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8 ADDRESS TO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION
9 SERVICES ADVISORY POLICY BOARD
10 U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL JANET RENO
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16 Bayfront Hilton
17 333 First Street
18 St. Petersburg, Florida
19 June 4, 1997
20 9:10 a.m.
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1 MS. RENO: Thank you, Bill, and
2 I want to thank all the members of the
3 board for your service. Many of you
4 are back for a second term, and I know
5 from my own experience what a drain it
6 is to have to go to meetings in some
7 other city while you have so much
8 happening in your own department.
9 Mr. Bonino, you deserve special
10 praise for accepting a second term as
11 chair, and we really look forward to
12 continuing to work with you.
13 This board and its working
14 groups are able to do so much through
15 the board, through the IACP, the major
16 city chiefs, the National Sheriff's
17 Association and state control terminal
18 officers and the Royal Canadian Mounted
19 Police. You are able to get the
20 benefit of thinking of law enforcement
21 across this country and this
22 continent. I think it is so important,
23 and your work is so important.
24 I'd like to recognize, if I
25 may, an individual who will soon be
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1 ending a distinguished 28-year career
2 with the FBI, Dennis Kurre. He spent
3 the last 12 years working on
4 identification issues and was deeply
5 involved in developing and implementing
6 the CJIS move to West Virginia. He was
7 also a wonderful force for support of
8 his employees during an unstable
9 transition period.
10 Dennis, we wish you luck and
11 you will be very missed.
12 (Audience clapping.)
13 As Bill Esposito said, I came
14 to Washington with a local
15 perspective. I came to Washington
16 having seen the feds come to town too
17 often and tell us what to do and not
18 consult with us, and I wanted to do
19 everything I could to build a
20 partnership between the federal, state
21 and local law enforcement agencies
22 across this land.
23 When turf jurisdiction and
24 wanting to take credit get in the way,
25 the public loses. We should be so
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1 proud of our respective agencies and
2 never forget the sense of camaraderie
3 that goes along with it, but we can
4 have a sense of camaraderie across
5 jurisdictional lines and amongst
6 federal, state and local law
7 enforcement, and when I see that
8 develop, it is so exciting.
9 It is so wonderful to be able
10 to go into a jurisdiction and see the
11 federal agencies working together, see
12 them sharing with state and local in a
13 two-way street, see people making
14 decisions based on what is in the right
15 interest of the case and not who gets
16 the credit.
17 And it's also very refreshing
18 sometimes leaving Washington to find a
19 republican sheriff and a democratic
20 United States attorney working together
21 without any consideration as to party
22 lines, and I wish Washington would
23 learn more about that.
24 But nowhere is this important
25 partnership more important than in the
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1 area of information sharing. This
2 board perfectly illustrates how a
3 collaborative local state and federal
4 effort combine to make our streets
5 safer.
6 Just a few days ago, the new
7 Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics show
8 yet another decrease in crime overall.
9 The simple fact is that crime has
10 dropped for 5 years in a row and that
11 violent crime is down 7 percent, 11
12 percent for murder.
13 Those are heartening numbers
14 and they indicate that we're on the
15 right track, but if you're a state
16 attorney in Dade County for 15 years,
17 you know that when they go down, they
18 also go up, and we can never, ever
19 relax our vigilance. That's why we've
20 got to work again to secure passage of
21 the Interstate Compact. The Compact
22 serves as the final step along the path
23 towards complete decentralization of
24 criminal history records.
25 We submitted the Compact to
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1 Congress for approval last year, and
2 unfortunately, they failed to act. I
3 can tell you, and as I told Mr. Bonino,
4 it's good to have board meetings every
5 now and then to force the issue, but
6 O&D approved the Compact for submission
7 yesterday, and we are in the process of
8 submitting it and hope that it will be
9 acted on this year.
10 As you know, the Compact
11 represents a sensible and an efficient
12 approach to the interstate exchange of
13 criminal history information for
14 non-criminal justice purposes. The
15 Compact will require the certainty
16 which comes from fingerprint-based
17 identification prior to the release of
18 criminal history record information.
19 In recent months, some of you
20 have raised concern over the justice
21 department's agreement with the
22 Department of Housing & Urban
23 Development to process name-based
24 rather than fingerprint-based
25 background checks on prospective public
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1 housing authority tenants.
2 Let me assure you that our
3 agreement with HUD in no way signifies
4 a departure from the belief reflected
5 in the Compact that fingerprint-based
6 names are better than name-based ones.
7 I have informed Chairman Bonino
8 that the department will examine the
9 HUD name-based check experiment after
10 several months of operation to see how
11 it's working, and we will work with the
12 board to try to develop a thoughtful,
13 careful evaluation process that can
14 give you confidence in this.
