State Leadership in Facilitating Justice Information Sharing

The Edward Byrne Memorial Competitive Program: National Initiatives, administered by the Office of Justice Programs' (OJP) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), furthers the Department's mission by assisting state and local jurisdictions in improving the criminal justice system and assisting communities in preventing drug abuse and crime. In FY 2008, the program will focus on funding local, regional, and national efforts within five major categories: 1) preventing crime and drug abuse; 2) enhancing local law enforcement; 3) enhancing local courts; 4) enhancing local corrections and offender reentry; and 5) facilitating justice information sharing.

The National Governor's Association Center for Best Practices will implement the State Leadership in Facilitating Justice Information Sharing Project under Category 5: Facilitating Justice Information Sharing. They will improve justice information sharing by convening the various stakeholders on issues of critical importance, including the collaboration of state homeland security advisors and justice information sharing executives in fusion centers, replication of information exchanges among states using the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM), and privacy policy development among state justice information sharing programs. Plans are to host a roundtable meeting of the Governors Homeland Security Advisors Council (GHSAC) and justice information sharing executives to make recommendations that will foster collaboration in the state fusion centers for the purpose of improving information sharing. In addition, six states will be selected and convened to create an implementation roadmap for one NIEM exchange listed on the Information Exchange Package Documentation (IEPD) Clearinghouse. The Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative will be supported by hosting a meeting of states on the development of privacy policy within their justice information sharing systems and programs.

CA/NCF