2022 SEARCH Annual Meeting: Recap and Photos

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/ July 28, 2022

2022 Annual Meeting Resources

SEARCH’s 2022 Annual Membership Group Meeting drew attendees from 46 different states, who participated either on-site at the Grand Hyatt Denver in downtown Denver, Colorado, or who joined virtually via the Zoom platform.

The Annual Meeting, held July 19–21, featured key sessions and workshops and speakers from state and federal government, national organizations, and private industry. It kicked off on Tuesday, July 19, with a welcome address from Mr. John Camper, Director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

As SEARCH’s governing body, the Membership Group meets twice yearly to discuss, analyze and strategize on key policy, operational and technical issues impacting justice information sharing. Federal and state government partners, as well as industry leaders, also attend to share critical information about new programs, services and emerging trends. In turn, they learn about Members’ operational perspectives and the state’ justice information sharing challenges and needs.

The 2022 Annual Meeting featured the following sessions:

A briefing from on recent legislative activities of Congress, as well as a briefing with Congressional staff on the Fresh Start Act of 2021 (which authorizes the Justice Department to award grants to states to implement automatic expungement laws) and a detailed discussion of the provisions of the newly signed Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
Briefings from the Acting Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics and Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, and from key federal justice agency staff on collaborative efforts to improve the quality of criminal history record information, and to discuss the status of NICS, NIBRS, and Nlets.
Roundtable sessions during which SEARCH Members shared experiences and information on priority issues and programs in their states, as well as common criminal history auditing practices.
Exploring the use of criminal history records for research that addresses risk, recidivism, redemption, and data quality.
A discussion of evolving trends in criminal justice science and technology, research and policy.
Issues surrounding implementation of Public Law 92-544 (which empowers the FBI to exchange identification records with state and local governments for licensing and employment purposes).
A look at the findings and recommendations of a National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice, which assessed the enduring impact of COVID-19 on crime, justice, and public safety operations, and criminal history data quality nationwide.
A status report on records clearance efforts around the country and the key elements of these efforts.
A discussion of expanded collaboration and partnership between SEARCH (representing state criminal history repositories) and the Justice Research and Statistics Association (representing state statistical analysis centers).

SEARCH thanks our Sponsors of the 2022 Annual Membership Group Meeting

SEARCH is planning its 2023 Winter Membership Group Meeting for January 24–26, 2023, at the Hyatt at Olive 8 in Seattle, WA. We will post updates on planning for SEARCH’s 2023 Winter Meeting at meetings.search.org.

Photos from the 2022 Annual Meeting

Mr. John Camper (l), Director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, welcomes Members and guests to the 2022 SEARCH Annual Meeting, which kicked off July 19 in Denver. To his left are SEARCH Executive Director David Roberts, Chair Leslie Moore (KS), and Vice Chair Lisa Voss (DE).

Mr. Ben Bawden, a Principal with Brooks Bawden Moore (BBM), provides a Government Affairs briefing to the SEARCH Membership at the 2022 SEARCH Annual Meeting. To his left is Mr. Dean Kueter Jr., BBM Vice President.

SEARCH Member Jason Bright (MT) leads discussion of the Member Roundtable on July 19 at the 2022 SEARCH Annual Meeting.

SEARCH Member Jeff Avey (NE) provides insight on an issue discussed during the Member Roundtable on July 19 at the 2022 SEARCH Annual Meeting. To his right are Members Rusty Clark (MS), Monty Coats (SC), Colleen Weltz (Alternate-ND), and Erica Souza-Llamas (NV).

An audience member asks a question during a session at the 2022 SEARCH Annual Meeting.

Ms. Doris James, Acting Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, addresses the SEARCH Membership via Zoom to discuss the agency’s priorities and initiatives.

Mr. Karhlton Moore, Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, who is a former SEARCH Member representing Ohio, addresses the SEARCH Membership at its 2022 Annual Meeting.

Vendors from 13 companies participated in the 2022 SEARCH Annual Meeting as Sponsors.

Ms. Carson Whitelemons of Arnold Ventures participates remotely during a session on the research potential of criminal history records. Listening to her on the dais are SEARCH Executive Director David Roberts and Director of Programs Mark Perbix.

