Through the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP), BJS provides direct awards and technical assistance to states and localities to improve the quality, timeliness, and immediate accessibility of criminal history records and related information. Complete records require that data from all components of the criminal justice system be integrated and linked, including law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, and corrections. NCHIP assists states to establish an integrated infrastructure that meets the needs of all components.
BJS initiated the NCHIP program in 1995 and makes awards annually on a competitive basis to states, territories, and federally recognized tribes. BJS issues a program announcement annually, describing program goals, priorities, application procedures, and allowable costs. BJS makes awards to the agency designated by the state governor to administer the NCHIP award. BJS bases award amounts on need rather than population or formula-based methodology.
Total expenditures since the inception in 1995 through 2021 were approximately $893 million. All states and eligible territories have received funds under the program. NCHIP was reauthorized under Title VI of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-141).
For information about current and past NCHIP funding announcements, see Funding & Awards.
* III, FBI data through December 2018.
Source: SEARCH, Survey of State Criminal History Information Systems, 2018.
- III Participation: Since 1993, the number of states participating in III grew from 26 to all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
- NICS: The NICS is now supporting more than 28 million checks annually at the presale stage of firearms purchases. The NICS infrastructure, developed through NCHIP funding, seamlessly transitioned from checks conducted by Brady-based Chief Law Enforcement Officers (CLEO) to the current system of Point of Contact (POC)/NICS and NICS only checks.
- Domestic Violence and Protection Orders: States have used NCHIP funds to initiate the flagging of criminal history records evidencing convictions for domestic violence or the issuance of a protection order. As of December 2021, 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have submitted over 2 million records to the National Protection Order File, which became operational in May 1997.
- Convicted Sex Offender Registries: NCHIP funds have assisted states in building sex offender registries and participating in the FBI's National Sex Offenders Registry (NSOR), which became operational in July 1999. As of December 2021, 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have provided over 867,000 records to the NSOR.