national crime prevention and privacy compact: resource materials

U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs

National Crime Preventionand Privacy Compact:Resource Materials

Bureau of Justice Statistics

NCHIP

U.S. Department of JusticeOffice of Justice ProgramsBureau of Justice Statistics

National Crime Preventionand Privacy Compact:Resource Materials

January 1998, NCJ 171671

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U.S. Department of JusticeOffice of Justice ProgramsBureau of Justice Statistics

Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D.Director

Acknowledgments

This report was prepared by SEARCH, The National Consortium for Justice Informationand Statistics, Kenneth E. Bischoff, Chairman, and Gary R. Cooper, Executive Director.The project director was Sheila J. Barton, Deputy Executive Director. Twyla R.Cunningham, Manager, Corporate Communications, and Jane L. Bassett, PublishingAssistant, provided editing and layout assistance. The federal project monitor was CarolG. Kaplan, Chief, National Criminal History Improvement Programs, Bureau of JusticeStatistics.

Report of work performed under BJS Grant No. 96-BJ-CX-K010, awarded to SEARCHGroup, Inc., 7311 Greenhaven Drive, Suite 145, Sacramento, California 95831. Contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Bureauof Justice Statistics or the U.S. Department of Justice.

Copyright © SEARCH, The National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics1998.

The U.S. Department of Justice authorizes any person to reproduce, publish, translate orotherwise use all or any part of the copyrighted material in this publication with theexception of those items indicating they are copyrighted or printed by any source otherthan SEARCH, The National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics.

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Contents

Introduction ......................................................................................................................1

Section I: The System ....................................................................................................2

Role and Benefits of the Interstate Identification Index System .....................................2A National System.................................................................................................2State Role ..............................................................................................................2Decentralization.....................................................................................................2Benefits .................................................................................................................2

Elimination of Duplication ............................................................................2Increased Record Quality...............................................................................3Increased System Security .............................................................................3Faster Response Times...................................................................................3Cost Savings ..................................................................................................3Uniform Dissemination Standard...................................................................3

Minimum Standards for State Participation in the Interstate Identification Index ....................................................................................4

Fingerprint Identification Matters ..........................................................................4Record Content and III Maintenance .....................................................................4Record Response ...................................................................................................4Accountability.......................................................................................................4

Section II: The Compact................................................................................................5Major Provisions of the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact ................5

The Importance of the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact...................6Assured Record Availability...................................................................................6Uniform Interstate Dissemination Policy................................................................6Strong State Role...................................................................................................6

National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact and Section-by-Section Analysis.......................................................................................7

Section III: Correspondence ......................................................................................21

Resource Materials on the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Page 1

Introduction

This report consists of several informationalresources relating to the proposed National CrimePrevention and Privacy Compact (Compact).Adoption of the Compact by the U.S. Congress andthe States will facilitate the full implementation ofthe Interstate Identification Index (III) as adecentralized system for the exchange of criminalhistory records for noncriminal justice purposesamong States and the Federal government.

Included in this report are the following materials:• An overview of the III system, including

information setting forth its benefits;• A list of the minimum standards for State

participation in the III;• A summary of the major provisions of the

Compact;• A summary of the importance of the Compact’s

ratification to further implementation of the IIIsystem;

• A copy of the Compact, along with a section-by-section analysis; and

• Correspondence from the U.S. Department ofJustice relating to the introduction of theCompact in the Congress.

The purpose of the Compact is to authorize andrequire participating State criminal historyrepositories and the Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) to make all unsealed criminal history recordsavailable in response to authorized noncriminaljustice requests, for such purposes as backgroundchecks on those seeking employment with children orthe elderly. The requests will be fingerprint-supported, and the dissemination and use of therecords will be governed by the receiving State’slaws.

When ratified, the Compact will eliminate theduplicate maintenance of criminal history records bythe States and the FBI. The Compact was introducedfirst in Congress, which has adopted it. Statelegislatures may now ratify the Compact inessentially identical form. No ratifying State maythereafter unilaterally amend the Compact. TheCompact supersedes any conflicting State laws inStates where it is adopted. This will result in auniform dissemination policy among States, whilestill ensuring that each State may apply its own lawswithin the State.

The governor-appointed Membership Group ofSEARCH, The National Consortium for JusticeInformation and Statistics, has formally endorsed theCompact. In addition, the Advisory Policy Board tothe Criminal Justice Information Services Division ofthe FBI and the National Sheriffs’ Association haveendorsed the Compact.

The Compact was included in Senate Bill 2022,which was passed by Congress and signed into lawby the president in October 1998.1

1 Title II of Pub. L. 105-251.

Resource Materials on the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact

Section I: The System

Role and Benefits of theInterstate Identification IndexSystem

A National SystemThe Interstate Identification Index (III), is an “index-pointer” criminal history record system that ties thecomputerized files of the FBI and the State-levelcentralized files maintained by each State into anational system. This system will serve as the vehiclefor the National Instant Criminal Background CheckSystem (NICS) that will be used for point-of-salescreening of firearm purchasers.

The FBI maintains the III system’s automated index,which can be accessed by Federal, State and localcriminal justice agencies throughout the country toconduct name searches to determine whether aparticular individual has a criminal record anywherein the country and, if so, to be pointed to the Federalor State file(s) from which the record(s) may beobtained on-line. The FBI also maintains the NationalFingerprint File (NFF) which contains fingerprints ofall the individuals in the index. The NFF provides ameans of positive identification of subjects in theindex and can be searched to identify individuals whogive false names to police or employers in an attemptto hide their criminal pasts.

State RoleStates can participate in the III system in two phases:

• In the first phase, the State’s centralized criminalhistory record repository agrees to make its III-indexed records available in response to requestsfrom Federal or out-of-State criminal justiceagencies for criminal justice purposes. Duringthis phase, the FBI continues to maintainduplicate records of offenders from this State inorder to meet the needs of Federal and out-of-State noncriminal justice agencies that need therecords for employment screening and otherauthorized noncriminal justice purposes.

• In the second phase of participation, a Stateagrees to make its III-indexed records availableon an interstate and Federal-State basis for bothcriminal justice and noncriminal justicepurposes.

The Compact is privacy-neutral in that it respects theintrastate dissemination laws for each State. At thesame time, it permits ratifying states with sufficientinterstate record-dissemination authority to becomefull participants in the III system.

DecentralizationAs particular States become full III participants in thecourse of the ongoing phased implementation of thesystem, the FBI ceases to maintain duplicate criminalrecords for persons arrested and prosecuted in thoseStates. Eventually, when all of the States havebecome full III participants, the FBI’s centralizedfiles of State offender records will be discontinuedand all users of criminal history records — forcriminal justice purposes as well as authorizednoncriminal justice purposes — will obtain thoserecords directly from the States’ central computerizedfiles (or from the FBI if the offender has a Federalrecord).

BenefitsElimination of DuplicationDuplicate maintenance of criminal history records bythe States and the FBI, and attendant costs, will beeliminated.

• The States will be relieved of the burden and costof submitting arrest fingerprints andcharge/disposition data to the FBI for all arrestsfor felonies and serious misdemeanors. Instead,they will submit only fingerprints and textualidentification data for each person’s first arrest,to update the III automated index and the NFF.

• The FBI will be relieved of the burden and cost

of maintaining records on State offenders andreceiving and processing fingerprint cards for allState arrests. Instead, it will maintain the IIIautomated index, the NFF and full criminalrecords of Federal offenders.


Increased Record QualityThere will be an increase in the completeness ofrecords made available on an interstate basis for bothcriminal justice and noncriminal justice purposes,including the screening of firearms purchasers andchild care providers through the NICS. This isbecause records maintained in the State repositoriesare more up-to-date than the FBI’s files. Also, manyof the States maintain records of some misdemeanoroffenses that have not been submitted to the FBI.These records will become available through the IIIsystem for NICS purposes and other authorized uses.

Increased System SecurityThere will be an increase in system security throughthe use of written agreements with all user agenciescovering authorized access, transaction logging andrecord validation by record providers.

Faster Response TimesSome noncriminal justice users will enjoy fasterresponse times because they will be receivingelectronic responses rather than mailed recordresponses from the FBI and because of increasedefficiency at the State level resulting from increasedautomation and system improvements preceding IIIparticipation.

