New NGA Center Brief On Privacy and Criminal Justice Information Systems

A new National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) issue brief, Protecting Privacy in Integrated Justice Systems, examines the impact of recent advances in justice information sharing on privacy protections. The brief also makes recommendations that states can adopt to continue the public safety gains made from justice information sharing while improving individual privacy protections.

Improving justice information sharing has been a priority for states over the past decade, especially since Sept. 11. Along with these improvements there have been some "unintended consequences as the sharing of information about victims, witnesses, law enforcement, court, and other criminal justice personnel potentially exposes them to harm by violating privacy protections...While many of these issues are not new, what are new are the large-scale implications; never before has so much information been immediately available at the touch of a button," according to the brief.

"Recent technological advances have made the issue of individual privacy increasingly complicated," said John Thomasian, director of the NGA Center. "Governors have a responsibility to balance the benefits of sharing justice information with the need to protect the privacy of citizens in their states."

States have begun to take steps to improve the privacy protections in their justice information sharing systems. One of the most comprehensive efforts has been undertaken by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who created the Illinois Integrated Justice Information System (IIJIS) Implementation Board--a group with the responsibility of "promulgating polices that protect individuals' privacy rights related to the sharing of justice information."

Improving privacy protections requires a delicate, but important balance between public safety and personal privacy. Recommended strategies for states seeking to improve privacy protections while continuing the public safety gains made through justice information sharing initiatives include:

• establishing a collaborative process to develop privacy policies for justice information sharing initiatives;
  
  
• identifying areas where justice information sharing initiatives put individuals' privacy protections at risk;
  
  
• conducting legal analyses of privacy laws and regulations that impact justice information sharing systems;defining statewide privacy principles to govern the operation of justice information sharing initiatives;
  
  
• developing privacy policies that protect information in different contextual settings; and
  
  
• enforcing accountability and set minimum security statewide standards for justice information sharing initiatives.