ( III) N a ti o n a l Cri m e In fo r m a ti o n Ce n te r ( N CIC) Th e La w En fo r c e m e n t N a ti o n a l D a ta Ex c h a n g e ( N -D Ex ) N a ti o n a l In s ta n t Cr i m i n a l B a c k g r o u n d Ch e c k S ys te m ( N ICS ) U n i fo r m Cr i m e R e p o r ti n g ( U CR ) P r o g r a m : S u m m a r y R e p o r ti n g S ys te m N a ti o n a l In c i d e n t-B a s e d Re p o r ti n g S ys te m ( N IB RS ) H a te Cr i m e S ta ti s ti c s P r o g r a m La w En fo r c e m e n t Offi c e r s Ki lle d a n d As s a u lte d ( LEOKA) P r o g r a m Th is docu m en t r eplaces th e FBI s M an u al of La w En forcem en t R ecords, 198 4.

2 La w En fo r c e m e n t Re c o r d s M a n a g e m e n t S ys te m s ( R M S s ) a s Th e y P e r ta i n to FB I P r o g r a m s a n d S ys te m s La w En fo r c e m e n t Re c o r d s M a n a g e m e n t S ys te m s ( R M S s ) a s Th e y P e r ta i n to FB I P r o g r a m s a n d S ys te m s 2 IN TR OD U CTION Th e n eed for good r ecor d-keepin g an d in for m ation -sh ar in g pr actices h as taken on add ed sign ifican ce in today s global en vir on m en t. Not on ly do good r ecor ds pr ovide cr ucial in ter n al in for m ation ( , busin ess oper ation s an d case m an agem en t suppor t n ot to m en tion th e official m em or y of an agen cy s in vestigation s), law en for cem en t agen cies n ow n eed to com m u n icate agen cy-to-agen cy an d acr oss con tin en ts in or der to pr otect th e Nation s citizen s.

3 Noth in g is m or e im por tan t to accom plish in g th at m ission th an h avin g accessibility to accur ate an d tim ely r ecor ds. Calls for ser vice r ecor ds an d in vestigative, ar r est, cr im in al iden tification , deten tion , an d even civil r ecor d s h old in for m ation th at by th em selves m ean little; h owever , wh en pieced togeth er with in for m ation fr om oth er jur isdiction s, th e r esult can h elp with all levels of in vestigation s an d aid in safegu ar din g th e Nation . W h a t t h i s d o c u m e n t p r o v i d e s Mor e th an ever , th e FBI is com m itted to h elpin g law en for cem en t m eet its on goin g n eed for im m ediate, accu r ate, an d r eliable in for m ation . On e sm all way to ach ieve th at goal is to pr ovide in on e docu m en t th e in for m ation th at agen cies n eed to kn ow about r ecor ds m an agem en t system s (RMSs) as th ey per tain to th e pr ogr am s an d ser vices th at th e FBI pr ovides.

4 Th is m an ual, La w En forcem en t R M Ss (a s They Pert ain to FBI Prog ram s an d Sy stem s), pr ovides th at gu idan ce. Th e in for m ation in th is pu blication add r esses law en for cem en t r ecor d r equ ir em en ts for th e FBI s: In tegr ated Autom ated Fin ger pr in t Id en tification system (IAFIS) o Next Gen er ation Id en tification (NGI) o In ter state Id en tification In d ex (III) Nation al Cr im e In for m ation Cen ter (NCIC) Th e Law En for cem en t Nation al Data Exch an ge (N-DEx) Nation al In stan t Cr im in al Backgr ou n d Ch eck system (NICS) Un ifor m Cr im e Repor tin g (UCR) Pr ogr am o Su m m ar y Repor tin g system o Nation al In ciden t-Based Repor tin g system (NIBRS) o Law En for cem en t Officer s Killed an d Assau lted (LEOKA) Pr ogr am o H ate Cr im e Statistics Pr ogr am W h a t t h i s d o c u m e n t d o e s n o t p r o v i d e Th is docu m en t is n ot design ed to pr ovide in for m ation on h ow to set u p an RMS.

5 Ther e ar e sever al pu blication s alr eady available to assist agen cies in th at in itial task. Two of th ese docu m en ts ar e: Th e Bu r eau of J u stice Assistan ce s Stan d ard Fu n ction al Sp ecificat ion s for La w En forcem en t R ecord s M an agem en t Sy stem s, h ttp:/ / .gov/ docu m en ts/ LEITSC_ Law_ En for cem en t_ RMS_ system Th e In ter n ation al Association of Ch iefs of Police (IACP)/ Depar tm en t of J ustices Com m u n ity Or ien ted Policin g Ser vices (COPS) Tech n ology Tech n ical Assistan ce La w En fo r c e m e n t Re c o r d s M a n a g e m e n t S ys te m s ( R M S s ) a s Th e y P e r ta i n to FB I P r o g r a m s a n d S ys te m s 3 Pr ogr am s R ecord s M a n agem en t Sy stem s, h ttp:/ / n g/ ttap/ Recor dsMan agem en tSystem Th ese pu blication s, wh ich ar e som e of th e best in th e field , focus on law en for cem en t system s.

