Technology Data Standards Resource Guide

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Resource Guide

The time for standards for criminal justice information sharing is now. Disparate computer systems and data structures coupled with historical barriers, both cultural and political, that have long plagued the information-sharing efforts of public-safety offices have given way to demands for interoperability and a spirit of collaboration. The events of 9/11 brought sobering reality to the dangers of inadequate criminal justice data and incompatible systems.

The foundation for compatibility is a world filled with standards. The infrastructure standards of the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative include (1) developing and recommending strategies and tactics for implementing the components of service-oriented architecture (SOA) in support of national justice information sharing and (2) developing justice enterprise architecture (EA) in collaboration with local, tribal, state, federal, and national initiatives. These goals will be important elements of the standards movement. One of those standards is extensible markup language (XML). XML makes the exchange of electronic information possible. Using a common XML structure and dictionary enables agencies to exchange information between and among disparate systems, such as in the Global Justice XML Data Model. Building on XML’s basic architecture, the Global Justice XML Data Model is becoming the de facto standard for law-enforcement, judicial, correctional, and related agencies.

We are already seeing the success of the GJXDM impact other national initiatives, such as the National Information Exchange Model. NIEM is an interagency initiative to provide the foundation and building blocks for national-level, interoperable information sharing and data exchange. NIEM began as a partnership between OJP and the Department of Homeland Security. The future will involve maturation of the models, implementations of the XML exchanges, and the enlargement of the XML effort that began in the criminal justice community.

Courts have an integral role to play in developing justice information standards. Nationally, courts began standards development in 1998 under the auspices of the National Consortium for State Court Automation. That initial work to develop functional requirement standards for case management systems has been made a part of the work of the Joint Technology Committee of the Conference of State Court Administrators and the National Association for Court Management. Working with the National Center for State Courts, functional requirements have been developed for civil, criminal, domestic-relations, and juvenile case types. Work is currently underway to develop requirements for appellate systems.

The Joint Technology Committee and NCSC are currently engaged in building Information Exchange Packages around particular data exchanges between courts and other justice entities. Traffic citations, protection orders, and sentencing orders are examples of information exchanges that can use the GJXDM. As GJXDM and NIEM development mature, courts will be expected to participate in the information exchanges in accordance with “industry” standards. Courts must understand the technologies and participate in applying them.

Links to related online resources are listed below. Non-digitized publications may be borrowed from the NCSC Library; call numbers are provided.

Featured Links

National Standards and Wayfarer NCSC Technology Divisions' Global Justice References Web site.

NCSC Child Welfare NET Project NCSC is working with a number of local, state and federal organizations to develop a set of technical specifications designed to assist jurisdictions in the electronic sharing of information between the Child Welfare Agency and the Court

Courttechnologybulletin This online version of the Court Technology Bulletin features cutting edge information about technology and the court community. (Note: Digitized copies of the printed version of the Bulletins from 1989 to 2003 are available in the Digital Archive.)

Making Good on the Promise of NIEM: Building an IEPD from the Ground Up Presentation from the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the National Court Technology Conference regarding the practical approach to the development and implementation of IEPDs.

Court Technology Conference Presentations

Presentation from the Ninth and Eighth National Court Technology Conferences.

Trends Articles

Recent articles of relevance to technology data standards from the annual Trends series.

General

Court Technology Framework (CTF). (2009). NCSC and Joint Technology Committee.

The CTF is being developed as a tool to provide context for existing, and identification of possible new, technology standards initiatives for the courts community.

National Information Exchange Mode (NIEM). U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security NIEM is designed to develop, disseminate and support enterprise-wide information exchange standards and processes that can enable jurisdictions to effectively share critical information in emergency situations,

The NIEM Practical Implementer`s Course . NIEM Web site This free online course instructs participants in how to use the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM). The course contains 17 content modules that include over 8 hours of video presentations

Global Justice XML

Building Exchange Content Using the Global Justice XML Data Model. (June 2005). Search.org A User Guide for Practitioners and Developers. This User Guide is an effort to lay out the experience of the past year (2004) and to walk the reader through an explicit, step-by-step process of how to develop exchange content that will support the overarching goal of justice data interoperability

GJXDM Release 3.0.3. Office of Justice Programs Document and Schemas of the core of the Global JXDM.

Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative. U. S. Department of Justice - Office of Judicial Programs The Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global) serves as a Federal Advisory Committee (FAC) and advises the U.S. Attorney General on justice information sharing and integration initiatives.

