Mission Statement
Provide
complete, timely and accurate criminal justice information while balancing the
need for public safety and individuals’ rights to privacy.
History
The Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History
(Repository) was established by the 1985 Nevada Legislature under Nevada
Revised Statutes (NRS) chapter 179A.
Originally established as part of the Nevada Highway Patrol, the Repository’s
statutory mandate was simple: to be the
central “filing cabinet” for Nevada records of criminal history which include,
but are not limited to, arrest records, wants/warrants, protection orders, and
court dispositions.
Over the years, the Repository’s mandate has grown from simply maintaining records of criminal history to adding the following programs: Point-of-Contact for background checks on potential firearms purchasers/transferees pursuant to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 (added in 1994); Civil Name Check Program for name-based Nevada criminal history record background checks (1998); State Sex Offender Registry (1999); and an extensive fingerprint-based civil applicant background check program for occupational licensing and regulatory agencies (1988 - current).
During the 2005 Legislative Session, the Repository was removed as a unit within the Nevada Highway Patrol and was re-named the Records Bureau to reflect the myriad programs for which it is responsible. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director then made the decision to combine the Records Bureau with the department’s Technology Bureau to form a new division. In the 2007 Legislative Session, the Records and Technology Division was formally codified in statute, and the Repository was moved under this new division.
In the 2013 Legislative Session, under the Governor’s recommendation to consolidate state services, the Technology Bureau was removed from DPS and consolidated with the State Enterprise IT Services Division of the Department of Administration. In addition, pursuant to AB 465 of the 2013 Legislative Session, the Records and Technology Division was re-named the General Services Division, and the dispatch and warrants functions of the Nevada Highway Patrol were transferred to the General Services Division. There are two statewide dispatch centers one in Carson City, and one in Las Vegas. The NHP warrants have been transferred to the NHP with the remaining warrants being retained by the dispatch centers.
The Records, Communications and Compliance Division is the CJIS Systems Agency (CSA) for the various criminal justice information systems managed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division and is the conduit through which Nevada criminal justice agencies access these various FBI systems. The division is a member of the International Justice and Public Safety Information Sharing Network (Nlets). The State, via the Records, Communications and Compliance Division, has been a participant in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Interstate Identification Index (III) since 1999 and is a founding member of the Western Identification Network (WIN), which is a regional Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) administered by eight western states and linked to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Next Generation Identification (NGI) System. Additionally, the division is the designated “Chief Law Enforcement Official” (CLEO) for the state in accordance with the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993.
The information in the Records, Communications and Compliance Division's
computerized
criminal history system (CCH), a component of the Nevada Criminal Justice
Information System (NCJIS), is automated and is based on fingerprint submission
for positive identification. It is
available to all criminal justice agencies throughout the state and nationally
via the FBI’s NGI system. The Records, Communications and Compliance Division's goals are:
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To improve
customer service.
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To recruit,
foster, and retain a qualified, diverse workforce.
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To further
automate business processes and criminal justice information sharing.
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To foster a
synergistic relationship with stakeholders.
User agencies of NCJIS include local, state, and federal law
enforcement agencies, courts, district attorneys, and city prosecutors; other
state agencies such as the Nevada Department of Corrections, the Nevada
Division of Investigation, the Nevada State Police Highway Patrol, and the Nevada Division
of Parole and Probation; as well as state occupational licensing and regulatory
agencies and private non-profit businesses serving vulnerable populations. It is the NCJIS system, and the interfaces to
other state and federal criminal history databases, which serves as the source
of information for making informed decisions related to firearms transfers, sex
offender registration, employment of persons working with vulnerable
populations and/or in positions of trust, and the sentencing, incarceration and
supervision of offenders who are on parole or probation.
NCJIS is administered by the DPS Records, Communications and Compliance Division. The Division receives guidance on system
usage, policies, and procedures through the cooperative efforts of its many partner agencies, users, and service subscribers.