Cost SavingsIn most States (those that already have efficientautomated systems), full participation in the IIIsystem will result in no significant new burdens andprobably will result in overall cost savings.Evaluations of the NFF Pilot Project, which isimplementing the decentralization phase of III on aState-by-State basis, have confirmed that start-upcosts are reasonable and that the FBI and the fourparticipating States have experienced cost savings. Inthe States, savings have also been realized at the locallevel because fingerprint cards for the FBI no longerneed to be prepared for second and subsequentoffenses.

Uniform Dissemination StandardRatification of the Compact will establish a uniformnationwide standard governing the interstatedissemination of criminal history records fornoncriminal justice purposes.

• This will ensure that Federal agencies willcontinue to receive the State records they need toscreen persons for employment in sensitivepositions and for other authorized purposes andthat authorized State agencies will continue toreceive the out-of-State records they need toscreen State employees and licensees.

• Each State will determine what criminal history

record information is disseminated within itsborders for noncriminal justice purposes. Stateswill continue to apply their own disseminationlaws to in-State use of their own records and theywill screen out-of-State records received throughIII pursuant to their own laws.


Minimum Standards for StateParticipation in the InterstateIdentification Index

A State must meet the following minimum standards

to participate in the III: 2

Fingerprint Identification MattersStandard No. 1 - The State has a central repositoryfor criminal history record information withfingerprint identification capability; that is, the abilityto match fingerprint impressions. Although fulltechnical fingerprint search capability is desirable, itis not a requirement.

Standard 2 - The State’s central repository serves asthe sole conduit for the transmission of arrest, judicialand correctional fingerprint cards for criterionoffenses within the State to the FBI (single-sourcesubmission). Submission of related final dispositionreports and expungements to the IdentificationDivision via the central repository is desirable.Single-source submission of information to the FBIshould not be unduly delayed by the State agency.

Standard 3 - The central repository maintains thesubject’s fingerprint impressions or a copy thereof asthe basic source document of each Index record andto support each arrest event in the criminal historyrecord.

Standard 4 - The central repository agrees tocontinue submitting all criterion arrest, court andcorrectional fingerprint cards and, when possible, therelated final disposition reports to the FBI until suchtime as a study is completed regarding the NFF andapproval is given to submitting only the first arrestfingerprint card (single-print submission).

2 Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau ofInvestigation, Interstate Identification Index Program -Operational and Technical Manual, pp. Intro-8 - Intro-9(August 1, 1994).

Record Content and III MaintenanceStandard No. 5 - Each record maintained by the Statecontains all known arrest, disposition and custody-supervision data for that State.

Standard No. 6 - The State agrees to remove orexpunge the State Identification Number (SID) froma III record when corresponding record data nolonger exist at the State level.

Standard No. 7 - The State agrees to conduct aregularly scheduled audit to identify discrepanciesand synchronize III records pointing to the State’sdatabase.

Standard No. 8 - Record completeness, accuracy andtimeliness are considered by the State to be ofprimary importance and are maintained at the highestlevel possible.

Record ResponseStandard No. 9 - The State agrees to respondimmediately to III record requests via the NationalLaw Enforcement Telecommunications System withthe record or an acknowledgment and notice whenthe record will be provided.

Standard No. 10 - Record responses will have anyalphabetic and/or numeric codes translated to literals(words or easily understood abbreviations) in orderthat the record responses can be readily understood.

Standard No. 11 - The State agrees not to include inits III response any out-of-State criminal historyrecord information maintained in its files.

AccountabilityStandard 12 - A single agency within each Stateagrees to be responsible for ensuring that thestandards of participation are met.

Standard 13 - The State agrees to maintain recordsand provide dissemination in accordance with thecivil and constitutional rights of individuals reflectedin the records.

Standard 14 - The State agency executes a writtenagreement with the FBI to comply with the standardsof participation.


Section II: The Compact

Major Provisions of theNational Crime Preventionand Privacy Compact

Major provisions of the proposed National CrimePrevention and Privacy Compact include thefollowing:

• The Compact will bind the FBI and ratifyingStates to participate in the noncriminal justiceaccess program of III in accordance with theCompact and established system policies.

• Authorized users will be the same as those

currently authorized to obtain records from theFBI’s files.

• Participating State repositories will be authorized

and required to make all unsealed criminalhistory records available in response toauthorized noncriminal justice requests.

• All noncriminal justice access to the system will

be through the FBI and the State repositories andwill be based upon fingerprint identification ofrecord subjects to ensure positive identification.

• Release and use of information obtained through

the system for noncriminal justice purposes willbe governed by the laws of the receiving States,and the receiving repositories will be required toscreen record responses and delete anyinformation that cannot be released legallywithin the State.

• The Compact will establish a compact council,

composed of Federal and State officials andother members representing user interests, toestablish operating policies for noncriminaljustice uses of the III system.

Ratification of the Compact has not yet been made acondition of State participation in III. It is expectedthat all participating States will ratify the Compactsince, in most States, the Compact will providerecord dissemination authority now lacking underState laws.


The Importance of theNational Crime Preventionand Privacy Compact

Ratification of the interstate Compact by theCongress and by the States is critical to furtherimplementation of the decentralization phase of theIII system for three main reasons:

Assured Record AvailabilityFirst, as the FBI’s files of State criminal historyrecords are decentralized, the FBI loses its ability toensure that records will be available to the manyagencies, including large Federal agencies, that areauthorized by Federal law to obtain criminal historyrecords for specified purposes. Such agencies willbecome dependent on records supplied by the Staterepositories, and there needs to be some means ofassuring that these records will remain available forall authorized III users and purposes.

An interstate compact is the most effective means ofproviding such long-term assurances. Once in effect,a compact cannot unilaterally be amended in anymaterial respect by any party. Such a party can onlyrenounce the compact completely and renunciation ofa compact that has been ratified by the States inreliance on mutual obligations solemnly undertakenby all of them would be an extremely seriousundertaking for any State. For these reasons, acompact is preferable to uniform State laws orindependent State legislative action as a means tobind the States to long-term III participation.

Uniform Interstate DisseminationPolicySecond, compacts supersede conflicting State laws;thus, ratification of the Compact by the States willhave the effect of amending some of their recorddissemination laws. The Compact amends thedissemination laws to the extent necessary toovercome existing restrictions that keep most Staterepositories from being able to participate in the IIIsystem as providers of records for noncriminal justicepurposes. Further, after ratifying the Compact, no

State will be able to reinstitute any such restrictionsby legislation because any such statute would be inconflict with the Compact and thus void.

Only one or two more States can participate in theNFF under existing legal authority. The others willneed to amend their record dissemination laws and,for the reasons mentioned above, a compact is thebest way to accomplish such amendments in aconsistent and lasting manner.

Strong State RoleFinally, the States need assurances that they will havea policy voice sufficient to protect their interests asthe III system evolves in the future. The FBI willmaintain the III automated index and the NFF andwill, therefore, be in a strong position to influencefuture developments affecting the system. However,since the records available through the system will bepredominantly State-maintained records, the Statesneed to be able to ensure that uses of those recordswill be consistent with their concerns in areas such asindividual privacy, system security and data quality.

The Compact provides these assurances byestablishing a policymaking council with authority tooversee the use of the III system for noncriminaljustice purposes. A majority of the members of thecouncil must be State officials selected by theparticipating States. Since the council will haveauthority to establish policy affecting some aspects ofFBI operations, the Compact must be ratified by theU.S. Congress.


National Crime Preventionand Privacy Compact andSection-by-Section Analysis

Senate Bill 2022, which includes the Compact, waspassed by Congress and signed into law by thepresident in October 1998.3. The section-by-sectionanalysis of the Compact is a statement of Sen. MikeDeWine (R-OH), which was read into the October16, 1998, edition of the Congressional Record.4

TITLE II—NATIONAL CRIMINAL HISTORYACCESS AND CHILD PROTECTION ACT

Section 201. Short Title.

This title may be cited as the “National CriminalHistory Access and Child Protection Act”.

Subtitle A—Exchange of Criminal HistoryRecords for Noncriminal Justice Purposes

Section 211. Short Title.This subtitle may be cited as the “National CrimePrevention and Privacy Compact Act of 1998”.

Section 212. Findings.

