The NIEM program is inviting 80 active NIEM practitioners to attend National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) Practitioner Technical Exchange Meeting (TEM) to be held on Wednesday, May 23, from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM EST in McLean, Virginia. The NIEM Practitioner TEM seeks to facilitate dialogue between government and private sector practitioners related to using, governing, and managing the NIEM data model as well as to capture practitioner feedback to inform NIEM strategy going forward. This event will feature presentations by Donna Roy, NIEM Executive Director; resources in the NIEM Program Management Office; and NIEM practitioners from across the federal government. The recommended participants for the NIEM Practitioner TEM are government employees as well as government contract support personnel with a moderate to advanced level of NIEM understanding and implementation experience.

For more information and registration, click here.

Many state and local jurisdictions have taken steps to provide citizens with mobile access to services, according to a February 2012 survey by GovTech Exchange. The survey of 100 senior-level IT pros from state and local government found that 38 percent of respondents planned to launch new mobile offerings within 12 months, while 23 percent said they were not sure. Of those planning new deployments, 55 percent said they will use responsive design approaches that enable a single source of content to be viewed by multiple device types and operating systems. About half said they will build the apps using in-house developers, while the other half planned to work with outside developers.
Source: Government Technology

Global has now introduced a Global Wizard that provides access to the Global Information Sharing Toolkit, covering all of the publications developed by and in support of information sharing. Through this portal, there are a very intelligent set of filters defined to limit the search to specific areas of interest and applicability, resulting in a set of results that can be further perused. The wizard is carefully designed to directly guide the user to products of interest. Through the use of the filters, keywords, and other time-saving search parameters, users can search the toolkit for those documents and guidelines of interest and then go directly through the many hyperlinks to view documents, podcasts, and other materials relevant. There is even a guided search section where phrases can be clicked like this one: “I want a review of the operational policies and procedures that govern the basic operation of a federation for trusted information sharing.” With only one click, the user is taken to the most relevant section of the toolkit to then permit further scanning, downloading, or perusing as appropriate.

To help governors address the balance of justice agencies’ need for information with individuals’ privacy rights, the National Governors Association (NGA) released an issue brief highlighting actions states have taken to create and implement privacy policies within their justice information sharing systems. A System of Trust: Privacy Policies for Justice Information Sharing builds upon the lessons learned from a recent NGA meeting held in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. Participating states created privacy policies designed to govern their integrated justice information systems, provide accountability for potential misuse of the system, and protect the privacy rights of individuals.

Social media is an increasingly useful investigative tool for identifying breaking events and potential threats, as well as for surveillance to counter cyber crime and terrorism, according to law enforcement officers. But because the line between public and private is blurring so much in the online world, it’s wise for law enforcement officers to seek advice from legal counsel about how they are setting up their investigations, some officers say. Those lines can be something of a moving target, changing from site to site or every time Facebook updates or changes privacy settings, said FBI Special Agent Gunpat “Gunner” Wagh.

The following post appears courtesy of the Access to Justice Initiative. 

 

The Department of Justice’s Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program provides federal funding for states and localities to promote effective strategies across the criminal justice system. JAG grants provide support for a wide-range of program areas including law enforcement, prosecution and court programs, corrections and community corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, crime victim and witness initiatives, planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs. The 2012 JAG solicitation, released on March 28, 2012, includes important new language of interest to indigent defense providers and other criminal justice stakeholders that have not consistently been a part of local and state jurisdictions’ planning processes for allocating JAG funds.   

Dr. Todd Clear, dean of the School of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University, Newark, has announced the appointment of Thomas J. O’Reilly as director of The Police Institute at the School of Criminal Justice. O’Reilly comes to Rutgers from the United States Department of Justice where he served as a senior policy advisor for the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs, since 2006, and director of the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI) Program Management Office since 2010. O’Reilly is a noted manager and thought leader in the areas of law enforcement, criminal justice, and homeland security.

The following post appears courtesy of Mary Lou Leary, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs. The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is committed to providing timely and accurate information about OJP’s policies, programs, activities, and procedures to a wide public audience—organizations and individuals. Highlighting a few of these efforts during this year’s Sunshine Week gives us an opportunity to share our work with those new to our efforts and to encourage those familiar with OJP resources to use them in new ways.