Dr. Alfred Blumstein (center), a longtime SEARCH Member and nationally renowned criminologist, discusses evolving trends in criminal justice science and technology, research and policy at the 2022 SEARCH Annual Meeting. He and Mr. Robert Belair, Senior Counsel, Arnall Golden Gregory (r), who is an internationally recognized data privacy expert, were honored later that evening with SEARCH’s O.J. Hawkins Award. SEARCH Executive Director David Roberts (l) facilitated the discussion.

The 2022 SEARCH Annual Meeting resulted in a changing of the guard; SEARCH Kansas Member Leslie Moore became Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Directors, while SEARCH Montana Member Jason Bright was elected the new Chair.

Gathered at an Awards Dinner on July 19 at the 2022 SEARCH Annual Meeting are (clockwise from center) Dr. Nancy La Vigne, Director, National Institute of Justice; Mr. David Roberts, SEARCH Executive Director; Mrs. Dolores Blumstein; Dr. Alfred Blumstein (Member At-Large); SEARCH Chair Leslie Moore (KS); former SEARCH Vice Chair Kathryn Monfreda (AK); Mrs. Holly Belair; and Mr. Robert Belair, Senior Counsel, Arnall Golden Gregory. Dr. La Vigne, Dr. Blumstein, Ms. Moore, Ms. Monfreda, and Mr. Belair were recognized at the awards dinner with SEARCH’s top leadership awards.

SEARCH Members, Staff and guests enjoy the Awards Dinner July 19 at the 2022 SEARCH Annual Meeting.

SEARCH Member Jeff Avey (NE) leads a discussion of issues related to implementation of Public Law 92-544 on July 20 at the 2022 SEARCH Annual Meeting. To his left are SEARCH Member Leila McNeill (ID), Chair Leslie Moore (KS), and Vice Chair Lisa Voss (DE).

In a presentation July 20 at the 2022 SEARCH Annual Meeting, Ms. Teresa Henderson discusses activities, initiatives and plans of the FBI NICS Business Unit; she is joined by Ms. JoAnn Garrison, FBI, and Ms. Kate Silhol, Nlets.

SEARCH Staff Dennis DeBacco leads a Member Roundtable session July 20 at the 2022 SEARCH Annual Meeting to address common criminal history auditing policies, practices and operations among SEARCH Members and state repositories around the nation.

Mr. Thomas Abt, Director of the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice, joins the 2022 SEARCH Annual Meeting on July 20 via Zoom. He addressed the enduring impact of COVID-19 on crime, justice and public safety operations, and criminal history data quality. Also speaking during the session was SEARCH Member, Major David (Tony) Flannigan (center) of Missouri.

Ms. Shayna Cummings (left) with Code for America, discusses Clean Slate research initiatives during a July 20 session at the 2022 SEARCH Annual Meeting. To her left are SEARCH Executive Director David Roberts and Mr. Christopher Correa, Code for America.

Dr. Jeffrey Sedgwick, a SEARCH Member At-Large (center) addresses opportunities for expanded collaboration and partnership between SEARCH/criminal history record repositories and JRSA/state statistical analysis centers. Dr. Sedgwick is Executive Director of the Justice Research and Statistics Association. He is joined at the July 20 session by SEARCH Executive Director David Roberts, SEARCH Chair Leslie Moore (KS) and SEARCH Vice Chair Lisa Voss (DE).

The 2022 SEARCH Annual Meeting wraps up with a one-hour briefing by SEARCH Program Directors, who highlight key projects and accomplishments from their program areas. Speaking is Director of Programs Mark Perbix; to his left are Mr. Yogesh Chawla, Software and Data Engineering Program (hidden); Mr. Dennis DeBacco, Law and Policy Program; SEARCH Chair Leslie Moore; and Mr. Timothy Lott, Cybercrime and Digital Forensics Program.

SEARCH is governed by a Membership Group that includes one gubernatorial appointee from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories. Members are primarily state-level justice officials responsible for operational decisions and policy on managing criminal justice and criminal history information, and related identification and telecommunications technology. The SEARCH Chair also selects eight At-large Members from government, organizations and academia, to provide a balanced representation of justice disciplines and to bring special expertise and broad perspectives to the Group. The Membership Group typically meets in January and July each year.

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