Congress finds that—

(1) both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Statecriminal history record repositories maintainfingerprint-based criminal history records;

(2) these criminal history records are shared andexchanged for criminal justice purposes through aFederal-State program known as the InterstateIdentification Index System;

(3) although these records are also exchanged forlegally authorized, noncriminal justice uses, such asgovernmental licensing and employment backgroundchecks, the purposes for and procedures by whichthey are exchanged vary widely from State to State;

(4) an interstate and Federal-State compact isnecessary to facilitate authorized interstate criminalhistory record exchanges for noncriminal justice

3 Title II of Pub. L. 105-251.4 Cong. Rec. S12671-S12673 (daily ed. October 16, 1998)(statement of Sen. DeWine).

purposes on a uniform basis, while permitting eachState to effectuate its own dissemination policywithin its own borders; and

(5) such a compact will allow Federal and Staterecords to be provided expeditiously to governmentaland nongovernmental agencies that use such recordsin accordance with pertinent Federal and State law,while simultaneously enhancing the accuracy of therecords and safeguarding the information containedtherein from unauthorized disclosure or use.

Section 213. Definitions.

In this subtitle:

(1) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The term “AttorneyGeneral” means the Attorney General of the UnitedStates.

(2) COMPACT.—The term “Compact” means theNational Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact setforth in section 217.

(3) COUNCIL.—The term “Council” means theCompact Council established under Article VI of theCompact.

(4) FBI.—The term “FBI” means the Federal Bureauof Investigation.

(5) PARTY STATE.—The term “Party State” meansa State that has ratified the Compact.

(6) STATE.—The term “State” means any State,territory, or possession of the United States, theDistrict of Columbia, and the Commonwealth ofPuerto Rico.

Section 214. Enactment and Consent of the UnitedStates.

The National Crime Prevention and PrivacyCompact, as set forth in section 217, is enacted intolaw and entered into by the Federal Government. Theconsent of Congress is given to States to enter intothe Compact.

Section 215. Effect on Other Laws.

(a) PRIVACY ACT OF 1974.—Nothing in theCompact shall affect the obligations andresponsibilities of the FBI under section 552a of title


5, United States Code (commonly known as the“Privacy Act of 1974”).

(b) ACCESS TO CERTAIN RECORDS NOTAFFECTED.—Nothing in the Compact shallinterfere in any manner with—

(1) access, direct or otherwise, to records pursuant to-

(A) section 9101 of title 5, United States Code;

(B) the National Child Protection Act;

(C) the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act(Public Law l03-l59; 107 Stat. 1536);

(D) the Violent Crime Control and Law EnforcementAct of 1994 (Public Law 103-322; 108 Stat. 2074) orany amendment made by that Act;

(E) the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.1437 et seq.); or

(F) the Native American Housing Assistance andSelf-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 etseq.); or

(2) any direct access to Federal criminal historyrecords authorized by law.

(c) AUTHORITY OF FBI UNDERDEPARTMENTS OF STATE, JUSTICE, ANDCOMMERCE, THE JUDICIARY, AND RELATEDAGENCIES APPROPRIATION ACT,1973.—Nothing in the Compact shall be construed toaffect the authority of the FBI under the Departmentsof State, Justice, and Commerce, the Judiciary, andRelated Agencies Appropriation Act, 1973 (PublicLaw 92-544 (86 Stat. 1115)).

(d) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEEACT.—The Council shall not be considered to be aFederal advisory committee for purposes of theFederal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

(e) MEMBERS OF COUNCIL NOT FEDERALOFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES.—Members of theCouncil (other than a member from the FBI or any at-large member who may be a Federal official oremployee) shall not, by virtue of such membership,be deemed—

(1) to be, for any purpose other than to effect theCompact, officers or employees of the United States(as defined in sections 2104 and 2105 of title 5,United States Code); or

(2) to become entitled by reason of Councilmembership to any compensation or benefit payableor made available by the Federal Government to itsofficers or employees.

Section 216. Enforcement and Implementation.

All departments, agencies, officers, and employees ofthe United States shall enforce the Compact andcooperate with one another and with all Party Statesin enforcing the Compact and effectuating itspurposes. For the Federal Government, the AttorneyGeneral shall make such rules, prescribe suchinstructions, and take such other actions as may benecessary to carry out the Compact and this subtitle.

Section 217. National Crime Prevention andPrivacy Compact.

The Contracting Parties agree to the following:

OVERVIEW

(a) IN GENERAL.—This Compact organizes anelectronic information sharing system among theFederal Government and the States to exchangecriminal history records for noncriminal justicepurposes authorized by Federal or State law, such asbackground checks for governmental licensing andemployment.

(b) OBLIGATIONS OF PARTIES.—Under thisCompact, the FBI and the Party States agree tomaintain detailed databases of their respectivecriminal history records, including arrests anddispositions, and to make them available to theFederal Government and to Party States forauthorized purposes. The FBI shall also manage theFederal data facilities that provide a significant partof the infrastructure for the system.

ARTICLE I—DEFINITIONS

In this Compact:

(1) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The term “AttorneyGeneral” means the Attorney General of the UnitedStates.


(2) COMPACT OFFICER.—The term “CompactOfficer” means—

(A) with respect to the Federal Government, anofficial so designated by the Director of the FBI; and

(B) with respect to a Party State, the chiefadministrator of the State’s criminal history recordrepository or a designee of the chief administratorwho is a regular full-time employee of the repository.

(3) COUNCIL.—The term “Council” means theCompact Council established under Article VI.

(4) CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS.—The term“criminal history records”—

(A) means information collected by criminal justiceagencies on individuals consisting of identifiabledescriptions and notations of arrests, detentions,indictments, or other formal criminal charges, andany disposition arising therefrom, including acquittal,sentencing, correctional supervision, or release; and

(B) does not include identification information suchas fingerprint records if such information does notindicate involvement of the individual with thecriminal justice system.

(5) CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDREPOSITORY.—The term “criminal history recordrepository” means the State agency designated by theGovernor or other appropriate executive official orthe legislature of a State to perform centralizedrecordkeeping functions for criminal history recordsand services in the State.

(6) CRIMINAL JUSTICE.—The term “criminaljustice” includes activities relating to the detection,apprehension, detention, pretrial release, post-trialrelease, prosecution, adjudication, correctionalsupervision, or rehabilitation of accused persons orcriminal offenders. The administration of criminaljustice includes criminal identification activities andthe collection, storage, and dissemination of criminalhistory records.

(7) CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCY.—The term“criminal justice agency”—

(A) means—

(i) courts; and

(ii) a governmental agency or any subunit thereofthat—

(I) performs the administration of criminal justicepursuant to a statute or Executive order; and

(II) allocates a substantial part of its annual budget tothe administration of criminal justice; and

(B) includes Federal and State inspectors generaloffices.

(8) CRIMINAL JUSTICE SERVICES.—The term“criminal justice services” means services providedby the FBI to criminal justice agencies in response toa request for information about a particular individualor as an update to information previously providedfor criminal justice purposes.

(9) CRITERION OFFENSE.—The term “criterionoffense” means any felony or misdemeanor offensenot included on the list of nonserious offensespublished periodically by the FBI.

(10) DIRECT ACCESS.—The term “direct access”means access to the National Identification Index bycomputer terminal or other automated means notrequiring the assistance of or intervention by anyother party or agency.

(11) EXECUTIVE ORDER.—The term “Executiveorder” means an order of the President of the UnitedStates or the chief executive officer of a State that hasthe force of law and that is promulgated inaccordance with applicable law.

(12) FBI.—The term “FBI” means the FederalBureau of Investigation.

(13) INTERSTATE IDENTIFICATIONSYSTEM.—The term “Interstate Identification IndexSystem” or “III System”—

(A) means the cooperative Federal-State system forthe exchange of criminal history records; and

(B) includes the National Identification Index, theNational Fingerprint File and, to the extent of theirparticipation in such system, the criminal historyrecord repositories of the States and the FBI.


(14) NATIONAL FINGERPRINT FILE.—The term“National Fingerprint File” means a database offingerprints, or other uniquely personal identifyinginformation, relating to an arrested or chargedindividual maintained by the FBI to provide positiveidentification of record subjects indexed in the IIISystem.

(15) NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION INDEX.—Theterm “National Identification Index” means an indexmaintained by the FBI consisting of names,identifying numbers, and other descriptiveinformation relating to record subjects about whomthere are criminal history records in the III System.

(16) NATIONAL INDICES.—The term “Nationalindices” means the National Identification Index andthe National Fingerprint File.

(17) NONPARTY STATE.—The term “NonpartyState” means a State that has not ratified thisCompact.

(18) NONCRIMINAL JUSTICE PURPOSES.—Theterm “noncriminal justice purposes” means uses ofcriminal history records for purposes authorized byFederal or State law other than purposes relating tocriminal justice activities, including employmentsuitability, licensing determinations, immigration andnaturalization matters, and national securityclearances.