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano traveled to Phoenix recently to meet with state and major urban area fusion center leaders and deliver remarks on information sharing and analysis, and collaboration with federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial partners at the 2012 National Fusion Center Training Event. During her remarks, Secretary Napolitano underscored the importance of collaborating with federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial partners to improve information sharing and analysis, and enhance our nation’s ability to identify, mitigate, and respond to emerging threats. Secretary Napolitano also emphasized the importance of working jointly with fusion centers to further develop their grassroots analytic capabilities, so that national intelligence can be placed in a local context.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)'s Web site has a new look. The newly redesigned site allows users to create a "My BJA" account. It also includes a "Trending" link for popular content. Other tools provide customizable, self-service options to enhance visitors' experiences on the Web site.

The Office of Justice Programs' (OJP) CrimeSolutions.gov offers practitioners and policymakers a practical tool for finding information about evidence-based criminal justice programs. "We already know a great deal about what can be done to prevent and control crime," then-University of Pennsylvania professor Laurie Robinson told Congress in 2007. "But we have done a poor job—especially at the federal level—in getting information out." Robinson was testifying to encourage the development of a "what works clearinghouse," a centralized repository of information on evidence-based criminal justice programs and practices that would be specifically designed to meet the needs of policymakers and practitioners. Her vision became a reality in 2011, two years after she returned to the OJP for her second stint as Assistant Attorney General, with the launch of CrimeSolutions.gov.

Recently the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) hosted an impressive information sharing conference, Information Sharing: Adapting and Improving an Expanded ISE. The conference featured many great speakers from the information sharing and safeguarding community, including Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, ISE Program Manager Kshemendra Paul, and other prominent officials from the White House, Defense Intelligence Agency, General Services Administration, Department of Homeland Security, and others.

A consortium of state and local law enforcement agencies in the western U.S. is set to modernize a criminal identification system shared by its members. There are eight states in the nonprofit Western Identification Network (WIN):  Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Each state has access to nearly 28 million fingerprint records in the western U.S. and also interfaces with the FBI.

Health and Human Services Department Chief Technology Officer Todd Park will be the next federal CTO, replacing Aneesh Chopra, the White House recently announced. For nearly three years, Todd has served as CTO of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he was a hugely energetic force for positive change. He led the successful execution of an array of breakthrough initiatives, including the creation of HealthCare.gov, the first website to provide consumers with a comprehensive inventory of public and private health insurance plans available across the Nation by zip code in a single, easy-to-use tool.

The leaders of the Department of Defense and the Federal Bureau of Investigation this week separately expressed concern over the increasing numbers of cyberattacks, with FBI Director Robert Mueller saying that while terrorism remains the FBI's top priority, "in the not too distant future, we anticipate that the cyberthreat will pose the No. 1 threat to our country."

On Monday, February 13, the President released his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2013. The budget proposes over $27 billion for the Department of Justice and focuses on providing resources to sustain critical national security programs, upholding the department's traditional missions with an increased focus on financial and mortgage fraud and civil rights enforcement; investing in prisons, detention capacity, and reentry; and assisting state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), is pleased to announce that it is seeking applications for funding to operate a National Adult and Juvenile Offender Reentry Resource Center under the Second Chance Act. This program furthers the Department’s commitment to providing services and programs to facilitate offenders’ successful reintegration into society.

 

Eligible applicants are limited to any national nonprofit organization (including a tribal nonprofit organization) that provides reentry programming training and technical assistance, and has special expertise and national-level experience in effective practices in offender reentry programming and research application.

Applicants must register with Grants.gov prior to submitting an application. All applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on April 19, 2012.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), is pleased to announce that it is seeking applications for BJA’s National Justice Information Sharing (JIS) Initiative. This program furthers the Department’s mission by contributing to the development of policies and technology to support key national initiatives and facilitate direct services to criminal justice practitioners.

  

Eligible applicants are national, regional, state, or local public and private entities, including for-profit (commercial) and nonprofit organizations (including tribal nonprofit or for-profit organizations), faith-based and community organizations, institutions of higher education (including tribal institutions of higher education), federally recognized Indian tribal governments as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, and units of local government that support initiatives to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system. For-profit organizations must agree to forgo any profit or management fee.
 

Applicants must register with Grants.gov prior to submitting an application. All applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on April 19, 2012.

