FY 2020 NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP)

The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007, P. L. 110-180 ("NIAA"), was initially signed into law by the President on January 8, 2008 (reauthorized by Title VI of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, P.L. 115-141). The NIAA 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 NIAA authorizes grants to be made in a manner consistent with the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP).

Under the 2020 NARIP priority areas, the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission (ACJC) will administer two projects: 1) Continue activities to support the AZ NICS Record Improvement Plan, and 2) provide upgrades to the AZ Protective Order Initiative and Notification Tool (AZPOINT).

1) NICS Task Force and Project Management: ACJC will use NARIP funding to continue the multi-agency planning and oversight with the NICS Record Improvement Task Force. The ACJC will use funds for various positions continue assisting in the progress of the strategic plan by addressing challenges and gaps identified through analysis. The project includes overseeing the Order of Protection/Injunction against harassment enhancements for the AZPOINT project. This is a continuation project from previous NARIP awards. The next steps for the Task Force are to continue efforts to address procedural, technological, privacy areas, and policy issues surrounding submission, access, and the reporting of NICS information.

2) AZPOINT enhancement project: ACJC will use NARIP funds to provide upgrades to the AZPOINT system. The AZPOINT system facilitates the request, issuance, service and NCIC entry of AZ Protection Orders throughout their entire lifecycle. The project will enhance three portals in the system: Petition Portal, Clerk Portal, and the Service Portal. For the Petition Portal, enhancements include allowing the plantiff to share additional service information such as the current location of the defendant; updating contact information with their address, phone number or email changes; enabling the plantiff and the service agency to send messages directly between each other; uploading photos of the defendant through the Petition Portal that the service agency can use to positively identify the defendant; and indicating if the plantiff believes the defendant is in custody. For the Clerk Court Portal, enhancements include allowing court personnel to search the protective orders that have been issued by other Arizona courts using any combination of plaintiff or defendant personally identifiable information; and tracking a civil case involving a protective order that may be transferred between Arizona courts. The AZPOINT System will allow the court to track these types of transfers to ensure that NCIC is updated with the most current court and court case number when law enforcement or the FBI NICS Section attempts to confirm the status of a protective order. For the Service Portal, enhancements include allowing service personnel to use mobile display computer (MDC) to initiate an ACIC query and retrieve all issued protective orders based on the defendant name and date of birth; retrieving and updating the protective order directly from the Arizona Justice Web Interface (JWI); indicating that service of a protective order is in progress. This will ensure that law enforcement is aware of any ongoing attempts to contact the defendant and that the order is out for service; and ensuring that law enforcement can initiate the process for an Emergency Order of Protection if they are called to a domestic dispute and determine that it is necessary. (CA/NCF)