(19) PARTY STATE.—The term “Party State”means a State that has ratified this Compact.

(20) POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION.—The term“positive identification” means a determination,based upon a comparison of fingerprints or otherequally reliable biometric identification techniques,that the subject of a record search is the same personas the subject of a criminal history record or recordsindexed in the III System. Identifications based solelyupon a comparison of subjects’ names or othernonunique identification characteristics or numbers,or combinations thereof, shall not constitute positiveidentification.

(21) SEALED RECORD INFORMATION.—Theterm “sealed record information” means—

(A) with respect to adults, that portion of a recordthat is—

(i) not available for criminal justice uses;

(ii) not supported by fingerprints or other acceptedmeans of positive identification; or

(iii) subject to restrictions on dissemination fornoncriminal justice purposes pursuant to a court orderrelated to a particular subject or pursuant to a Federalor State statute that requires action on a sealingpetition filed by a particular record subject; and

(B) with respect to juveniles, whatever each Statedetermines is a sealed record under its own law andprocedure.

(22) STATE.—The term “State” means any State,territory, or possession of the United States, theDistrict of Columbia, and the Commonwealth ofPuerto Rico.

ARTICLE II—PURPOSES

The purposes of this Compact are to—

(1) provide a legal framework for the establishmentof a cooperative Federal-State system for theinterstate and Federal-State exchange of criminalhistory records for noncriminal justice uses;

(2) require the FBI to permit use of the NationalIdentification Index and the National Fingerprint Fileby each Party State, and to provide, in a timelyfashion, Federal and State criminal history records torequesting States, in accordance with the terms of thisCompact and with rules, procedures, and standardsestablished by the Council under Article VI;

(3) require Party States to provide information andrecords for the National Identification Index and theNational Fingerprint File and to provide criminalhistory records, in a timely fashion, to criminalhistory record repositories of other States and theFederal Government for noncriminal justicepurposes, in accordance with the terms of thisCompact and with rules, procedures, and standardsestablished by the Council under Article VI;

(4) provide for the establishment of a Council tomonitor III System operations and to prescribesystem rules and procedures for the effective andproper operation of the III System for noncriminaljustice purposes; and


(5) require the FBI and each Party State to adhere toIII System standards concerning record disseminationand use, response times, system security, data quality,and other duly established standards, including thosethat enhance the accuracy and privacy of suchrecords.

ARTICLE III—RESPONSIBILITIES OFCOMPACT PARTIES

(a) FBI RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Director of theFBI shall—

(1) appoint an FBI Compact officer who shall—

(A) administer this Compact within the Departmentof Justice and among Federal agencies and otheragencies and organizations that submit searchrequests to the FBI pursuant to Article V(c);

(B) ensure that Compact provisions and rules,procedures, and standards prescribed by the Councilunder Article VI are complied with by theDepartment of Justice and the Federal agencies andother agencies and organizations referred to in ArticleIII(1)(A); and

(C) regulate the use of records received by means ofthe III System from Party States when such recordsare supplied by the FBI directly to other Federalagencies;

(2) provide to Federal agencies and to State criminalhistory record repositories, criminal history recordsmaintained in its database for the noncriminal justicepurposes described in Article IV, including—

(A) information from Nonparty States; and

(B) information from Party States that is availablefrom the FBI through the III System, but is notavailable from the Party State through the III System;

(3) provide a telecommunications network andmaintain centralized facilities for the exchange ofcriminal history records for both criminal justicepurposes and the noncriminal justice purposesdescribed in Article IV, and ensure that the exchangeof such records for criminal justice purposes haspriority over exchange for noncriminal justicepurposes; and

(4) modify or enter into user agreements withNonparty State criminal history record repositories torequire them to establish record request proceduresconforming to those prescribed in Article V.

(b) STATE RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each Party Stateshall—

(1) appoint a Compact officer who shall—

(A) administer this Compact within that State;

(B) ensure that Compact provisions and rules,procedures, and standards established by the Councilunder Article VI are complied with in the State; and

(C) regulate the in-State use of records received bymeans of the III System from the FBI or from otherParty States;

(2) establish and maintain a criminal history recordrepository, which shall provide—

(A) information and records for the NationalIdentification Index and the National FingerprintFile; and

(B) the State’s III System-indexed criminal historyrecords for noncriminal justice purposes described inArticle IV;

(3) participate in the National Fingerprint File; and

(4) provide and maintain telecommunications linksand related equipment necessary to support theservices set forth in this Compact.

(c) COMPLIANCE WITH III SYSTEMSTANDARDS.—In carrying out their responsibilitiesunder this Compact, the FBI and each Party Stateshall comply with III System rules, procedures, andstandards duly established by the Council concerningrecord dissemination and use, response times, dataquality, system security, accuracy, privacy protection,and other aspects of III System operation.

(d) MAINTENANCE OF RECORD SERVICES.—

(1) Use of the III System for noncriminal justicepurposes authorized in this Compact shall bemanaged so as not to diminish the level of servicesprovided in support of criminal justice purposes.


(2) Administration of Compact provisions shall notreduce the level of service available to authorizednoncriminal justice users on the effective date of thisCompact.

ARTICLE IV—AUTHORIZED RECORDDISCLOSURES

(a) STATE CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDREPOSITORIES.—To the extent authorized bysection 552a of title 5, United States Code(commonly known as the “Privacy Act of 1974”), theFBI shall provide on request criminal history records(excluding sealed records) to State criminal historyrecord repositories for noncriminal justice purposesallowed by Federal statute, Federal Executive order,or a State statute that has been approved by theAttorney General and that authorizes national indiceschecks.

(b) CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCIES ANDOTHER GOVERNMENTAL ORNONGOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES.—The FBI, tothe extent authorized by section 552a of title 5,United States Code (commonly known as the“Privacy Act of 1974”), and State criminal historyrecord repositories shall provide criminal historyrecords (excluding sealed records) to criminal justiceagencies and other governmental or nongovernmentalagencies for noncriminal justice purposes allowed byFederal statute, Federal Executive order, or a Statestatute that has been approved by the AttorneyGeneral, that authorizes national indices checks.

(c) PROCEDURES.—Any record obtained under thisCompact may be used only for the official purposesfor which the record was requested. Each Compactofficer shall establish procedures, consistent with thisCompact, and with rules, procedures, and standardsestablished by the Council under Article VI, whichprocedures shall protect the accuracy and privacy ofthe records, and shall—

(1) ensure that records obtained under this Compactare used only by authorized officials for authorizedpurposes;

(2) require that subsequent record checks arerequested to obtain current information whenever anew need arises; and

(3) ensure that record entries that may not legally beused for a particular noncriminal justice purpose aredeleted from the response and, if no informationauthorized for release remains, an appropriate “norecord” response is communicated to the requestingofficial.

ARTICLE V—RECORD REQUESTPROCEDURES

(a) POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION.—Subjectfingerprints or other approved forms of positiveidentification shall be submitted with all requests forcriminal history record checks for noncriminal justicepurposes.

(b) SUBMISSION OF STATE REQUESTS.—Eachrequest for a criminal history record check utilizingthe national indices made under any approved Statestatute shall be submitted through that State’scriminal history record repository. A State criminalhistory record repository shall process an interstaterequest for noncriminal justice purposes through thenational indices only if such request is transmittedthrough another State criminal history recordrepository or the FBI.

(c) SUBMISSION OF FEDERAL REQUESTS.—Each request for criminal history record checksutilizing the national indices made under Federalauthority shall be submitted through the FBI or, if theState criminal history record repository consents toprocess fingerprint submissions, through the criminalhistory record repository in the State in which suchrequest originated. Direct access to the NationalIdentification Index by entities other than the FBI andState criminal history records repositories shall not bepermitted for noncriminal justice purposes.

(d) FEES.—A State criminal history recordrepository or the FBI—

(1) may charge a fee, in accordance with applicablelaw, for handling a request involving fingerprintprocessing for noncriminal justice purposes; and

(2) may not charge a fee for providing criminalhistory records in response to an electronic requestfor a record that does not involve a request to processfingerprints.


(e) ADDITIONAL SEARCH.—

(1) If a State criminal history record repositorycannot positively identify the subject of a recordrequest made for noncriminal justice purposes, therequest, together with fingerprints or other approvedidentifying information, shall be forwarded to theFBI for a search of the national indices.

(2) If, with respect to a request forwarded by a Statecriminal history record repository under paragraph(1), the FBI positively identifies the subject as havinga III System-indexed record or records—

(A) the FBI shall so advise the State criminal historyrecord repository; and

(B) the State criminal history record repository shallbe entitled to obtain the additional criminal historyrecord information from the FBI or other Statecriminal history record repositories.

