Deputy Director

Paul C. Heppner
Deputy Director

Computer Services

Ronald W. Seay
Assistant Deputy Director

Information Services

Terry D. Gibbons
Assistant Deputy Director

Research Development

J. William Holland
Assistant Deputy Director

Compliance & Support

George Emfinger
Assistant Deputy Director

Security Operations

Charles A. Severs
Assistant Deputy Director

Georgia Crime Information Center

Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS)

Computerized Criminal History Program (CCH)

Criminal Justice Information System Network (CJIS)

Georgia Firearms Program

Sexually Violent Offender Registry

Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR)

Compliance Audits

Customer Support

Investigative Assistance

Criminal Justice Records Improvement Plan (CJRI)

GBI Headquarters Access Control System

AFIS OPERATIONS

In FY'00, all subsystems that comprise the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) were upgraded and each of the subsystems successfully passed the state's Year 2000 (Y2K) testing. AFIS experienced no problems in making the transition to the Year 2000.

In addition, the vendor is nearing completion of the remainder of the contractual obligations of the upgrade by increasing database capacity and installing the latest technology to improve identification, update and response times. The AFIS upgrade was funded under the Y2K process.

Five additional local law enforcement agencies began transmitting electronic criminal fingerprint images and data via live scan devices. A total of 35 agencies now submit arrest fingerprints electronically for their agencies and others for which they provide booking services. Electronic transmissions represent 60 percent of the entire criminal fingerprint card processing workload. The average processing time for electronic transactions is 30 minutes. This includes identification, update or creation of a computerized criminal history records, transmission of responses to the booking agency, and electronic submission to the FBI.

Three local law enforcement agencies (Glynn County Police Department, Gwinnett County Police Department and Thomas County Sheriff's Office) received grant funding from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) to purchase remote site fingerprint workstations. The sites allow the agencies to access and search the state’s fingerprint databases without contacting GCIC directly. So far, 19 agencies have remote terminals. They are as follows:

A total of 10,344 tenprint and latent print searches were initiated from AFIS remote terminals located throughout the state. These inquiries resulted in 1,399 tenprint hits and 1,244 latent hits.

The processing of criminal and applicant fingerprint cards remained current during FY'00, with an average processing time of 48 hours for criminal cards (manual fingerprint submissions) and 82 hours for applicant cards. This time is calculated from the time the card was received at GCIC until the time the Georgia response was mailed to the requesting agency. These turnaround times ensure a timely creation or update of Georgia’s computerized criminal history records.

Throughout FY'00, overall submissions of criminal fingerprint cards (including live scan transmissions), applicant fingerprint cards and final disposition reports increased.

The fiscal year also reflected an increase over FY'99 of 8.2 percent for criminal fingerprint cards, 7.7 percent for applicant fingerprint cards and 16.5 percent for final disposition reports.

CRIMINAL HISTORY

Georgia’s current Computerized Criminal History (CCH) system is more than 20 years old. As part of an overall modernization effort, it will be redesigned and upgraded. While the latest technology and capabilities will be part of this redesign effort, the heart of the project will focus on improved access and service for our customers, the Georgia criminal justice community.

As part of this effort, the current Georgia database must be fully analyzed and mapped. Funding has been requested through the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) to hire contract technical staff to map the current database.

At the close of FY'00, GCIC maintained fingerprint and criminal history records on 2,187,584 individuals. An additional 112,583 individuals were added to the Georgia Computerized Criminal History file during FY'00, which represents a 5.4 percent growth rate. Additionally, 693,400 CCH records were updated with subsequent arrests or disposition information.

During FY'00, electronic updates of final disposition data were received from 120 courts, accounting for approximately 20 percent of the total number of dispositions reported to GCIC. The 120 courts include those that submit directly online via the Georgia Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) Network to GCIC or via court automation software packages.

CCH specialists and the Security Office completed 15,096 requests for special record reviews and corrections during the year. These requests came from law enforcement and criminal justice agencies, as well as attorneys and private individuals requiring record updates or modifications to ensure complete and accurate records.

A total of 1,252,382 Georgia CCH records were disseminated via the CJIS Network to in-state and out-of-state criminal justice agencies.

CJIS Network

The Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) Network, managed by GCIC, had availability in excess of 99.8 percent during FY'00. The CJIS Network increased to more than 7,200 terminal/workstations and processed more than 159 million messages during the year. The CJIS Network made the transition to the Year 2000 without any problems at the state or local level. More and more local agencies began the transition to TCP/IP, which will be required for full NCIC 2000 functionality.

FIREARMS PROGRAM

The Georgia Firearms Program provides instant background checks on persons wishing to purchase firearms from federally licensed firearms dealers pursuant to Georgia law and provisions of the federal "Brady Act". Background checks ensure that persons prohibited by either state or federal laws are barred from the purchase of firearms.
The firearms program is operational Monday - Saturday from 8:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. and on Sundays from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. The program is closed on Christmas Day.
During FY'00, the firearms program:

• Processed 237,545 firearms instant background checks from federally licensed firearms dealers. This represents a 38 percent increase in volume over the transactions processed in FY'99.
• Instant background checks resulted in 224,996 or 94.7 percent of the checks being approved for firearm sales.
• Of these checks, the firearms program approved 131,343 or 58.4 percent instantly, requiring no further action.

Envoy Automated Licensing Systems of Nashville, Tenn., through their VeriFAX program, provides an online instant background check service to large volume firearms dealers in Georgia. This service allows firearms dealers to enter and receive the same information they would receive from a firearms program operator, without going through the operator, saving both the firearms dealer and the firearms program time and expense. During FY'00, VeriFAX processed 100,903 transactions or 43 percent of the total number of transactions.