15 Furthermore, I have received an
16 assurance from Secretary Cuomo at HUD
17 that once technology, like IAFIS,
18 eliminates or substantially reduces the
19 time and cost differential between the
20 processing of name-based and
21 fingerprint-based background checks,
22 HUD will expect all background checks
23 to be fingerprint-based.
24 Our experiment with HUD is an
25 effort to find the appropriate balance
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1 between the relatively limited time and
2 cost associated with the processing of
3 name-based background checks as opposed
4 to the absolute accuracy and
5 reliability associated with
6 fingerprint-based background checks.
7 We must study that experiment's result
8 as we respond to ever increasing
9 demands for rapidly available,
10 inexpensive and completely reliable
11 background check capabilities, but I've
12 already made notes from my conversation
13 with Chairman Bonino about how we
14 follow up to make sure that the
15 evaluation is thoughtful and
16 scientific.
17 As we move to the 21st century,
18 information sharing and technology are
19 more than ever the bywords of law
20 enforcement success.
21 At this time I'd like to take a
22 few minutes to highlight several
23 examples of areas where together we are
24 making a difference in the fight
25 against crime by you using information
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1 the right way.
2 First, there is the
3 implementation of the National Instant
4 Criminal Background Check System, the
5 NICCS system, mandated by the Brady Act
6 and designed by you. As you know, the
7 Brady Act requires me to replace the
8 current interim system where local
9 police chiefs and sheriffs conduct the
10 background checks.
11 With the NICCS system, by
12 November the 30th, 1998, we will meet
13 this statutory deadline; however, it is
14 essential that the states, through this
15 board, continue to actively participate
16 in the implementation process. State
17 participation is vital to the NICCS
18 effectiveness, speed and accuracy.
19 Currently, it is estimated that
20 the Brady Act's interim provisions, in
21 conjunction with various state laws,
22 prevent approximately 6,600 firearms
23 per month from being sold to felons,
24 fugitives and other persons prohibited
25 from possessing firearms. That
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1 translates into lives saved and less
2 crime. With your continued role in the
3 implementation process, I am confident
4 that NICCS will be even more effective
5 and less burdensome than the current
6 system.
7 As you know well, the backbone
8 of our current criminal history system
9 is the state's criminal history
10 records. With that in mind, this
11 board's Brady Act Task Group designed a
12 NICCS system that allows for the states
13 to serve as the points of contact that
14 firearms dealers will call when
15 contacting the system.
16 You, the members of the board,
17 recognize that NICCS would operate more
18 efficiently if state law enforcement
19 representatives served as the point of
20 contact for the NICCS.
21 Furthermore, federal and state
22 law enforcement officials working
23 through the board recognize that state
24 law enforcement representatives should
25 be able to control background checks
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1 for firearm sales taking place within
2 their jurisdictions.
3 This system will not only
4 maintain local control where it
5 belongs, but it will also insure that
6 state law enforcement, the agency
7 closest to the proposed transaction and
8 with the best access to criminal
9 history and other disqualifying
10 records, makes the final determination
11 of whether a person may purchase a
12 firearm.
13 As you on the board recognized
14 early on, efficient operation of the
15 NICCS depends on the state's taking on
16 the task of serving as points of
17 contact. States that serve as points
18 of contact will get the benefit of a
19 useful new law enforcement tool, while
20 at the same time strengthening the
21 NICCS.
22 I am hopeful that most states
23 will accept this task as it is clearly
24 in the best interest of state and
25 federal law enforcement, not to mention
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1 public safety.
2 Recently, there have been some
3 indications that some state
4 legislatures are resisting the idea of
5 having their state serve as a point of
6 contact for the NICCS system. If you
7 are experiencing such resistance, let
8 us know. We are here to support you in
9 your efforts to become points of
10 contact for the NICCS system.
11 If your governor or your
12 legislature is considering ceding this
13 important area to the federal
14 government, let us know so that we can
15 work with them and inform them of the
16 content and the policy behind it. I
17 will do everything in my power to
18 assist you in this effort.
19 I am also hopeful that we can
20 continue to work hand-in-hand in two
21 other areas that make the NICCS as
22 effective as possible. First, every
23 state needs to join the Interstate
24 Identification Index, or triple I.
25 State participation in triple I
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1 will benefit the NICCS by improving the
2 quality, the accuracy and the
3 timeliness of the criminal history
4 information. I know that 32 states
5 currently participate in the triple I,
6 and I look forward to complete state
7 participation by the year 2000.
8 Second, every state must
9 continue the process of updating its
10 criminal history information. Since
11 1994, the Department of Justice has
12 distributed approximately $250 million
13 in grants for this very purpose.