ARTICLE VI—ESTABLISHMENT OF ACOMPACT COUNCIL

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a council tobe known as the “Compact Council”, which shallhave the authority to promulgate rules and proceduresgoverning the use of the III System for noncriminaljustice purposes, not to conflict with FBIadministration of the III System for criminal justicepurposes.

(2) ORGANIZATION.—The Council shall—

(A) continue in existence as long as this Compactremains in effect;

(B) be located, for administrative purposes, withinthe FBI; and

(C) be organized and hold its first meeting as soon aspracticable after the effective date of this Compact.

(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall becomposed of 15 members, each of whom shall beappointed by the Attorney General, as follows:

(l) Nine members, each of whom shall serve a 2-yearterm, who shall be selected from among the Compactofficers of Party States based on the recommendationof the Compact officers of all Party States, except

that, in the absence of the requisite number ofCompact officers available to serve, the chiefadministrators of the criminal history recordrepositories of Nonparty States shall be eligible toserve on an interim basis.

(2) Two at-large members, nominated by the Directorof the FBI, each of whom shall serve a 3-year term,of whom—

(A) 1 shall be a representative of the criminal justiceagencies of the Federal Government and may not bean employee of the FBI; and

(B) 1 shall be a representative of the noncriminaljustice agencies of the Federal Government.

(3) Two at-large members, nominated by theChairman of the Council, once the Chairman iselected pursuant to Article VI(c), each of whom shallserve a 3-year term, of whom—

(A) 1 shall be a representative of State or localcriminal justice agencies; and

(B) 1 shall be a representative of State or localnoncriminal justice agencies.

(4) One member, who shall serve a 3-year term, andwho shall simultaneously be a member of the FBI’sadvisory policy board on criminal justice informationservices, nominated by the membership of that policyboard.

(5) One member, nominated by the Director of theFBI, who shall serve a 3-year term, and who shall bean employee of the FBI.

(c) CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMAN.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—From its membership, theCouncil shall elect a Chairman and a Vice Chairmanof the Council, respectively. Both the Chairman andVice Chairman of the Council—

(A) shall be a Compact officer, unless there is noCompact officer on the Council who is willing toserve, in which case the Chairman may be an at-largemember; and

(B) shall serve a 2-year term and may be reelected toonly 1 additional 2-year term.


(2) DUTIES OF VICE CHAIRMAN.—The ViceChairman of the Council shall serve as the Chairmanof the Council in the absence of the Chairman.

(d) MEETINGS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall meet at leastonce a year at the call of the Chairman. Each meetingof the Council shall be open to the public. TheCouncil shall provide prior public notice in theFederal Register of each meeting of the Council,including the matters to be addressed at suchmeeting.

(2) QUORUM.—A majority of the Council or anycommittee of the Council shall constitute a quorumof the Council or of such committee, respectively, forthe conduct of business. A lesser number may meetto hold hearings, take testimony, or conduct anybusiness not requiring a vote.

(e) RULES, PROCEDURES, ANDSTANDARDS.—The Council shall make availablefor public inspection and copying at the Counciloffice within the FBI, and shall publish in the FederalRegister, any rules, procedures, or standardsestablished by the Council.

(f) ASSISTANCE FROM FBI.—The Council mayrequest from the FBI such reports, studies, statistics,or other information or materials as the Councildetermines to be necessary to enable the Council toperform its duties under this Compact. The FBI, tothe extent authorized by law, may provide suchassistance or information upon such a request.

(g) COMMITTEES.—The Chairman may establishcommittees as necessary to carry out this Compactand may prescribe their membership, responsibilities,and duration.

ARTICLE VII—RATIFICATION OFCOMPACT

This Compact shall take effect upon being enteredinto by 2 or more States as between those States andthe Federal Government. Upon subsequent enteringinto this Compact by additional States, it shallbecome effective among those States and the FederalGovernment and each Party State that has previouslyratified it. When ratified, this Compact shall have thefull force and effect of law within the ratifyingjurisdictions. The form of ratification shall be inaccordance with the laws of the executing State.

ARTICLE VIII—MISCELLANEOUSPROVISIONS

(a) RELATION OF COMPACT TO CERTAIN FBIACTIVITIES.—Administration of this Compact shallnot interfere with the management and control of theDirector of the FBI over the FBI’s collection anddissemination of criminal history records and theadvisory function of the FBI’s advisory policy boardchartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act(5 U.S.C. App.) for all purposes other thannoncriminal justice.

(b) NO AUTHORITY FOR NONAPPROPRIATEDEXPENDITURES.—Nothing in this Compact shallrequire the FBI to obligate or expend funds beyondthose appropriated to the FBI.

(c) RELATING TO PUBLIC LAW 92-544.—Nothing in this Compact shall diminish or lessen theobligations, responsibilities, and authorities of anyState, whether a Party State or a Nonparty State, or ofany criminal history record repository or othersubdivision or component thereof, under theDepartments of State, Justice, and Commerce, theJudiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriation Act,1973 (Public Law 92-544) or regulations andguidelines promulgated thereunder, including therules and procedures promulgated by the Councilunder Article VI(a), regarding the use anddissemination of criminal history records andinformation.

ARTICLE IX—RENUNCIATION

(a) IN GENERAL.—This Compact shall bind eachParty State until renounced by the Party State.

(b) EFFECT.—Any renunciation of this Compact bya Party State shall—

(1) be effected in the same manner by which theParty State ratified this Compact; and

(2) become effective 180 days after written notice ofrenunciation is provided by the Party State to eachother Party State and to the Federal Government.

ARTICLE X—SEVERABILITY

The provisions of this Compact shall be severable,and if any phrase, clause, sentence or provision ofthis Compact is declared to be contrary to the


constitution of any participating State, or to theConstitution of the United States, or the applicabilitythereof to any government, agency, person, orcircumstance is held invalid, the validity of theremainder of this Compact and the applicabilitythereof to any government, agency, person, orcircumstance shall not be affected thereby. If aportion of this Compact is held contrary to theconstitution of any Party State, all other portions ofthis Compact shall remain in full force and effect asto the remaining Party States and in full force andeffect as to the Party State affected, as to all otherprovisions.

ARTICLE XI—ADJUDICATION OF DISPUTES

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall—

(1) have initial authority to make determinations withrespect to any dispute regarding—

(A) interpretation of this Compact;

(B) any rule or standard established by the Councilpursuant to Article V; and

(C) any dispute or controversy between any parties tothis Compact; and

(2) hold a hearing concerning any dispute describedin paragraph (1) at a regularly scheduled meeting ofthe Council and only render a decision based upon amajority vote of the members of the Council. Suchdecision shall be published pursuant to therequirements of Article VI(e).

(b) DUTIES OF FBI.—The FBI shall exerciseimmediate and necessary action to preserve theintegrity of the III System, maintain system policyand standards, protect the accuracy and privacy ofrecords, and to prevent abuses, until the Councilholds a hearing on such matters.

(c) RIGHT OF APPEAL.—The FBI or a Party Statemay appeal any decision of the Council to theAttorney General, and thereafter may file suit in theappropriate district court of the United States, whichshall have original jurisdiction of all cases orcontroversies arising under this Compact. Any suitarising under this Compact and initiated in a Statecourt shall be removed to the appropriate districtcourt of the United States in the manner provided bysection 1446 of title 28, United States Code, or otherstatutory authority.

NATIONAL CRIME PREVENTION ANDPRIVACY COMPACT OF THE NATIONALCRIMINAL HISTORY ACCESS AND CHILDPROTECTION ACT SECTION-BY-SECTIONANALYSIS

Section 211.—This section provides the short title ofthe Act.

Section 212.—This section sets forth thecongressional findings upon which the Act ispredicated. The section reflects congressionaldeterminations that both the FBI and the statesmaintain fingerprint-based criminal history recordsand exchange them for criminal justice purposes andalso, to the extent authorized by federal law and thelaws of the various states, use the informationcontained in these records for certain noncriminaljustice purposes. Although this system has operatedfor years on a reciprocal, voluntary basis, theexchange of records for noncriminal justice purposeshas been hampered by the fact that the laws andpolicies of the states governing the noncriminaljustice use of criminal history records and theprocedures by which they are exchanged vary widely.A compact will establish a uniform standard for theinterstate and federal-state exchange of criminalhistory records for noncriminal justice purposes,while permitting each state to continue to enforce itsown record dissemination laws within its ownborders. A compact will also facilitate the interstateand federal-state exchange of information byclarifying the obligations and responsibilities of therespective parties, streamlining the processing ofbackground search applications and eliminatingrecord maintenance duplication at the federal andstate levels. Finally, the compact will provide amechanism for establishing and enforcing uniformstandards governing record accuracy and protectingthe confidentiality and privacy interests of recordsubjects.

