2017 Oklahoma NICS Act Record Improvement 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 this award, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) will use funds to convert all manual or other non-automated records to electronic records, including fingerprint cards, mug shots, palm prints, court documents and other pertinent information. Funds will allow the OSBI to secure a vendor to scan and upload biometric quality images, upgrade the OSBI’s laserfiche imaging system for faster storage and retrieval of these documents and to hire two grant employees to sort, package, and quality control missing or incorrect records before scanning to improve the quality and completeness of the database. This will allow the OSBI to prevent prolonged degradation of these documents and further its Disaster Recovery Plan by protecting more than 2.5 million records in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack. Further, it will enhance the quality, completeness, accuracy, and accessibility of criminal history information by streamlining manual criminal history processes to provide a better product to the FBI NICS program, criminal justice agencies, and non-criminal justice agencies.

(CA/NCF)