Rhode Island NCHIP Project 2018

The goal of the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) is to improve the Nation's safety and security by enhancing the quality, completeness, and accessibility of criminal history record information and by insuring the nationwide implementation of criminal justice and noncriminal justice background check systems. BJS provides direct financial and technical assistance to the states to improve criminal history and other related records and to build their infrastructure to connect to national record check systems both to supply information and to conduct the requisite checks.

Under the 2018 NCHIP project, the Rhode Island Department of Public Safety (RI DPS) will use funds to support administrative tasks and contract work to the Rhode Island Courts and the State Police.

Under this award, funds will be sub-awarded to the Providence District and Superior Courts to continue efforts to reduce the backlog of entering dispositions into the criminal history system. Criminal cases are filed in the state courts by approximately fifty (50) different state and local law enforcement agencies. Each year approximately 5,500 felonies and 25,000 misdemeanors are disposed and sentenced. Once criminal cases are disposed, they are put aside for data entry at a later time. Unfortunately, there is often a delay in data entering final case dispositions at the Providence Superior Court, due primarily to the volume of cases and staff shortages. At times, there is a backlog of as many as 15 to 20 boxes of cases in need of data entry of final dispositions. The Courts will continue to support this function through the overtime costs associated with researching and entering the backlog of criminal dispositions and waivers, researching and updating warrants and the required quality control (validation) step of verifying felony criminal filings prior to acceptance into the Automated Court System (ACS).

Under the contract to the Rhode Island State Police, the State Police will use funds to procure livescan devices for six (6) State Police locations across the state. In its role as the Department of Public Safety, the Rhode Island State Police serves as the police department for the Town of Exeter Rhode Island and assist many local police agencies with management augmentation, complex investigations and multijurisdictional investigations. The Rhode Island State Police Patrol Bureau includes four active State Police Barracks Units and one currently inactive State Police Barracks. District Commanders oversee all patrol functions and have the overall responsibility of ensuring that all barracks are operating in a uniform manner to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Division. The District Commanders respond to all major incidents being investigated by uniformed patrols.

(CA/NCF)