Section 213.—This section sets out definitions of keyterms used in this subtitle. Definitions of key termsused in the compact are set out in Article I of thecompact.

Section 214.—This section formally enacts thecompact into federal law, makes the United States aparty, and consents to entry into the Compact by theStates.


Section 215.—This section outlines the effect of theCompact’s enactment on certain other laws. First,subsection (a) provides that the Compact is deemedto have no effect on the FBI’s obligations andresponsibilities under the Privacy Act. The PrivacyAct became effective in 1975, and can generally becharacterized as a federal code of fair informationpractices regarding individuals. The Privacy Actregulates the collection, maintenance, use, anddissemination of personal information by the federalgovernment. This Section makes clear that theCompact will neither expand nor diminish theobligations imposed on the FBI by the Privacy Act.All requirements relating to collection, disclosure andadministrative matters remain in effect, includingstandards relating to notice, accuracy and securitymeasures.

Second, enactment of the Compact will neitherexpand nor diminish the responsibility of the FBI andthe state criminal history record repositories to permitaccess, direct or otherwise, to criminal historyrecords under the authority of certain other federallaws (enumerated in subsection (b)(1)). These lawsinclude the following:

The Security Clearance Information Act (Section9101 of Title 5, United States Code) requires stateand local criminal justice agencies to release criminalhistory record information to certain federal agenciesfor national security background checks.

The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Actprescribes a waiting period before the purchase of ahandgun may be consummated in order for a criminalhistory records check on the purchaser to becompleted, and also establishes a national instantbackground check system to facilitate criminalhistory checks of firearms purchasers. Under thissystem, licensed firearms dealers are authorizedaccess to the national instant background checksystem for purposes of complying with thebackground check requirement.

The National Child Protection Act of 1993 (42U.S.C. § 5119a) authorizes states with appropriatestate statutes to access and review state and federalcriminal history records through the national criminalhistory background check system for the purpose ofdetermining whether care providers for children, theelderly and the disabled have criminal historiesbearing upon their fitness to assume suchresponsibilities.

The Violent Crime Control and Law EnforcementAct of 1994 authorizes federal and state civil courtsto have access to FBI databases containing criminalhistory records, missing person records and courtprotection orders for use in connection with stalkingand domestic violence cases.

The United States Housing Act of 1937, as amendedby the Housing Opportunity Program Extension Actof 1996, authorizes public housing authorities toobtain federal and state criminal conviction recordsrelating to public housing applicants or tenants forpurposes of applicant screening, lease enforcementand eviction.

The Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act authorizes Indian tribes or triballydesignated housing entities to obtain federal and stateconviction records relating to applicants for ortenants of federally assisted housing for purposes ofapplicant screening, lease enforcement and eviction.Nothing in the Compact would alter any rights ofaccess provided under these laws.

Subsection (b)(2) provides that the compact shall notaffect any direct access to federal criminal historyrecords authorized by law. Under existing legalauthority, the FBI has provided direct terminal accessto certain federal agencies, including the Office ofManagement and Budget and the Immigration andNaturalization Service, to facilitate the processing oflarge numbers of background search requests bythese agencies for such purposes as federalemployment, immigration and naturalization matters,and the issuance of security clearances. This accesswill not be affected by the compact.

Subsection (c) provides that the Compact’senactment will not affect the FBI’s authority to useits criminal history records for noncriminal justicepurposes under Public Law 92-544—the State,Justice, Commerce Appropriations Act of 1973. Thislaw restored the Bureau’s authority to exchange itsidentification records with the states and certain otherorganizations or entities, such as federally charteredor insured banking institutions, for employment andlicensing purposes, after a federal district court haddeclared the FBI’s practice of doing so to be withoutfoundation. (See Menard v. Mitchell, 328 F. Supp.718 (D.D.C. 1971)).


Subsection (d) provides that the Council created bythe Compact to facilitate its administration is deemednot to be a federal advisory committee as definedunder the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Thisprovision is necessary since nonfederal employeeswill sit on the Compact Council together with federalpersonnel and the Council may from time to time becalled upon to provide the Director of the FBI or theAttorney General with collective advice on theadministration of the Compact. Without thisstipulation, such features might cause the Council tobe considered an advisory committee within themeaning of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.Even though the Council will not be considered anadvisory committee for purposes of the Act, it willhold public meetings.

Similarly, to avoid any question on the subject,Subsection (e) provides that members of the CompactCouncil will not be deemed to be federal employeesor officers by virtue of their Council membership forany purpose other than to effect the Compact. Thus,state officials and other nonfederal personnel who areappointed to the Council will be considered federalofficials only to the extent of their roles as Councilmembers. They will not be entitled to compensationor benefits accruing to federal employees or officers,but they could receive reimbursement from federalfunds for travel and subsistence expenses incurred inattending council meetings.

Section 216.—This Section admonishes all federalpersonnel to enforce the Compact and to cooperate inits implementation. It also directs the U.S. AttorneyGeneral to take such action as may be necessary toimplement the Compact within the federalgovernment, including the promulgation ofregulations.

Section 217.—This is the core of the subtitle and setsforth the text of the Compact:

Overview. This briefly describes what the Compactis and how it is meant to work. Under the Compact,the FBI and the states agree to maintain theirrespective databases of criminal history records andto make them available to Compact parties forauthorized purposes by means of an electronicinformation sharing system established cooperativelyby the federal government and the states.

Article I—Definitions. This article sets outdefinitions for key terms used in the Compact. Mostof the definitions are substantially identical todefinitions commonly used in federal and state lawsand regulations relating to criminal history recordsand need no explanation. However, the followingdefinitions merit comment:

(20) Positive Identification. This term refers, in brief,to association of a person with his or her criminalhistory record through a comparison of fingerprintsor other equally reliable biometric identificationtechniques. Such techniques eliminate orsubstantially reduce the risks of associating a personwith someone else’s record or failing to find a recordof a person who uses a false name. At present, themethod of establishing positive identification in usein criminal justice agencies throughout the UnitedStates is based upon comparison of fingerprintpatterns, which are essentially unique andunchanging and thus provide a highly reliable basisfor identification. It is anticipated that this method ofpositive identification will remain in use for manyyears to come, particularly since federal and stateagencies are investing substantial amounts of moneyto acquire automated fingerprint identificationequipment and related devices which facilitate thecapturing and transmission of fingerprint images andprovide searching and matching methods that areefficient and highly accurate. However, there areother biometric identification techniques, includingretinal scanning, voice-print analysis and DNAtyping, which might be adapted for criminal recordidentification purposes. The wording of the definitioncontemplates that at some future time the CompactCouncil might authorize the use of one or more ofthese techniques for establishing positiveidentification, if it determines that the reliability ofsuch technique(s) is at least equal to the reliability offingerprint comparison.

(21) Sealed Record Information. Article IV,paragraph (b), permits the FBI and state criminalhistory record repositories to delete sealed recordinformation when responding to an interstate recordrequest pursuant to the Compact. Thus, the definitionof “sealed” becomes important, particularly sincestate sealing laws vary considerably, ranging fromlaws that are quite restrictive in their application toothers that are very broad. The definition set out hereis intended to be a narrow one in keeping with a basictenet of the Compact—that state repositories shall


release as much information as possible for interstateexchange purposes, with issues concerning the use ofparticular information for particular purposes to bedecided under the laws of the receiving states.Consistent with the definition, an adult record, or aportion of it, may be considered sealed only if itsrelease for noncriminal justice purposes has beenprohibited by a court order or by action of adesignated official or board, such as a State AttorneyGeneral or a Criminal Record Privacy Board, actingpursuant to a federal or state law. Further, to qualifyunder the definition, a court order, whether issued inresponse to a petition or on the court’s own motion,must apply only to a particular record subject orsubjects referred to by name in the order. So-called“blanket” court orders applicable to multipleunnamed record subjects who fall into particularclassifications or circumstances, such as first-timenon-serious drug offenders, do not fit the definition.Similarly, sealing orders issued by designatedofficials or boards acting pursuant to statutoryauthority meet the definition only if such orders areissued in response to petitions filed by individualrecord subjects who are referred to by name in theorders. So-called “automatic” sealing laws, whichrestrict the noncriminal justice use of the records ofcertain defined classes of individuals, such as first-time offenders who successfully complete probationterms, do not satisfy the definition, because they donot require the filing of individual petitions and theissuance of individualized sealing orders.

