Information sharing among law enforcement, courts and corrections agencies at all levels is critical to implementing effective homeland security and public safety strategies. Each state's pilot project will use the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) to create information exchanges that enhance a different justice area, such as incident reporting, court case management and person identification.
A partnership of DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security, NIEM is designed to support enterprise-wide information exchange standards and processes that can enable jurisdictions to effectively share critical information in emergency situations, as well as support the day-to-day operations of agencies throughout the nation.
From November 2007 through May 2008, the five states will participate in a pilot implementation process, which will result in documentation of information exchanges that can help other states and localities implement similar projects to improve justice information sharing. In addition to funding support, the NGA Center will provide project participants with customized technical assistance and conduct two policy academy workshops where states can share their experiences and best practices.
"State participation will help agencies across all levels of government strengthen their information sharing capabilities and enable jurisdictions nationwide to share critical information more effectively," said John Thomasian, director of the NGA Center.
