Using the $503,000 award, the CTG said it will develop a capability-assessment model based on best practices in information sharing across justice agencies to help justice agencies gauge their readiness to implement information sharing and integration initiatives.
The CTG will also work with the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Chief Information Officers to seek out a wide range of professionals at every level and jurisdiction of the U.S. justice system, including law enforcement agencies, courts, prosecutors, defense attorneys and corrections agencies.
"One of the biggest challenges facing the justice agencies in the United States is being able to manage, analyze, and share increasingly large amounts of information," said Sharon Dawes, director of the CTG. "Essentially, we are exploring what it takes for these organizations to more effectively share information horizontally with other agencies, and vertically with other levels of government."
The historic trend for the justice system is that agencies store vital information in different databases and collected by different methods using several different software applications. The problem comes when justice agencies are forced to integrate this information to prevent crimes, solve investigations, prosecute criminals, defend the accused, track parolees and manage court dockets, the CTG said.
The CTG said the story of the Washington, D.C. sniper case is what needs to be studied to find the lessons that the project will use to assist justice organizations assess their own capabilities to plan for information-sharing initiatives.
The Washington sniper case was solved by a series of justice agencies all working together and using a range of technology databases and devices to solve the crime, and those agencies had to overcome very real turf issues through constant communication across organizations.
The project builds on a previous CTG initiative designed to help justice officials gain the necessary support and funding to make integrated information systems a reality. In 2000, CTG published the results of that project in "And Justice for All: Designing Your Business Case for Integrating Justice Information."
"In many ways this project is a natural extension of that work," Dawes said. "A sound assessment of information sharing capability is essential to the construction of an effective business case that can then be used to persuade decision-makers to commit the resources needed for success."
The Center for Technology in Government