6 If you r agen cy is in th e pr ocess of establish in g or upgr adin g an RMS, th ese r esour ces m ay be qu ite u sefu l to you . La w En fo r c e m e n t Re c o r d s M a n a g e m e n t S ys te m s ( R M S s ) a s Th e y P e r ta i n to FB I P r o g r a m s a n d S ys te m s 4 W H AT EX ACTLY IS AN R M S ? A r ecor d s m an agem en t system (RMS) is an agen cy-wid e system th at pr ovides for th e stor age, r etr ieval, r eten tion , m an ipulation , ar ch ivin g, an d viewin g of in for m ation , r ecor ds, docum en ts, or files per tain in g to law en for cem en t oper ation s. RMS cover s th e en tir e life span of r ecor ds developm en t fr om th e in itial gen er ation to its com pletion . An effective RMS allows sin gle en tr y of data, wh ile suppor tin g m u ltiple r epor tin g m ech an ism s. (Th is defin ition is taken fr om both th e Bu r eau of J u stice Assistan ce s Stan d a rd Fu n ction a l Sp ecification s for Law En forcem en t R ecord s M an agem en t Sy stem s an d th e In ter n ation al Association of Ch iefs of Police [IACP]/ Depar tm en t of J u stices Com m u n ity Or ien ted Policin g Ser vices [COPS] Tech n ology Tech n ical Assistan ce Pr ogr am s R ecord s M an ag em en t Sy stem s docum en ts.)

7 Recor ds ar e th e in for m ation cr eated, r eceived, an d m ain tain ed as eviden ce an d in for m ation by an or gan ization or per son , in pu r suan ce of legal obligation s or in th e tr an saction of bu sin ess. Th e In ter n ation al Cou n cil on Ar ch ives (ICA) Com m ittee on Electr on ic Recor ds defin es a r ecor d as, r ecor ded in for m ation pr odu ced or r eceived in th e in itiation , con duct or com pletion of an in stitu tion al or in dividu al activity an d th at com pr ises con ten t, con text an d str uctur e sufficien t to pr ovide evid en ce of th e activity. Fo r th e p u r p o s e o f th i s d o c u m e n t, r e c o r d s a r e li m i te d to d o c u m e n ts o r e le c tr o n i c fi le s d i r e c tly r e la te d to la w e n fo r c e m e n t o p e r a ti o n s s u c h a s i n c i d e n t a n d a c c i d e n t r e p o r ts , a r r e s ts , c i ta ti o n s , w a r r a n ts , c a s e m a n a g e me n t, fi e ld c o n ta c ts , e tc.

8 , a n d h o w th e s e r e c o r d s c o m e i n to p la y i n th e p r o g r a m s a n d s e r vi c e s th a t th e FB I a d m i n i s te rs . La w En fo r c e m e n t Re c o r d s M a n a g e m e n t S ys te m s ( R M S s ) a s Th e y P e r ta i n to FB I P r o g r a m s a n d S ys te m s 5 TH E IM P OR TAN CE OF IN CID EN T/ OFFEN S E R EP OR TS ( H o w a n R M S c a n a s s i s t a g e n c i e s i n U n i fo r m Cri m e R e p o r ti n g [ U CR ] a n d th e La w En fo r c e m e n t N a ti o n a l D a ta Ex c h a n g e [ N -D Ex ] s u b m i s s i o n s ) Th e con cept of an in cid en t/ offen se-based r epor tin g system was d eveloped to en h an ce th e capability for captur in g accu r ate in for m ation for r epor t wr itin g an d r ecor dkeepin g activities. An RMS con sistin g of u n ifor m r ecor ds such as in ciden t/ offen se r epor ts is extr em ely ben eficial for law en for cem en t agen cies.

9 For exam ple, an in ciden t/ offen se-based r ep or tin g system satisfies oper ation al an d m an agem en t n eeds at th e local level, as well as th e in for m ation al r equ ir em en ts of th e UCR Pr ogr am an d th e r ecen tly dep loyed N-DEx. Th e in ciden t-based system also assists in iden tifyin g r epor ted cr im in al activity fr om on e ar ea to an oth er . Su ch a system pr ovides a u n ifor m in ciden t/ offen se r epor t th at can be in cor por ated in to a law en for cem en t agen cy s cu r r en t r ecor d s system or easily im plem en ted by an agen cy th at h as few if n o for m alized r ecor ds. An in ciden t/ offen se-based r epor tin g system in its sim plest for m pr ovides a u n ifor m m eth od of pr epar in g, stor in g, an d r etr ievin g in for m ation . Disr egar din g th e agen cy s level of com plexity, th e system sh ould p or tr ay a pictur e in wor ds an d allow for th e adm in istr ative an d m an agem en t decision s th at effectively an d efficien tly r eact to th e r epor ted cr im in al activity with in th at agen cy s ju r isdiction.

10 W h a t e x a c t l y i s a n i n c i d e n t / o ffe n s e r e p o r t ? Typically, an in ciden t/ offen se r epor t r eflects th e followin g in for m ation : Person s attack ed : th e n um ber of victim s; th eir age, sex, an d r ace; an d wh en possible, th eir occu p ation s. Prop erty att ack ed : th e type of pr em ises in wh ich th e offen se was com m itted , su ch as dr ug stor e, gr ocer y stor e, gasolin e station , etc. If a buildin g is used for sever al differ en t pur poses, th e fir st pur pose for wh ich th e par ticu lar r oom en ter ed is u sed is typically in dicated; after th at, th e gen er al u se of th e bu ildin g. H ow attack ed : th e gen er al m an n er in wh ich th e cr im e was com m itted. If a bur glar y occu r r ed, state th e location of th e door or win dow by wh ich en tr an ce was gain ed.