Service Specification Package Addresses Agencies' Need to Automatically Transfer Offender Tracking Data When Changing Service Providers

• NCJ Number: 250312
• Date Published: July 2016
• Length: 2 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2010-IJ-CX-K003; 2010-MU-BX-K019
• Agencies: NIJ
• Publication Type: Report (Summary)

Annotation

This article presents information from an NIJ funded study on community corrections and law enforcement agencies that use electronic monitoring devices to track the movements of individuals on probation, parole, or house arrest; and using the new Offender Tracking Record Transfer Service Specification, Version 1.0 , in order to retain historical information on demographics, locations, violations, and alerts.

Abstract

Community corrections and law enforcement agencies that use electronic monitoring devices to track the movements of individuals on probation, parole, or house arrest often face a dilemma when it comes to negotiating new contracts switching vendors may save the agency money or give it access to innovative technology; however, the agency is likely to lose access to valuable historical information on demographics, locations, violations, and alerts because vendors store data in a proprietary manner. The new Offender Tracking Record Transfer Service Specification, Version 1.0 (NCJ 249814), developed with NIJ funding and approved by the Global Standards Council, is a step toward resolving this dilemma as it defines the manner of electronic transmission of information from one computer system to another. Gaining approval from the Global Standards Council places the Service Specification Package in the Bureau of Justice Assistance's Global Information Sharing Toolkit. Agencies looking to enter into new vendor contracts can now point to the service specification package as a requirement in their requests for proposals. If the vendor agrees to follow the service specification package, the agency is then free to switch vendors at a later date, knowing that retention of historical data is ensured. Following the specification also streamlines the process of shifting clients from one system to another, and enabling information sharing across various software platforms and from one jurisdiction to another could enhance public safety.