NARIP FY 2015 Program

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 Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (MD DPSCS) address two areas of concern: 1) Phase II of the Ident/Index & Arrest Disposition Reporting Systems (CCH) Replacement project and 2) the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) Automated Data Reporting System.

Under the CCH Replacement project, MD DPSCS is currently looking to replace two legacy data systems, including the Ident/Index and Arrest Disposition Reporting (ADR) mainframe systems with more up-to-date technologies such as .NET Framework and contemporary relational databases.

The Ident/Index System provides a Master Index of State Identification Numbers (SIDs), as well as demographic information on persons with a SID. This system captures fingerprint data which is stored in CJIS-CR’s Master File and serves as an Index to CJIS, the Department of Corrections (DOC), and the Department of Parole and Probation files. Ident/Index provides various ways that may be used to search for an individual. While this system captures and provides essential information that is used for public safety, it was implemented in 1975 and is not longer capable to meet the needs of the state.

The Arrest Disposition Reporting (ADR) mainframe system provides Criminal History Record Information (CHRI) services to authorized criminal justice agencies throughout the State of Maryland. ADR is the designated electronic criminal history repository for the State. In fact, court case data, bail and bond determinations, charges, dispositions, and sentences are all received from the Judicial Information Systems (JIS) and added to ADR's Court Data Base by batch processes. Supervision data contributed by DOC, Parole and Probation, and local detention centers across the state is also added to the Court database through batch and online processes.

Under the DHMH Automated Data Reporting System project, MD DPSCS will use funds to continued support of the transmission of information to NICS for persons prohibited from possessing firearms – for mental health reasons. DHMH previously developed a database to automatically and securely report mental health data to NICS. This database, Hospital Management Information System (HMIS), has been used to collect information on individuals who have been committed to a state mental institution for a period of more than thirty days. This database now includes records from private hospitals, as well as individuals who have been committed by the State Office of Administrative Hearings. As a result, all information maintained in DHMH’s database is transmitted to NICS.

While HMIS maintains and transmits all available information to NICS, MD DPSCS will maintain, enhance, and ensure improved reliability of the infrastructure needed to securely transmit pertinent information to NICS - pertaining to individuals who have been involuntarily committed to a state or private facility.

(CA/NCF)