On January 18, 2012, Assistant Attorney General Laurie O. Robinson announced that Melodee Hanes has been designated as the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP's) Principal Deputy Administrator. Ms. Hanes previously served as OJJDP's Acting Deputy Administrator for Policy and replaces Jeff Slowikowski, who served as Acting Administrator for nearly 3 years. Mr. Slowikowski will become OJJDP's Acting Deputy Administrator for Policy.

The Innovations Award, administered by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School, is the premier public-sector award in the nation. The award is given annually to programs that serve as examples of creative and effective government at its best. All units of government—federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial—from all policy areas are eligible to apply for recognition. The top winner receives a $100,000 grant to support replication and dissemination activities. Top finalists will also receive monetary grants. The application deadline is March 1, 2012. [Online Application] [Nominate Organization for Award]

The Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Laurie Robinson, announced recently that she would be leaving her position at the end of February. Assistant Attorney General Robinson was confirmed by the Senate in November, 2009. She previously served for nearly seven years as assistant attorney general for OJP during the 1990s, making her the longest-serving head in the agency's 44-year history. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mary Lou Leary will serve as acting assistant attorney general following Robinson's departure.

To assist state and local law enforcement agencies in understanding their role when responding to a First Amendment-Protected event, the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative recently published the Recommendations for First Amendment-Protected Events for State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies resource guide and The Role of State and Local Law Enforcement at First Amendment Events Reference Card. These two products are designed to provide in-depth recommendations for agencies to utilize as they prepare for and respond to these types of events. As officers respond to First Amendment-protected events, integral in their response is the protection of privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties; as such, both resources emphasize the key role officers have in upholding these protections, while fulfilling their public safety mission.

Agencies must create a plan to move at least two agency-specific information technology services to shared interagency platforms by the end of 2012, according to the draft version of federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel's shared services strategy released recently. The draft strategy also requires agency IT leaders to create plans for how and where they can convert to shared services during the next year and directs them to shift "the 'default setting' for IT investment decisions from the development of new components to the utilization of existing resources."

Mexico's federal police commissioner says that information sharing between police forces in the Americas has increased by 55 percent during the past year. Police Commissioner Facundo Rosas says the growing exchange of data is a sign of increasing police cooperation and mutual assistance in the battle against drug cartels.

Bureau of Justice Assistance partner, IJIS Institute, presents an authoritative update on the justice, public safety, and homeland security information sharing and IT market at its semi-annual Industry Briefing. Join us on January 18–20, 2012, for the Winter Industry Briefing in Washington, DC. This briefing will provide a detailed look at information sharing and national initiatives that impact our nation’s safety and security. It will include multiple breakout sessions for technical staff and executives. And it will provide extensive networking opportunities with industry and government attendees.

This report is based on the activities of the Digital Communities program, a network of public- and private-sector IT professionals who are working to improve local governments’ delivery of public service through the use of digital technology. The program — a partnership between Government Technology and e.Republic’s Center for Digital Government — consists of task forces that meet online and in person to exchange information on important issues local government IT professionals face.

President Obama recently signed an Executive Order (EO) that addresses structural reforms to the oversight of classified information. The EO supports, codifies, and accelerates ongoing work–work that includes bolstering detection capabilities, restricting removable media, and strengthening government-wide governance, coordination, and oversight. The EO formally establishes the Classified Information Sharing and Safeguarding Office (CISSO), integrated within the Office of the Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by mid-January will activate a nationwide facial recognition service in select states that will allow local police to identify unknown subjects in photos. The federal government is embarking on a multiyear, $1 billion dollar overhaul of the FBI's existing fingerprint database to more quickly and accurately identify suspects, partly through applying other biometric markers, such as iris scans and voice recordings.

Longstanding U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Global contributor and advocate Paul Wormeli, IJIS Institute Executive Director Emeritus, was presented the Kelly Bacon award for “Outstanding Service to the Justice Information Technology Community” at the 2011 Annual Conference of National Association for Justice Information Systems (NAJIS).  “…[N]o single individual…has done more to evangelize, educate and facilitate the sharing of justice information….” said Laura Radke, NAJIS President.  The award recognizes individuals who, like Bacon (NAJIS’s first president), have made long, sustained contributions to NAJIS and its mission to foster overall improvement of justice information systems nationwide. 

