FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2015
Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency Announces Federal
Award to Improve the Reliability of Criminal Records
Harrisburg, PA. — The Pennsylvania
Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) announced the receipt of over
$814,000 in grant funds from the U.S. Department of Justice to improve criminal
records information throughout the Commonwealth. These funds will be invested
in systems at the local level that increase compliance with booking procedures.
“It
is vitally important that the criminal records used for background checks on
individuals purchasing weapons, working with children, and holding sensitive
government positions are accurate,” Chairman Josh Shapiro said. “Unfortunately, we know that in many cases
our criminal record databases are incomplete. We know that in the first quarter
of 2015 alone, 1,549 people convicted of felonies in Pennsylvania were not
properly entered into the criminal history database. These funds will help
ensure that our hardworking law enforcement agencies and personnel have the
equipment available that they need to make certain that Pennsylvania has
accurate criminal histories.”
PCCD
intends to provide LiveScan Plus devices to six counties and ten Pennsylvania
State Police sub-stations. These devices allow for the electronic collection of
data, including fingerprints and photographs, by one device and for that
information to be immediately uploaded to state and federal systems.
In
addition, funds will be used to streamline the process for the electronic
processing of Protection from Abuse Orders (PFAs) and enhance the electronic
submission of PFAs into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). This process will help to identify
individuals not permitted to purchase a gun, due to committing a previous
disqualifying offense, from attempted purchases in other states.
“PCCD
has been working for years to increase the accuracy of Pennsylvania’s criminal
records,” Shapiro said. “I’m proud to
say that Pennsylvania has increased its offender identification rate from
approximately 66% in 2006 to over 88% today, all through the help of PCCD
funding. However, there is still more to do and we will continue to work with
our criminal justice partner to address these issues.”
You
can find more information about offender identification compliance on both a
statewide and local level on our Criminal Justice Advisory Boards Data
Dashboard. Click here and then navigate to Law
Enforcement and select either “Offender Identification – State” or “Offender
Identification – County” from the drop-down menu.
Our Mission is to enhance
the quality, coordination and planning within the criminal and juvenile justice
systems, to facilitate the delivery of services to victims of crime, and to
increase the safety of our communities.
MEDIA CONTACT: Matthew Leonard, 717.265.8539
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