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Pennsylvania's Justice Network Recognized

The JNET earns a first-place award from the Federation of Government Information Processing Councils.

HARRISBURG, Penn. -- Gov. Mark Schweiker announced that Pennsylvania's Justice Network (JNET) won a national award from the Federation of Government Information Processing Councils (FGIPC).

"Our Justice Network is linking together Pennsylvania's state and local justice agencies that previously had challenges sharing electronic data," Gov. Schweiker said. "Today, the Justice Network's rapid electronic communications have become an indispensable tool for our justice professionals in fighting crime and keeping our communities safe."

The JNET was launched by the Ridge-Schweiker administration in 1998 to help local and state police, courts, prisons and probation and parole officers exchange instantly updated information on people moving through the criminal-justice system -- making it possible to better track potentially dangerous individuals.

By helping justice agencies share criminal files more easily, state officials said the JNET improves efficiency and reduces potential errors that could occur from each agency maintaining disparate data files. The JNET also is being used to prevent the detention of individuals wrongly identified as criminal suspects.

The JNET is one of 13 award winners from across the United States that is being recognized this year by the FGIPC. Those 13 winners were chosen from a field of 60 award candidates.

Established in 1979, the FGIPC is a non-profit organization created to encourage professional communications among government agencies using information technology, as well as with industry and management agencies in Washington, D.C. A primary goal of the organization is to help its members use technology more effectively to improve government operations.

The JNET's capabilities were demonstrated following the events of Sept. 11, when it was used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Pittsburgh office to quickly access photos and addresses of terrorism suspects. As a result of this effort, a "want" subsequently was issued for a suspect, and JNET data quickly located that person in a Pennsylvania prison. The FBI then interviewed the suspect.

The JNET is available to state justice agencies and is being rolled out to county and municipal justice offices across Pennsylvania. Currently, 15 state agencies, 22 Pennsylvania counties, nearly 100 municipal police departments, more than 500 district justice offices and several federal agencies use the Justice Network. Officials said statewide deployment of JNET will be completed in 2004.

Office of Gov. Mark Schweiker