2016 NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP)

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 2016 NARIP priority areas, the Virginia State Police (VSP) will administer and monitor the following 4 projects in collaboration with their partner agencies:

1) Developer for JAVA Computerized History (JCCH) System. VSP will use funds to contract with 2 IT Specialists to assist in programming the 135 deferred critical functions in the replacement JCCH system and the 140 batch reports. The VSP is currently programming a replacement JCCH which was to mirror the current system; however, in the development of the replacement system approximately 135 features that exist in the current system were deferred in the replacement system. NARIP funding will help in filling in those 135 features to the replacement JCCH. These absent features impact many functions of the automated workflow, including researching and applying dispositions and other criminal history information.

2) POC VCheck System. The VSP will use NARIP funds to contract a business analyst and Java Developer to provide enhancements to the existing Firearms VCheck Java system. The VCheck system interfaces with the Virginia Computerized History System (CCH), the Virginia Criminal Information Network (VCIN), the Virginia Mental Health Database, NCIC, III and NICS. The system additions and modifications will assist the POC in providing improved product to the NICS and state counterparts, as well as assist in the development of long-range record improvement and strategy plans in the research, analysis, data quality auditing, and production that can set quantifiable improvement goals and monitor performance achievement.

3) POC Accessibility at Gun Show Events and Outreach Activities. The VSP will use NARIP funds to cover personnel expenses for one Administrative Procedures Specialist position to research and resolve initially non-approved transactions by the determination of lawful eligibility of individuals to purchase firearms pursuant to state and federal law while physically located at the remote location. The Specialist will assist existing state-funded employees to provide NICS checks at all gun shows, and will provide associated outreach activities relevant to the sale of firearms by licensed firearms dealers and by the POC in the private sale of firearms not involving federal firearm licensees.

4) Supreme Court of Virginia (SCV) Scan Mental Commitment and Protective Orders to VSP. SCV will use NARIP funds to install image stations to 16 Juvenile and Domestic Relations (J&DR) courts to allow the courts to scan protective orders (POs) to VSP daily as they are issued. The current process includes making copies and mailing or faxing the POs to VSP. The SCV also will build a database to store the POs received from the general and J&DR courts. The secure database will provide a centralized place to store the images of the POs. SCV will provide the VSP access to PDF images of civil commitments and POs and to have the ability to view, download and print the orders. The project’s goal will help eliminate the purchase of firearms by personnel with mental (civil) commitment orders or POs by being able to provide the stored signed court orders available on the same day issued for VSP. (CA/NCF)