For nearly 45 years, SEARCH has prepared and published a wide range of national research, analytical, technical and survey reports, guides and bulletins on a range of timely issues in criminal justice information management, technology, information sharing, communications interoperability, and law and policy, as well as high-tech crime investigations. The U.S. Department of Justice has published many of our reports, as have national justice task forces and groups. Most of our recent reports are available online for download, and we offer a variety of search methods to find the report you want. We also offer easy links to document series we’ve produced, as well as templates.
Featured Reports
Foundational CHR Documents
- Use and Management of Criminal History Record Information: A Comprehensive Report, 2001 Update
- Use and Management of Criminal History Record Information: A Comprehensive Report (1993)
- Early Experiences With Criminal History Records Improvement (1997)
Document Series
Law Enforcement Tech Guides
Since 2002, SEARCH produced six Tech Guides that serve as helpful and informative resources to law enforcement and public safety practitioners. This series was prepared under funding from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). Learn More
Public Safety Issue Briefs
The Issue Briefs series addresses best practices and key topical issues related to public safety communications interoperability. They are designed for practitioners with limited time and a need to know about the latest industry-based knowledge. The series is prepared by SEARCH under funding from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). Learn More
Technical Briefs
SEARCH’s Technical Brief series continues our practice of developing and providing information sharing resources and models to the justice community. They address common, practical and timely technology and process issues—particularly those SEARCH is frequently asked about by justice and public safety organizations that face information technology challenges. Learn More
Templates
Why reinvent the wheel? Download and use SEARCH-developed templates in MS Word or Excel.
The following templates are companion resources to Incident Command System (ICS) Communications Unit Implementation and Best Practices: A Guide for Program Development.
- ICS Communications Unit Program Plan Outline
- ICS Communications Unit Response Kit
- ICS Communications Unit Sustainable Funding Strategy Tool
- ICS Communications Unit Program Assessment and Development Matrix
The following are modifiable service catalog templates that your agency can use to start developing a Configuration Management Database (CMDB), a tool that IT managers and staff use to define and track changes to the services they manage. These templates are companion resources to Technical Brief-Using Principles of Service Management to Manage Justice Information Technology Services, which describes how principles of IT Service Management (ITSM) can benefit IT operations in the justice environment. IT services are the delivery of expertise and products by an IT provider that support the customer’s business processes—often including a combination of resources, people, processes, and technology to maintain an adequate level of service.
- Service Description-Email
- Service Description-File, Print, and Document Management
- Service Description-Local Area Network
- Service Description-Database Hosting
- Service Description-Internet
- Service Description-Criminal Justice Information System Interface
- Service Description-Telephony
- Service Description-Web Hosting
- Service Description-Help Desk
- Service Description-Application Development
SEARCH offers an MS Excel 2003 spreadsheet containing worksheets that guides you through a detailed assessment of your agency’s IT system in three categories: Management, Organizational, and Technical — and a fourth category, State and Local Law Enforcement-Specific IT Security Controls, which assists with recording information on additional state and local government issues. This tool provides your team with a simple and concise methodology by which to assess your systems and their potential risk.
SEARCH’s Guide to Conducting Privacy Impact Assessments for State, Local, and Tribal Information Sharing Initiatives helps you examine the privacy implications of your information systems and information-sharing collaborations so you can design and implement policies to address vulnerabilities identified through the assessment process. It includes a template that your jurisdiction can use to conduct your privacy impact assessments.
State repository staff can use the Quality Assurance Checklist to:
- Establish a baseline of repository operations, including alignment with nationally accepted requirements and best practices;
- Identify gaps in repository operations; and
- Train and educate existing and future staff on repository operations.
State repository staff can use the Civil Fingerprint Handling Cost Analysis Tool to determine the costs for noncriminal justice purpose background checks.
The QA and Cost Analysis Tools are bundled together in one Microsoft Word document that can be filled out electronically:
The Project Planning Resource Toolkit offers easy-to-use templates for developing the following:
- A public safety project decision-making structure
- A public safety project charter
- A public safety project communications plan
- A public safety project risk management plan
- A public safety project assessment and analysis checklist
Justice and public safety organizations that initiate an information sharing program with local, regional, state, and/or federal partners should develop an Enterprise Strategic Plan. SEARCH has prepared Technical Briefs that outline the importance of enterprise strategic planning, and offer a methodology for preparing enterprise strategic plans. Organizations can use this modifiable Word template to prepare such a plan.
Jurisdictions can use this template to prepare a memorandum of understanding for participants in a justice information sharing federation. The agreement, which is a modifiable Word document, formally establishes the governance, responsibilities, and obligations of federation participants.