Concerning juvenile records, each state is free toadopt whatever definition of sealing it prefers.

Article II—Purposes. Five purposes are listed:creation of a legal framework for establishment of theCompact; delineation of the FBI’s obligations underthe Compact; delineation of the obligations of partystates; creation of a Compact Council to monitorsystem operations and promulgate necessary rulesand procedures; and, establishment of an obligationby the parties to adhere to the Compact and its relatedrules and standards.

Article III—Responsibilities of Compact Parties.This article details FBI and state responsibilitiesunder the Compact and provides for the appointmentof Compact Officers by the FBI and by party states.Compact officers shall have primary responsibilityfor ensuring the proper administration of theCompact within their jurisdictions.

The FBI is required to provide criminal historyrecords maintained in its automated database fornoncriminal justice purposes described in Article IVof the Compact. These responses will include federalcriminal history records and, to the extent that theFBI has such data in its files, information from non-Compact States and information from CompactStates relating to records which such states cannotprovide through the III System. The FBI is alsoresponsible for providing and maintaining thecentralized system and equipment necessary for theCompact’s success and ensuring that requests madefor criminal justice purposes will have priority overrequests made for noncriminal justice purposes.

State responsibilities are similar. Each Party Statemust grant other states access to its III system-indexed criminal history records for authorizednoncriminal justice purposes and must submit to theFBI fingerprint records and subject identificationinformation that are necessary to maintain thenational indices. Each state must comply with dulyestablished system rules, procedures, and standards.Finally, each state is responsible for providing andmaintaining the telecommunications links andequipment necessary to support system operationswithin that state.

Administration of Compact provisions will not bepermitted to reduce the level of service available toauthorized criminal justice and noncriminal justiceusers on the effective date of the Compact.

Article IV—Authorized Record Disclosures. Thisarticle requires the FBI, to the extent authorized bythe Privacy Act, and the state criminal history recordrepositories to provide criminal history records to oneanother for use by governmental or nongovernmentalagencies for noncriminal justice purposes that areauthorized by federal statute, by federal executiveorder, or by a state statute that has been approved bythe U.S. Attorney General. Compact parties will berequired to provide criminal history records to othercompact parties for noncriminal justice uses that areauthorized by law in the requesting jurisdiction eventhough the law of the responding jurisdiction doesnot authorize such uses within its borders. Further,the responding party must provide all of the criminalhistory record information it holds on the individualwho is the subject of the request (deleting only sealedrecord information) and the law of the requestingjurisdiction will determine how much of the


information will actually be released to thenoncriminal justice agency on behalf of which therequest was made. This approach provides a uniformdissemination standard for interstate exchanges,while permitting each compact party to enforce itsown record dissemination laws within its borders.

To provide uniformity of interpretation, state lawsauthorizing noncriminal justice uses of criminalhistory records under this article must be reviewed bythe U.S. Attorney General to ensure that the lawsexplicitly authorize searches of the national indices.

Records provided through the III System pursuant tothe Compact may be used only by authorizedofficials for authorized purposes. Compact officersmust establish procedures to ensure compliance withthis limitation as well as procedures to ensure thatcriminal history record information provided fornoncriminal justice purposes is current and accurateand is protected from unauthorized release. Further,procedures must be established to ensure that recordsreceived from other compact parties are screened toensure that only legally authorized information isreleased. For example, if the law of the receivingjurisdiction provides that only conviction recordsmay be released for a particular noncriminal justicepurpose, all other entries, such as acquittal ordismissal notations or arrest notations with noaccompanying disposition notation, must be deleted.

Article V—Record Request Procedures. Thisarticle provides that direct access to the NationalIdentification Index and the National Fingerprint Filefor purposes of conducting criminal history recordsearches for noncriminal justice purposes shall belimited to the FBI and the state criminal historyrecord repositories. A noncriminal justice agencyauthorized to obtain national searches pursuant to anapproved state statute must submit the searchapplication through the state repository in the state inwhich the agency is located. A state repositoryreceiving a search application directly from anoncriminal justice agency in another state mayprocess the application through its own criminalhistory record system, if it has legal authority to doso, but it may not conduct a search of the nationalindices on behalf of such an out-of-state agency normay it obtain out-of-state or federal records for suchan agency through the III System.

Noncriminal justice agencies authorized to obtainnational record checks under federal law or federalexecutive order, including federal agencies, federallychartered or insured financial institutions and certainsecurities and commodities establishments, mustsubmit search applications through the FBI or, if therepository consents to process the application,through the state repository in the state in which theagency is located.

All noncriminal justice search applications submittedto the FBI or to the state repositories must beaccompanied by fingerprints or some other approvedform of positive identification. If a state repositorypositively identifies the subject of such a searchapplication as having a III System-indexed recordmaintained by another state repository or the FBI, thestate repository shall be entitled to obtain suchrecords from such other state repositories or the FBI.If a state repository cannot positively identify thesubject of a noncriminal justice search application,the repository shall forward the application, togetherwith fingerprints or other approved identifyinginformation, to the FBI. If the FBI positivelyidentifies the search application subject as having aIII System-indexed record or records, it shall notifythe state repository which submitted the applicationand that repository shall be entitled to obtain any IIISystem-indexed record or records relating to thesearch subject maintained by any other staterepository or the FBI.

The FBI and state repositories may charge fees forprocessing noncriminal justice search applications,but may not charge fees for providing criminalhistory records by electronic means in response toauthorized III System record requests.

Article VI—Establishment of Compact Council.This article establishes a Compact Council topromulgate rules and procedures governing the use ofthe III System for noncriminal justice purposes. Suchrules cannot conflict with the FBI’s administration ofthe III System for criminal justice purposes. Issuesconcerning whether particular rules or procedurespromulgated by the Council conflict with FBIauthority under this article shall be adjudicatedpursuant to Article XI.


The Council shall consist of 15 members fromcompact states and federal and local criminal justiceand noncriminal justice agencies. All members shallbe appointed by the U.S. Attorney General. Councilmembers shall elect a Council Chairman and ViceChairman, both of whom shall be compact officersunless there are no compact officers on the Councilwho are willing to serve, in which case at-largemembers may be elected to these offices.

The 15 Council members include nine members whomust be state compact officers or state repositoryadministrators, four at-large members representingfederal, state and local criminal justice andnoncriminal justice interests, one member from theFBI’s advisory policy board on criminal justiceinformation services and one member who is an FBIemployee. Although, as noted, all members will beappointed by the U.S. Attorney General, they will benominated by other persons, as specified in theCompact. If the Attorney General declines to appointany person so nominated, the Attorney General shallrequest another nomination from the person orpersons who nominated the rejected person.Similarly, if a Council membership vacancy occurs,for any reason, the Attorney General shall request areplacement nomination from the person or personswho made the original nomination.

Persons who are appointed to the Council who arenot already federal officials or employees shall, byvirtue of their appointment by the Attorney General,become federal officials to the extent of their dutiesand responsibilities as Council members. They shall,therefore, have authority to participate in thedevelopment and issuance of rules and procedures,and to participate in other actions within the scope oftheir duties as Council members, which may bebinding upon federal officers and employees orotherwise affect federal interests.

The Council shall be located for administrativepurposes within the FBI and shall have authority torequest relevant assistance and information from theFBI. Although the Council will not be considered aFederal Advisory Committee (see Section 215(d)), itwill hold public meetings and will publish its rulesand procedures in the Federal Register and makethem available for public inspection and copying at aCouncil office within the FBI.

Article VII—Ratification of Compact. This articlestates that the Compact will become effectiveimmediately upon its execution by two or more statesand the United States Government and will have thefull force and effect of law within the ratifyingjurisdictions. Each state will follow its own laws ineffecting ratification.

Article VIII—Miscellaneous Provisions. Thisarticle makes clear that administration of theCompact shall not interfere with the authority of theFBI Director over the management and control of theFBI’s collection and dissemination of criminalhistory records for any purpose other thannoncriminal justice. Similarly, nothing in theCompact diminishes a state’s obligations andauthority under Public Law 92-544 regarding thedissemination or use of criminal history recordinformation (see analysis of Section 214, above). TheCompact does not require the FBI to obligate orexpend funds beyond its appropriations.

