Florida's NICS Act Record Improvement Program FY 2015

The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007, Pub. L. 110-180 ("NICS Improvement Act"), was signed into law by the President on January 8, 2008. The NICS Improvement Act amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 ("the Brady Act") (Pub. L. 103-159), under which the Attorney General established the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The Brady Act requires Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) to contact the NICS before transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person for information on whether the proposed transferee is prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm under state or federal law. The NICS Improvement Act authorizes grants to be made in a manner consistent with the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP).

Under the 2015 NARIP award, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) will use funds to implement a Technical Enhancement of the Firearm Eligibility System (FES), continue the E-Warrant Arrest project, improve access to Clerk of Court Historic Documents project and implementing the Electronic Protection Order project.

Under Priority 1, FDLE proposes several enhancements to the FES to improve usability including: development of a delayed transaction queue, improvement of the quality verification queue, restructuring the way user roles and privileges are created and assigned to provide needed flexibility and granularity, development of a tiered transaction structure, and improvements to screens to improve usability. The work will be broken down into five increments, one for each functional area. With each increment, enhancements will be made to existing reports and/or development of additional reports as needed for improved statistics and accountability.

Under Priority 2, FDLE proposes, in conjunction with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and the state warrants task force, to create a conceptual business process model (BPM), a NIEM conformant Information Exchange Packet Documentation (IEPD), and a full functioning eWarrants prototype website and database. This is a system that agencies can interact via a web site with the centralized eWarrants tracking system, providing information and tracking the progress of a warrant as it moves through the approval process. FDLE, with SEARCH and the NCSC, decided to pursue the Global Reference Architecture (GRA) conformant Open Justice Broker (OJB) to enable future sharing with other state agencies in the OJB Consortium.

Under Priority 3, FDLE proposes to provide resources to clerks of court to research and scan missing critical court documents to clerk websites. These websites provide critical court documents to local staff, FDLE, and members of the public. FDLE routinely accesses these websites and search databases for the purpose of updating criminal history records in response to background checks for firearm purchases and concealed weapon permits. The ability to electronically search and access more source documentation will allow users of this documentation faster access to information needed for critical decision-making. This program will not only reduce background check wait times (with missing dispositions) but also improve the overall accuracy and completeness of FDLE’s criminal history repository.

Under Priority 4, FDLE proposes to expand to the current eWarrants application to integrate electronic Protection Orders. This will address the issue of inconsistency among Florida’s 67 counties and their readiness to enter all information shared within their county. FDLE, in conjunction with Florida’s law enforcement community, must ensure that the entry of protection orders into the FCIC/NCIC is complete, current and accurate to guarantee both officer and public safety, this includes assuring individuals with active protection orders that do not meet the criteria to purchase a firearm are denied in accordance with NICS.

(CA/NCF)