South Carolina Justice Data Sharing Initiative

Collaboration with local and state law enforcement agencies is a critical best practice for reducing violent crime. The South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services (SCDPPPS) proposes to innovate information sharing among justice involved stakeholders in an effort to coordinate crime reduction and improve the state’s justice system. 
 

Criminal justice information will be shared between SCDPPPS and the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) through an interface that will allow real-time access. Data being sent from SLED to SCDPPPS will include criminal justice elements out of the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). This data will be queried and displayed in SCDPPPS’ data systems, allowing near real-time access. This interface will be beneficial during the intake process by improving access to CCH data, increasing accuracy in account information and improving the quality of SID numbers and other  identifiers.
 

To increase collaboration, SLED will have access to data on all active individuals in the Department’s Offender Management System (OMS).  Examples of this information include: current photos and addresses, social history information, family contacts, supervision status, DNA collections and account balances, county of supervision, Agent contact information, and warrantless search status. Two-way data sharing will directly improve cooperation with law enforcement agencies in South Carolina and across the country.
 

Risk assessment data will be shared with the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) through an interface that will allow near real-time access to SCDPPPS’ OMS.  Access of data will be limited to individuals on parole in revocation status returning to SCDC and those who have violated probation and are remanded to SCDC custody.
 

In addition, SCDPPPS will create quality control protocols for accounts to ensure accuracy of information. Staff responsible for creating accounts will receive comprehensive training on interpreting sentencing sheets and rap sheets. Internal measures will include IT automations and scripting to identify incorrect information or inconsistencies with accounts; make adjustments to the intake process and add a quality review step before accounts are activated in the OMS. All deliverables will be measured using existing data collection strategies.