Global Justice Reference Architecture . U. S. Department of Justice - Office of Judicial Programs The Global JRA Specification is intended to be a technical implementation architecture that addresses the full range of information sharing use cases, and provides a comprehensive blueprint for implementing interoperable data sharing services and capabilities, Three publications are: Specification (February 2007); Web Services Service Interaction Profile (August 2007); and ebXML Messaging Service Interaction Profile (October 2007).

Global Justice XML Data Model (Global JXDM). Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Official GJXML Web site that contains information about GJXML progress and training nationwide.

GTRI Justice XML Information Center. Georgia Tech Research Institute Global JXDM is sponsored by the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), with development supported by the Global XML Structure Task Force (XSTF) which works closely with researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI).

Justice XML Resources. Search.org Justice XML is a tool to facilitate interoperability and information sharing among agencies and systems. It involves data, text, documents, transmission protocols and standards — really, a body of knowledge.

Update: The ICJIS implementation of XML and the Global Justice XML Data Model (GJXDM) . (April 2005). Maricopa County, Arizona This report provides an update on how ICJIS has been incorporating XML, specifically, the GJXDM into justice data exchanges in Maricopa County, Arizona.

Online Articles

Asynchrony Solutions helps Missouri State Courts implement cutting edge data implementation program . Asynchrony Solutions, St, Louis, Missouri The GJXDM approach in Missouri has reduced the time to conversion competition by 50% and potentially saved OSCA $1,600,000 on the remaining conversion.

Newcombe, Tod. How It Works: XML & Justice Integration. (May 2005). Government Technology Magazine Now the justice community has extensible markup language (XML) in its sights, which will allow police, prosecutors, court clerks, judges and corrections officials to exchange information in a timely manner without breaking the bank.

Miller, Christa. How Law Enforcement Agenices are Implemeting GJXDM. (May 2005). Law Enforcement Technology Details the experience of the Northwest Indiana Criminal Justice Project and the RISA Project (California).

New U.S. Department of Justice Information Sharing Initiative. (June 2004). Government Technology Magazine Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have played a key role in developing the software foundations for a new U.S. Department of Justice initiative designed to facilitate sharing of criminal justice information among local, tribal, state, national and international agencies.

NIEM Documentation. (2006). NCSC and Tom Carlson Consulting, LLC.

NIEM Wayfarer is a tool for exploring the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM). The size and intricacies of this model make it difficult to understand. NIEM Wayfarer exists to help people understand how the various pieces of the model interrelate. of the features of NIEM Wayfarer.

Heriaz, Domingo. The Pathway to Success in Information Sharing: Where the Global Justice XML Data Model Is Today. (June 2005). Police Chief Magazine Article gives background on GJXDM, an update on its progress, and a call for widespread adoption. Domingo Heriaz is the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance in OJP.

McKay, Jim. XML: Out of the Shadows. (June 2005). Government Technology Magazine The federal departments of Homeland Security and Justice recently agreed on a global data-sharing standard that could spur interoperability throughout the public safety community and beyond.

Justice Information Sharing

Flango, Eugene. Can Data Exchange Between Courts and Child Welfare Agencies Improve the Outcomes for Children?. (2009). Continuing Upward from the Summit.

Collaboration between courts and child welfare agencies improves outcomes for children, and electronic data exchanges support this collaboration.

Justice Information Exchange Model (JIEM) . Search.org JIEM was developed by SEARCH through funding from the U. S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, to help jurisdictions across the country document their business information sharing requirements.

National Information Sharing Standards Knowledge Base and Help Desk . Office of Justice Sharing. Justice Information Sharing Lets you find the information you need regarding GJXDM/NIEM by searching on the topic of your interest.

Pennsylvania`s Jusitice Information Network (JNET). (September 2008). IJIS Institute Case Study The purpose of this case study is to highlight the successful development of a NIEM 2.0-conformant Information Exchange Package Document (IEPD) for Pennsylvania’s Court Case Event.

Texas Justice Exchange Model Project (TJIEM). Texas Integrated Justice Information Systems Advisory Committee Most information systems operated by Texas criminal justice agencies are discrete, and are often incapable of exchanging information effectively. Virtually all aspects of justice information systems are constrained by a lack of interoperability.

Funding

Funding Justice Information Sharing. (May 2005). National Conference of State Legislatures and U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance A report that highlights states’ approaches to funding crime information systems and sharing.

Juvenile Justice XML Report. (July 2005). The IJIS Institute The IJIS Institute received a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to initiate the first effort in Extensible Markup Language (XML) development in the juvenile justice community

Six States to Receive Grants for Technology Integration. (February 2005). National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices News Release detailing the awarding of grants to six states (Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) for the development of GJXDM pilot projects.