“We are going to be going through a period of difficult budget cuts.”--Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Jack Lew. This is the simple premise of the Partnership for Public Service latest research report--Making Smart Cuts: Lessons from the 1990s Budget Front--released in September. In an attempt to set the nation back on a path to fiscal health, budget cuts are sure to affect federal agencies and the people they serve and employ for years to come. You can watch the complete Making Smart Cuts release event, which features special remarks from OMB Director Jack Lew and a panel discussion with Todd Grams, Executive in Charge for the Office of Management and CFO at the Department of Veterans Affairs; Eileen Harrington, Executive Director of the Federal Trade Commission; and Ron Sanders, a former HR executive in the Intelligence Community, IRS and Department of Defense.

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano traveled to Houston, Texas, to announce a new partnership between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) "If You See Something, Say Something™" public awareness campaign and the city of Houston. Over the past year, DHS has collaborated closely with federal, state, local, and private sector partners, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), to expand the "If You See Something, Say Something™" campaign and the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative.
Source:

In March 2011, then-federal CIO Vivek Kundra spoke about a future where federal employees could forgo a work phone and laptop and fulfill all their job responsibilities using their personal technology. But while this might make life simpler for employees, the consumerization of IT is creating a lot more work for IT professionals, according to a new report.

Attorney General Eric Holder joined Belgian Minister of Justice Stefaan De Clerck and Minister of Interior Annemie Turtelboom to sign an agreement on Preventing and Combating Serious Crime (PCSC), which will allow for the exchange of biometric and biographic data of suspected criminals between the United States and Belgium to bolster counterterrorism and law enforcement efforts while protecting individual privacy.

Unlike most other federal agencies, the U.S. Department of State for many years took pride in its lack of technological advancement. Enter the Office of eDiplomacy. Conceived by the State Department nine years ago to help the department move from the need-to-know protocols of its Cold War days to a post-9/11 need to share, eDiplomacy has transformed internal communications at the nation's oldest Cabinet agency by implementing cheap, open-source technology and putting it behind the firewall.

Contra Costa County, California, Automated Regional Information Exchange System (ARIES) allows justice and public safety agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area to share information and simplify their jobs. ARIES links the various agencies within Contra Costa County—and neighboring counties and cities—creating a network of entities that work together for the public good.

SEARCH is offering free assistance to rural law enforcement agencies nationwide under funding from the FY 2009 Recovery Act Assistance to Rural Law Enforcement Grant through funding provided by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). "The grant is intended to help justice practitioners in local and tribal agencies understand how to use technology to share critical information, noted Mr. Mark Perbix, SEARCH Director of Systems and Technology. "This award allows SEARCH to provide rural jurisdictions with the targeted training and technical assistance they need to meet their specific information sharing challenge."  

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has unveiled new Public Service Announcements (PSAs) for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) “If You See Something, Say Something™” public awareness campaign, aimed at educating the public on the importance of reporting suspicious activity to state and local law enforcement authorities.

In 1893, at the Chicago World's Fair, 51 police chiefs met to discuss the challenges they faced in their departments and organized the National Chiefs of Police Union, later changed to the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) in 1902. Today, police chiefs from around the globe come together at the IACP Annual Conference to foster the exchange of information and experience among police leaders throughout the world to find solutions to issues they are facing. Join them in Chicago, Illinois, at McCormick Place West, on October 22-26, 2011, for the 118th IACP Annual Conference and Exposition.

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has announced that total crime in Maryland is at its lowest level since 1975. The declines in crime come at a time when state and local law enforcement agencies are intensifying their use of technology and information sharing. As a result, more criminals are being taken off the streets of Maryland communities. 

The Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program is the cornerstone federal justice assistance program. The program supports the federal government's crucial role in spurring innovation, as well as testing and replicating evidence-based practices nationwide. Byrne JAG can be used broadly for law enforcement needs, as well as prosecution and courts, prevention and education, corrections and community corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, planning, evaluation and technology, and crime victim and witness programs. This article details the National Criminal Justice Association's (NCJA) report, Cornerstone for Justice: Byrne JAG and its Impact on the Criminal Justice System, which outlines how the Byrne JAG is used in the field.