CRIME REPORTING

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program continued to provide crime and arrest statistics to local law enforcement agencies, to the governor and Georgia General Assembly, to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), to county and municipal officials, to media representatives and to interested citizens through the publication of "Crime in Georgia" and 1,221 special reports.

The UCR program also collects special Family Violence Act (FVA) incident reports. During FY'00, a total of 49,072 family violence incident reports were processed.

SEXUAL OFFENDER REGISTRY

An administrator of Georgia’s Sexually Violent Offender Registry looks over the registry posted on the GBI Website.

The Georgia Sexually Violent Offender (SVO) Registry was enacted by the Georgia General Assembly in 1996 and became operational during FY'97. Since that time, the GBI has registered 3,788 offenders, with 882 added during FY'00. The GBI was awarded more than $500,000 in grant funds in FY'99 for use in automating the submission process of the registry and to facilitate the capture of mugshot images of each offender. This project continued into FY'00 with the joint cooperation of the GBI, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Georgia Department of Corrections. More than 100 images have been placed on the GBI Website. The site became operational in 1998 and includes a page dedicated to the sexually violent offender registry. During FY'00, the SVO registry Web page received more than 1.2 million hits. To view the registry, visit the GBI Website at www.ganet.org/gbi.

COMPLIANCE AUDITS

During FY'00, the Audit Section continued three key programs targeting the security and quality of the Georgia Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) Network and the improvement of Georgia's Computerized Criminal History Record database. The major CJIS Network component has been a vital decision-making tool for criminal justice officials and other public and private users authorized by law.

The CJIS Network audit team is responsible for biennial audits of all agencies operating CJIS Network terminals. With the network numbering more than 1,000 agency sites, the FBI-imposed biennial requirement remains a critical issue. The audit team completed audits needed to meet biennial requirements. During FY'00, audit staff completed audits in the second year of the biennial cycle. In addition, team members provided more than 450 hours of training in CJIS-related matters. CJIS Network audits assess compliance with federal law and Georgia Code Sections 35-3-34 through 35-3-38 and the Rules of the GCIC Council (the Georgia Board of Public Safety).

The two remaining programs in the audit section exist due to federal funds derived from the Edward Byrne Program for Criminal History Record Improvement. One program deals with compliance auditing of criminal justice agencies dealing with state law requiring the fingerprinting of arrestees and the submission of final disposition reports. The remaining program involves research of local criminal records for information on previously unreported final disposition reports. The reporting of final disposition reports is mandated by Georgia Code Section 35-3-36.

During FY'00, two three-person teams continued the program missions. Also, a total of 301 fingerprinting/disposition reporting audits were conducted during this period. Audits disclosed varied levels of compliance with reporting requirements and generated a number of requests for training on the process of taking fingerprints and in the reporting of final disposition reports. Training needs were handled by GCIC/AFIS personnel. A total of 9,150 previously unreported disposition reports for felony charges were completed through research of 12,580 local criminal justice records during the reporting period.

The above achievements would not have been possible without the interactions of the entire GCIC division working as a team for an overall common objective: to provide the best criminal justice services.

Investigative Assistance

During FY'00, GCIC received requests from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies for computerized investigative support in more than 1,820 high priority cases. A total of 4,492 reports were produced as a result of these requests. GCIC also produced an additional 909 reports, detailing inquiries of CJIS databases in response to 680 requests for such assistance.

Customer Assistance

GCIC personnel provided 1,872 hours of training to 5,310 students in the areas of fingerprinting, the Offender Based Tracking System, Uniform Crime Reporting and the Family Violence Act, report completion, CJIS Network operations, Security and Integrity and other GCIC requirements.

RECORDS IMPROVEMENT

During the past year, an updated version of the Georgia Criminal Justice Records Improvement (CJRI) Plan was completed. This plan was submitted through the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to the Office of Justice Programs in Washington. The plan received federal approval on April 21, 2000. Its goal remains to improve the state's criminal justice records to meet national guidelines for completeness and accuracy. This plan governs the use of federal grant funds dedicated to this effort and governs decisions on objectives in criminal records and technology.

Criminal Justice Improvement Plan

In FY'00, the State of Georgia submitted a multipurpose grant request of $803,768.26 to the National Criminal Justice Improvement Program (NCHIP) for a prototype gun check denial file, additional live scan devices for local agencies, further development of the Georgia Temporary Protective Order (TOP) Registry and mapping of the current CCH database for redesign.

Laboratory Information Management System

The GBI implemented a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) in the Division of Forensic Sciences (DOFS). The contract was awarded to the LIMS vendor, JusticeTrax, Inc.

LIMS is a forensic support system capable of meeting the laboratory's requirements and Year 2000 compliance issues. In addition, LIMS provides an improved level of completeness and timeliness of services rendered by laboratory personnel. Information collected by LIMS includes evidence-tracking data which is essential for chain of custody and court testimony; case management data, including resource accountability and court processing information, is also gathered. Phases one and two, including Y2K compatibility, were successfully completed. DOFS also successfully made the transition to the new system, with phase three due for installation in early FY'01.

In addition, LIMS will integrate the scientific equipment, which will allow for the real-time merging of test results into the actual DOFS report. The LIMS project was funded under the Y2K process.

ACCESS CONTROL

During FY'00, the GBI contracted with SecurityLink, Inc. to replace an existing, non-Y2K compliant access control system at GBI headquarters in Decatur.

The chosen system is among the most advanced available. The system provides a workstation for guard monitoring of all doors and alarms, a workstation for producing combination employee identification/access control badges, and an administrative workstation for monitoring system performance as well as producing audit and management reports.