| |
The Department of Public Safety (DPS)
serves as the central repository of criminal history records and related
criminal justice information in Arizona. DPS is responsible for ensuring
that criminal justice agencies, such as police, county attorneys, and the
courts, provide complete and accurate criminal history information. DPS could
better fulfill its responsibility as the State’s central repository by
expanding the criminal history reporting review program it began in 1999 that
assesses the reporting of criminal history information on a county-by-county
basis. DPS also needs to expedite and improve its background check
function. In many cases, state law requires these checks for persons who work
with children or vulnerable adults. However, depending on the type,
these checks can take up to nearly three months to complete both the state and
federal checks. Computer upgrades that would allow electronic submission of
fingerprints to the FBI would help speed up the background checks and allow
DPS to do a more thorough job. In addition, DPS should continue its efforts to
join the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact that was established to
help participating states directly exchange criminal history information for
purposes such as background checks.
|
|