14 Up-to-date and readily accessible state
15 data is an essential component of the
16 NICCS system, and we are depending on
17 you to continue your efforts to upgrade
18 your state record systems. If there is
19 anything that I can do to assist you in
20 this area, please let me know.
21 And I know, not only in terms
22 of the NICCS system, but in terms of
23 our ability to detain the dangerous
24 offenders or offenders that may be
25 wanted in another state, that it is so
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1 important that we undertake this
2 effort, and I'm willing to talk to
3 governors and to legislators to let
4 them know how critically important this
5 undertaking is.
6 Let me now turn to NCIC-2,000
7 and inform you that both Director Freeh
8 and I are personally committed to
9 making it happen. There have been
10 delays and there have been problems.
11 I'm not here to make excuses or to do
12 anything but to tell you that this is
13 an important area to me and to the
14 director.
15 But Mr. Esposito can tell you
16 that the issue of IAFIS and the issue
17 of NCIC-2,000 are two of the prominent
18 issues on my get-back list, and I've
19 learned an awful lot about technology
20 that I never knew and I understand how
21 vitally important this is to law
22 enforcement across this land, and when
23 it's important to us, I can tell you it
24 will be important to the entire
25 Department of Justice.
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1 We can't cope with the demands
2 of the 21st century unless we automate
3 the core of the system, the prints
4 themselves; therefore, IAFIS must also
5 become a reality, and I am dedicated to
6 working with Bill and with Director
7 Freeh to make sure that happens.
8 Two of six bills are now
9 complete, and new compatible systems
10 are being designed to make sure that
11 everything we now buy is IAFIS
12 compatible. IAFIS will bring us into
13 the 21st century and will do more to
14 protect officers on the streets. We
15 are already hearing success stories.
16 Moreover, IAFIS will greatly
17 enhance the FBI's ability to respond
18 quickly to the increasing demand for
19 fingerprint checks. The current volume
20 of requests is incredible, and it is
21 increasing, primarily because of recent
22 state and federal legislative
23 initiatives that have increased the
24 demand for FBI fingerprint services.
25 Handling this volume is particularly
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1 challenging in light of the CJIS
2 division's recent move to West
3 Virginia.
4 If the FBI experience continues
5 at current levels during the remainder
6 of this fiscal year, the receipt of
7 fingerprint cards is projected to reach
8 as high as 14.4 million in this fiscal
9 year alone. This is a 76 percent
10 increase over fiscal year '93 receipts
11 and a 28 percent increase since last
12 year.
13 I am keenly aware, only too
14 keenly aware, of the current backlog
15 and understand that these waits are a
16 problem for you and for all of law
17 enforcement. Let me assure you that we
18 are doing our very best to address this
19 problem.
20 With your recommendations and
21 support, over 800 new employees have
22 been hired in West Virginia this year.
23 Indications from March and April of
24 this year reveal a dramatic increase in
25 the number of fingerprint cards
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1 processed monthly, and, Chuck, I want
2 to thank you and everybody involved for
3 this extraordinary effort. But the
4 receipts continue to climb and we're
5 going to have to work harder to address
6 this significant issue for law
7 enforcement.
8 This fall, the FBI will also
9 implement a stand-alone image, storage
10 and retrieval capability, which will
11 completely eliminate the need for
12 manual fingerprint file searches. This
13 means no more time-consuming pulling,
14 identifying, verifying and refiling
15 functions. We're confident these
16 improvements, coupled with the IAFIS
17 project, will make a real difference in
18 the amount of time it takes us to
19 prosecute -- or process a fingerprint
20 card.
21 The first summer job I ever had
22 was with the Dade County Sheriff's
23 Office in the summer of 1956 after I
24 graduated from high school. My job was
25 checking fingerprints and sometimes
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1 taking fingerprints. When I look at
2 what has happened in these ensuing 40
3 years, it staggers the imagination and
4 converts vanity to prayer.
5 I would now like to turn to the
6 NCIC's newest file. On May 4th,
7 through all of our joint efforts, the
8 NCIC protection order file is up and
9 running supporting the Violence Against
10 Women provisions of the 1994 Crime
11 Act.
12 Every one of us understands the
13 scourge of domestic violence, and two
14 states at least, Kentucky and Maine,
15 declare it to be their number one crime
16 problem. We also all understand the
17 importance of protection orders, but
18 those protection orders aren't worth
19 the paper on which they are printed if
20 local law enforcement officers don't
21 know they exist.