Article IX—Renunciation. This article provides thata state wishing to end its obligations by renouncingthe Compact shall do so in the same manner bywhich it ratified the Compact and shall provide sixmonths’ advance notice to other compact parties.

Article X—Severability. This article provides thatthe remaining provisions of the Compact shall not beaffected if a particular provision is found to be inviolation of the Federal Constitution or theconstitution of a party state. Similarly, a finding inone state that a portion of the Compact is legallyobjectionable will have no effect on the viability ofthe Compact in other Party States.

Article XI—Adjudication of Disputes. This articlevests initial authority in the Compact Council tointerpret its own rules and standards and to resolvedisputes among parties to the Compact. Decisions areto be rendered upon majority vote of Councilmembers after a hearing on the issue. Any Compactparty may appeal any such Council decision to theU.S. Attorney General and thereafter may file suit inthe appropriate United States district court. Any suitconcerning the compact filed in any state court shallbe removed to the appropriate federal district court.

Section III: Correspondence

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Legislative Affairs

Office of the Assistant Attorney General Washington, D.C. 20530

October 23, 1997

The Honorable Newt GingrichSpeakerU.S. House of RepresentativesWashington, D.C. 2O515

Dear Mr. Speaker:

Enclosed is a legislative proposal to provide congressionalapproval of the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact("Compact"). This Compact will allow for decentralized and moreefficient exchange of criminal history records for noncriminal-justice purposes among the states and the federal government.

Currently, arrest fingerprint cards are submitted to the FBIby Federal, State, and local agencies on a voluntary basis. Lawenforcement agencies, primarily local police and sheriffs’offices, maintain a system of records specific to their state orlocality and submit duplicate prints of arrested and chargedpersons to the FBI to receive information on an individual's priornationwide criminal history. The FBI reports its findings andmaintains the fingerprint card, along with the accompanying data,in its criminal-history files. The FBI has maintained a duplicateset of criminal-history records since 1924 and today has over 2OOmillion fingerprint cards on file.

Use of fingerprint-based criminal-history record informationfor noncriminal-justice purposes is increasingly in demand. Thisbill would do nothing to expand or diminish the noncriminal-justice purposes for which criminal history records may be used;it is merely intended to facilitate their exchange in a moreefficient and effective manner. Specifically, this Compact wouldestablish both a legal framework for the cooperative exchange ofcriminal-history records for noncriminal-justice purposes, and aCompact Council to monitor system operations and promulgatenecessary rules and procedures.

The primary goal of the Compact is to provide a decentralizednational records system that will provide at least the same levelof service as the existing centralized FBI record system atreduced cost. The Compact will use the same electronic criminalhistory record information sharing system for noncriminal-justicepurposes that is currently employed for criminal justice purposes.The necessity for duplicate records at the Federal level will beeliminated, and states will no longer need to send the FBIduplicate sets of fingerprints for an individual’s second orsubsequent arrest.

Subsequent inquiries regarding an individual willautomatically produce an index of the states in which thatindividual has a criminal record. Implementation of the Compactwill permit a requesting state to access directly another state'srecords electronically so long as it is seeking the informationbased on fingerprint identification for a noncriminal-justicepurpose authorized under its own laws and Federal law.

The savings associated with decentralization of criminalhistory records maintenance are significant. The savings arisefrom avoiding the costs of processing fingerprint cards andrelated data maintenance at both the Federal and State levels. Inaddition, the Compact is expected to provide a higher level ofdata quality. Currently, in some instances disposition informationis not submitted to the FBI by the States. Without completedispositions, the utility of record information included in thecentralized record system is somewhat limited as many uses rely onthe conviction data. Various studies by the FBI and others haveshown that state records are often more complete than those of theFBI.

The Compact was prepared by the Criminal Justice InformationServices (CJIS) Advisory Policy Board with FBI support. The CJISBoard is chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act(Public Law 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) to advise the Director of theFBI on policies addressing information systems. It has 29 membersand is made up primarily of senior policy-level officials fromfederal, state and local criminal justice agencies. In addition,Attorneys General in both Democratic and RepublicanAdministrations have approved the concept of the Compact.

The Compact Clause of the Constitution, Article I, Section 10,Clause 3, generally requires congressional consent for agreementsor compacts among the states. While we do not believe thatcongressional approval is constitutionally mandated in thisinstance because the United States will be a party to the Compact,we believe that congressional approval, whether constitutionallymandated or not, will be an important factor in achieving thegoals of the Compact.

The office of Management and Budget advises that submissionof this proposed legislation is consistent with theAdministration's program. An identical letter and enclosures havebeen forwarded to the President of the Senate.

We urge prompt congressional consideration of this importantlegislation.

Sincerely,

Andrew FoisAssistant Attorney General

Enclosures

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Legislative Affairs

Office of the Assistant Attorney General Washington, D.C. 20530

October 23, 1997

The Honorable Albert Gore, Jr.PresidentUnited States SenateWashington, D.C. 2O51O

Dear Mr. President:

Enclosed is a legislative proposal to provide congressionalapproval of the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact("Compact"). This Compact will allow for decentralized and moreefficient exchange of criminal history records for noncriminal-justice purposes among the states and the federal government.

Currently, arrest fingerprint cards are submitted to the FBIby Federal, State, and local agencies on a voluntary basis. Lawenforcement agencies, primarily local police and sheriffs’offices, maintain a system of records specific to their state orlocality and submit duplicate prints of arrested and chargedpersons to the FBI to receive information on an individual's priornationwide criminal history. The FBI reports its findings andmaintains the fingerprint card, along with the accompanying data,in its criminal-history files. The FBI has maintained a duplicateset of criminal-history records since 1924 and today has over 2OOmillion fingerprint cards on file.

Use of fingerprint-based criminal-history record informationfor noncriminal-justice purposes is increasingly in demand. Thisbill would do nothing to expand or diminish the noncriminal-justice purposes for which criminal history records may be used;it is merely intended to facilitate their exchange in a moreefficient and effective manner. Specifically, this Compact wouldestablish both a legal framework for the cooperative exchange ofcriminal-history records for noncriminal-justice purposes, and aCompact Council to monitor system operations and promulgatenecessary rules and procedures.

The primary goal of the Compact is to provide a decentralizednational records system that will provide at least the same levelof service as the existing centralized FBI record system atreduced cost. The Compact will use the same electronic criminalhistory record information sharing system for noncriminal-justicepurposes that is currently employed for criminal justice purposes.The necessity for duplicate records at the Federal level will beeliminated, and states will no longer need to send the FBIduplicate sets of fingerprints for an individual’s second orsubsequent arrest.

Subsequent inquiries regarding an individual willautomatically produce an index of the states in which thatindividual has a criminal record. Implementation of the Compactwill permit a requesting state to access directly another state'srecords electronically so long as it is seeking the informationbased on fingerprint identification for a noncriminal-justicepurpose authorized under its own laws and Federal law.

The savings associated with decentralization of criminalhistory records maintenance are significant. The savings arisefrom avoiding the costs of processing fingerprint cards andrelated data maintenance at both the Federal and State levels. Inaddition, the Compact is expected to provide a higher level ofdata quality. Currently, in some instances disposition informationis not submitted to the FBI by the States. Without completedispositions, the utility of record information included in thecentralized record system is somewhat limited as many uses rely onthe conviction data. Various studies by the FBI and others haveshown that state records are often more complete than those of theFBI.

The Compact was prepared by the Criminal Justice InformationServices (CJIS) Advisory Policy Board with FBI support. The CJISBoard is chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act(Public Law 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) to advise the Director of theFBI on policies addressing information systems. It has 29 membersand is made up primarily of senior policy-level officials fromfederal, state and local criminal justice agencies. In addition,Attorneys General in both Democratic and RepublicanAdministrations have approved the concept of the Compact.

The Compact Clause of the Constitution, Article I, Section 10,Clause 3, generally requires congressional consent for agreementsor compacts among the states. While we do not believe thatcongressional approval is constitutionally mandated in thisinstance because the United States will be a party to the Compact,we believe that congressional approval, whether constitutionallymandated or not, will be an important factor in achieving thegoals of the Compact.

The office of Management and Budget advises that submissionof this proposed legislation is consistent with theAdministration's program. An identical letter and enclosures havebeen forwarded to the Speaker of the House.

We urge prompt congressional consideration of this importantlegislation.

Sincerely,

Andrew FoisAssistant Attorney General

Enclosures

national crime prevention and privacy compact: resource materials

Documents