NCJ Number
152841
Date Published
1994
Length
66 pages
Annotation
To ensure the quality of criminal history record information (CHRI), the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority is conducting an independent records audit of the State's CHRI system.
Abstract
Local agencies such as police departments, State's attorneys, circuit court clerks, and correctional facilities submit CHRI to the Illinois State Police (ISP) which is the repository for this data. While the final audit report is scheduled to be completed in May 1995, the initial report lays the foundation for the audit findings. The initial report shows that the computerized criminal history (CCH) records information system in Illinois is growing at an incredible rate. In January 1984, the CCH system contained more than 1.4 million records; by January 1994, this figure had increased to 2.1 million records, a 51-percent increase over 10 years. Each record may contain several criminal justice-related events. Of all events entered into the CCH system, 23 percent were added between January and June 1994. Event types, as a percentage of the total, have remained relatively constant. Arrests usually comprise about 40 percent of all events, State's attorney dispositions 37 percent, court dispositions 10 percent, and custodial receipts 3 percent. Two recent developments have substantially changed how events are received: (1) Since 1987, the ISP has allowed counties to report the direct filing of State's attorney dispositions; and (2) When the ISP determines that agencies cannot provide case dispositions, it posts them as not available and includes them in the count of total disposition events. The ISP has made many changes over the past 5 years to improve the delivery of CHRI, but it still has an event backlog. The Illinois CCH system is compared to similar systems in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Appendixes contain a glossary and information on ISP improvements to CHRI. 25 footnotes, 7 tables, and 16 figures