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.?

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

Additional information about NGA?s Center for Best Practices is available at:

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? www.nga.org/center

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? # # #

BJA01-164

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	&nban> 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
??? 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