Steven VanRoekel, has been named the next federal chief information officer (CIO), the White House announced. VanRoekel served as managing director of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) starting in 2009. He currently is the executive director of citizen and organizational engagement at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Could some Americans be breaking export-control laws just by sending e-mail? That's one of many questions raised by the increase in cloud computing, according to a Brookings report released recently.

Last summer, the Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment (PM-ISE) facilitated an extensive Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) user requirements survey. The results indicated that the top user need was reducing the number of separate log-ons required to access SBU resources. The Assured SBU Network Interoperability Working Group, a partnership between the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) grant-funded Regional Information Sharing System (RISS), Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Law Enforcement Online (LEO), the intelligence community's Intelink, and Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Homeland Security Information System (HSIN), responded by prioritizing Simplified Sign-On (SSO), sometimes referred to as Single-Sign On, as its number one information sharing action item.

A system that allows the FBI to automatically share information with local, state, regional, and other law-enforcement and criminal justice partners is now fully operational. The National Data Exchange (N-DEx) system lets the agency share information with 18,000 local and regional criminal justice organizations.

Departing U.S. Department of Justice Chief Information Officer Vance Hitch, the longest-serving federal CIO, says the memory of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks kept him in the post most managers vacate after two years. "I was drawn to the department because I care about its mission. I found the mission challenging, invigorating," Hitch said. "You can easily get caught up in day-to-day issues."

Fourteen individuals were arrested by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents on charges related to their alleged involvement in a cyber attack on PayPal’s Web site as part of an action claimed by the group “Anonymous,” announced the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI. Two additional defendants were arrested on cyber-related charges.

If information technology and entrepreneurship were sufficiently leveraged, then within a decade, development competitions could be as big a part of federal spending as standard procurement processes are now, Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra recently said. He cited plans to consolidate roughly one-third of federal data centers and to move one-fourth of the government's IT infrastructure to cheaper and more nimble cloud computing as two of his proudest achievements in office.

The 26,000 square miles of the Texas Panhandle have challenged law enforcement agencies from the 67 cities and 26 counties that police the region as officers from one jurisdiction often encountered individuals wanted by another jurisdiction without knowing it. Now with the help of Recovery Act and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding, law enforcement agencies are building a regional data sharing initiative that officials see as having the potential for improving cross-agency communication, officer safety and efficiency in dispatcher operations.

Federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra has named a 17-member task force to winnow the government's massive Web presence over the next several months and to update government policies for what justifies a new Web site or domain. Federal officials characterized the .gov reform effort as part of a governmentwide initiative to streamline operations and improve customer service.

State CIOs believe they recently took a step toward stronger collaboration with their federal counterparts. More than 30 state CIOs were in Washington, DC, in early May for the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) Midyear Conference, and a delegation from the group held a highly productive meeting with members of the federal CIO council.

A formal counterterrorism strategy released by the White House focuses on goals of the United States in its efforts to defeat the al Qaeda terrorist network as well as principles the nation will embrace while working toward those goals. White House counterterrorism advisor John Brennan outlined those goals and principles, acknowledging that the National Counterterrorism Strategy builds on many goals established by the administration of George W. Bush but adding that President Barack Obama seeks to emphasize U.S. principles as well.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder recently welcomed Denise O’Donnell as the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). O’Donnell was sworn in on June 6, 2011. The BJA Director advises and assists the Attorney General and the Department of Justice in formulating and implementing departmental policies and programs to better support state, local, and tribal law enforcement across the country.

The U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global) Advisory Committee (GAC) members convened on April 20, 2011, to discuss the latest initiatives in justice information sharing and to add new resources to the Global suite of information sharing solutions for colleagues in the field.  This edition of Global Highlights provides a summary of those recent recommendations as well as a recap of additional spring 2011 GAC meeting topics of interest.  Source: Justice Information Sharing Web site

The phrase “homeland security is hometown security” is just as relevant today as it was the year following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. What has become increasingly evident is that hometown security means coordination of law enforcement agencies, justice agencies, and homeland security partners at the local, state, tribal, and federal levels. With so many stakeholders, a national body is vital to coordinate the numerous issues that arise when identifying methods and initiatives to protect our hometowns and homeland. To meet this need, the Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council (CICC), a group under the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global), was established in 2004 to serve as the central point of collaboration across jurisdictions and disciplines.  Detailed in this article is the history, purpose, responsibilities, current efforts, and accomplishments of the CICC.  Source: Police Chief Magazine