22 Time was when lists could be
23 typed up and kept over the visor and
24 cruisers in each city or town; time was
25 when we didn't think domestic violence
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1 was very important. But in our more
2 mobile society and in so many
3 professional police departments and
4 sheriff's offices across the country,
5 we now understand how important it is,
6 and all of us in law enforcement
7 understand the mobility of America,
8 both abusers and victims. The only
9 effective way to attract -- to track
10 these orders is on computer, and you've
11 made that a reality.
12 There is an added benefit,
13 because federal law enforcement
14 prohibits those subject to certain
15 domestic violence protection orders
16 from possessing firearms. The new file
17 allows law enforcement to identify
18 those who shouldn't have a gun. Since
19 so many domestic violence homicides are
20 committed with firearms, we now have a
21 real chance to prevent these terrible
22 crimes from occurring, not just
23 counting them after they occur.
24 I used to look at cases that
25 could have been prevented and cases
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1 that we simply couldn't have done
2 anything about, and clearly, we can do
3 so much in terms of prevention and
4 domestic violence. All the data is
5 there; the arena is there, and this
6 information can be incredibly helpful.
7 Finally, we need to continue to
8 work together to make the National Sex
9 Offender Registry a reality. In June
10 of 1996, President Clinton directed me
11 to develop a national sexual predator
12 and child molester registration system,
13 a system that would, for the first
14 time, link together the sex offender
15 registration and notification systems
16 being developed in all 50 states.
17 On February 23rd of this year,
18 we took an important first step toward
19 making that national registration
20 system a reality when the FBI's interim
21 National Sex Offender Registry became
22 operational; but, of course, this new
23 registry will only be as good as the
24 quality of data on sex offenders that
25 it contains.
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1 The watchword here, as
2 everywhere else, is collaboration. But
3 we are already working closely with
4 officials in your states to insure that
5 accurate and up-to-date information on
6 the whereabouts of sex offenders is
7 timely loaded into the system and we
8 need to intensify these efforts.
9 Working together, I know that we can
10 make a difference in preventing sex
11 crimes.
12 There are so many other issues
13 that we will all face together in these
14 next ten years in law enforcement in
15 America. With the development of
16 technology, we see new tools for law
17 enforcement that we never dreamed of.
18 We also see new technology in the hands
19 of the bad guys that really present
20 incredible new challenges for all of
21 us.
22 We will not succeed unless we
23 work together in addressing how we
24 insure for law enforcement at every
25 level of government, the expertise
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1 necessary to match wits with the bad
2 guys and the equipment and the
3 information infrastructure necessary to
4 give law enforcement the tools to do
5 the job. These pieces of equipment,
6 this expertise in some instance, will
7 be very expensive and there may be only
8 one or two of its kind.
9 We need to figure out how to
10 share it at the federal, state and
11 local level in a comprehensive way that
12 can make us prepared for this next
13 century to match wits with criminals
14 around the world, for we will also face
15 another dimension; and that is, that
16 crime and its impact and its
17 consequences will be international in
18 nature.
19 When a man can sit in his
20 kitchen in St. Petersburg, Russia and
21 with his computer steal from a bank in
22 New York City, we know the time has
23 come to really develop a comprehensive
24 partnership based on principles of
25 federalism recognizing the
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1 globalization of so many issues and
2 remembering that state and local law
3 enforcement are at the heart of all
4 that we do.
5 I thank you all and
6 individually for all that you do every
7 day. I admire you for your work and
8 your willingness to be at the cutting
9 edge of law enforcement.
10 I've come here to demonstrate
11 that we are colleagues, that we are
12 partners, and I look forward to working
13 with you to insure full state
14 participation and NICCS and triple I,
15 and to insure an ongoing partnership
16 that will serve law enforcement and our
17 citizens across this land and this
18 continent.
19 If there is anything that I can
20 do, please let me know, and don't wait
21 for meeting-to-meeting. It is very
22 important that I continue to hear from
23 law enforcement across America as to
24 what the Department of Justice can do
25 to more effectively serve as a partner
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1 in this effort.
2 Thank you very much for
3 inviting me today.
4 (Audience clapping.)
5 (Speech concluded.)
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1 CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER
2 STATE OF FLORIDA
3 COUNTY OF SARASOTA
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5 I, ELSA ROHOW, Registered Professional
6 Reporter for the State of Florida, do hereby
7 certify that I reported in stenotype the
8 proceedings had of this matter previously
9 captioned herein; that I thereafter reduced my
10 said stenotype notes to typewriting; and that the
11 foregoing transcript, pages 1 to 24, both
12 inclusive, constitutes a full, true and accurate
13 record of all proceedings had upon the said
14 matter, and of the whole thereof.
15 Witness my hand as Registered
16 Professional Reporter this 7th day of June, 1997.
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19 _______________________________
20 Elsa Rohow
21 Registered Professional Reporter
22 My commission expires: 10-22-98
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