On January 26-28, SEARCH Members, Staff, and stakeholders from federal, state and local agencies and national organizations met in San Diego, California, for SEARCH’s 2016 Winter Membership Group Meeting. The agenda covered a range of technical, operational and policy issues affecting justice information sharing.
A presentation of the flag and pledge of allegiance led by the Color Guard of the San Diego County Sheriff’s opened the 2016 SEARCH Winter Meeting.
Kelly Harbitter, SEARCH Director of Government Affairs, updates Members on legislative activities of the U.S. Congress.
Melissa Nee, SEARCH Government Affairs Specialist, provides an overview of firearms screening legislation. She is joined by (from left) SEARCH Chair Brad Truitt, Vice Chair Joseph Morrissey, and Executive Director Scott Came.
The SEARCH Membership meets in regular session at the 2016 Winter Meeting.
Melody Ferrell (left), an official with the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division, updates Members on activities of the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Council. She is joined by SEARCH Idaho Member Dawn Peck, Compact Council Chair.
SEARCH Idaho Member Dawn Peck (center) and Staff Dennis DeBacco join other meeting attendees at an evening reception.
SEARCH At Large Member Dan Foro (center) chats with other meeting attendees at an evening reception.
Dr. William Sabol, Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, provides Members with an update of BJS initiatives.
Members are briefed on the White House’s Policing Data Initiative, which seeks to coordinate “open data” efforts across police departments in order to improve transparency and accountability. The briefing was given by Jim Burch, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, The Police Foundation.
SEARCH Members participated in a series of three breakout sessions that covered these issues: Uniform Law Commission; Success Stories and Best Practices of the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP)/NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP); and Innovations in Justice Information Sharing.
SEARCH Information Sharing Programs Director Mark Perbix briefs Members on the National Crime Statistics (NCS-X) Project and SEARCH’s involvement. The project, a partnership of BJS with FBI CJIS and others, seeks to improve the reporting of law enforcement information and its use for statistical purposes. He is joined by (from right) SEARCH Law and Policy Director Becki Goggins, Executive Director Scott Came, Vice Chair Joseph Morrissey, and Chair Brad Truitt.
Members were briefed on the state-of-the-art in risk/needs assessment tools, their use in various phases of the justice process, and the need for accurate and timely information as input to the assessments. The briefing was led by (from left) Tara Blair, Executive Officer, Kentucky Court of Justice, and Clifford Keenan, Director, District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency.