Matt, here's something you might be interested in (as might cpunx). --Declan JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROVIDES FUNDS TO 26 STATES FOR INFORMATION SHARING INITIATIVES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BJA Monday, July 23, 2001 202/307-0703 JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROVIDES FUNDS TO 26 STATES FOR INFORMATION SHARING INITIATIVES WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Justice Department grants to 26 states totaling more than $16 million will help them share information across jurisdictional and criminal justice system component lines and lead to improving the way they do business. The funds will help states link key information systems that include crime and offender information that will lead to better sentencing decisions, enhanced public safety and other benefits derived from more comprehensive, better coordinated criminal justice information systems. "For too long, the different arms of the criminal justice system at the federal, state, and local levels have not known what the others were doing," said Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Acting Assistant Attorney General Mary Lou Leary. "By helping law enforcement, courts, probation and parole agencies, and other components of the criminal justice system to more effectively share information, we will exponentially enhance public safety." The grants are being made under a program authorized by the Crime Identification Technology Act of 1998-more commonly referred to as CITA. The program is being administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), a component of OJP, in cooperation with the National Governors' Association's Center for Best Practices. (MORE) -2- In Fiscal Year 2000, BJA and NGA's Center for Best Practices provided Information Integration program planning grants of $25,000 to 42 states and hosted a series of information integration workshops that were attended by representatives of state implementation teams from 45 states. These 26 grants will allow selected states to build on that work and lay the groundwork for future national information integration efforts. "Rapid advances in technology have allowed police, prosecutors, courts, and corrections to build impressive information systems," said Leary. "The key is to allow these systems to share information. Judges who have reliable up-to-date arrest records will be able to make better sentencing decisions. In turn, police who have complete information about outstanding warrants and criminal histories will be in a better position to detain dangerous criminals, who do not belong back on the street." The projects being funded with the grants being announced today range from $40,000 to $1 million initiatives. The projects will last between 12 and 24 months and must contribute directly to improving information sharing among all or some of the law enforcement and criminal justice agencies at the state and local levels. Additional information about BJA is available at: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bja <http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bja> Additional information about NGA's Center for Best Practices is available at: www.nga.org/center <http://www.nga.org/center> # # # BJA 01-164 After Hours Contact: Doug Johnson 202/353-5610 (cell) Office of Justice Programs (OJP) BJA/NGA FY 2001 Justice Information Technology Integration Implementation Project State Grantee Award Amount Contact Phone AZ Arizona Criminal Justice Commission $ 230,000 Michael D. Branham 602/728-0752 AR Arkansas Integrated Justice Information System Coordinating Council $ 910,563 Brenda Barber 501/682-0053 CO Colorado Department of Public Safety $ 700,000 C. Suzanne Menncer 303/239-4398 CT The State of Connecticut $ 705,000 Theron Schnure 860/418-6340 FL Florida Technology Office $1,000,000 Roy Cales 850/410-4777 HI State of Hawaii $1,000,000 Carla T. Poirier 808/586-5330 IL State of Illinois $ 973,660 Matt Bettenhausen 312/814-2121 KS Kansas Bureau of Investigation $ 239,000 Charles W. Sexson 785/296-8200 KY Commonwealth of Kentucky $1,000,000 Aldona Valicenti 502/564-1201 MD Maryland Criminal Justice Information Advisory Board $ 460,352 Stewart Simms 410/339-5000 MA Massachusetts Office of Public Safety $ 850,000 Jane Perlov 617/727-7775 MI Michigan Department of State Police $ 750,000 Nancy Becker 517/336-6641 MO State of Missouri $ 510,815 Gerry Wethington 573/526-7741 MT Montana Department of Justice $ 40,000 Wulbur Rehmann 406/444-6194 NE State of Nebraska $ 336,200 Michael Overton 402/471-3992 NJ New Jersey Dept. of Law and Public Safety $ 350,000 Steven Talpas 609/984-0634 State Grantee Award Amount Contact Phone NM Supreme Court of New Mexico $ 800,000 Bob Stafford 505/476-0400 NY New York Division of Criminal Justice Services $ 757,600 Clyde Deweese 518/485-2295 NC State of North Carolina $ 600,000 Robert Brinson 919/716-3501 ND State of North Dakota $ 310,000 Nancy Walz 701/328-1991 PA Pennsylvania Justice Network $ 795,000 Linda Rosenberg 717/705-0760 RI Rhode Island Justice Commission $ 150,000 Joseph Smith 401/222-2620 TN Tennessee Office for Criminal Justice Programs $1,000,000 Pat Dishman 615/741-8277 UT Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice $ 650,000 Jennifer Hemingway 801/538-1055 WA Office of Financial Management $ 495,000 Gary Robinson 360/902-0528 WI State of Wisconsin $ 739,365 Annette Cruz 608/266-1736