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Logo: Global Justice Information Sharing InitiativeGlobal Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global)

http://www.it.ojp.gov/global

Global Mission and Guiding Principles

The Global mission is to improve the administration of justice and protect the nation's public by promoting practices and technologies for the secure sharing of justice-related information.

The guiding principles of Global are to:

  • Bring together representatives from the entire justice community and related entities—including private industry—to overcome the barriers to justice information sharing across agencies, disciplines, and levels of government.
  • Promote the development and implementation of standards that facilitate seamless exchange of information among justice and related systems.
  • Provide information that supports sound business decisions for the planning, design, and procurement of cost-effective, interoperable information systems.
  • Promote constitutional values and individual rights by ensuring the accuracy and security of justice information and the implementation of appropriate privacy safeguards.
  • Recommend concepts that leverage existing infrastructure, capabilities, and functionality.

Global operates under the auspices of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and advises the federal government—specifically through the Assistant Attorney General, OJP, and the U.S. Attorney General—in facilitating standards-based electronic information exchange throughout the justice and public safety communities. The broad scope of the effort is fundamental, because public and practitioner safety is best secured when all players—from patrol officers to prosecutors and from court officials to corrections personnel—have access to timely and accurate information.

Global operates in accordance with Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) provisions and convenes twice a year in Washington, DC. Meetings are announced in the Federal Register, and the public are welcome as observers.

Global Structure: Membership, Leadership, and Working Groups

The Global Advisory Committee (GAC) is comprised of key personnel from local, state, tribal, federal, and international justice and public safety entities and includes agency executives and policymakers; automation planners and managers; information practitioners; and, most importantly, end users. This last group distinguishes the GAC as a committee whose members remain actively dedicated to information sharing, precisely because they continue to be producers, consumers, and administrators of crucial justice-related data.

Committee membership reflects the fundamental GAC tenet that the entire justice, public safety, and courts community must be involved in information exchange. Representatives from the following entities serve as members:

  • Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
  • American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators
  • American Correctional Association
  • American Probation and Parole Association
  • Conference of State Court Administrators
  • Criminal Justice Information Services Advisory Policy Board
  • Executive Office for the United States Attorneys
  • Federal Bureau of Investigation – Criminal Justice Information Services Division
  • International Association of Chiefs of Police
  • International Association of Chiefs of Police – Division of State and Provincial Police
  • International Association of Chiefs of Police – Indian Country Law Enforcement Section
  • INTERPOL–USNCB
  • Major Cities Chiefs Association
  • National Association for Court Management
  • National Association of Attorneys General
  • National Association of State Chief Information Officers
  • National Center for State Courts
  • National Conference of State Legislatures
  • National Congress of American Indians
  • National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
  • National Criminal Justice Association
  • National District Attorneys Association
  • National Governors Association
  • National Law Enforcement Telecommunication System
  • National Legal Aid & Defender Association
  • National Sheriffs' Association
  • SEARCH, The National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics
  • U.S. Department of Homeland Security
  • U.S. Department of Justice – Justice Management Division
  • U.S. Department of the Treasury
  • U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

GAC working groups, comprised of committee members and other subject-matter experts, expand the GAC's knowledge and experience. These groups are formed around timely issues impacting justice information sharing and meet as often as necessary. The following working groups are engaged in targeted activities on behalf of the GAC:

  • Global Security Working Group—The Global Security Working Group was formed in recognition of the fact that the security of the entire justice information exchange enterprise is only as strong as the weakest link. Of particular importance is the determination of effective security guidelines for legacy systems, as well as the new and enhanced networks and systems to which they are joined. The goal of this working group is to inform the justice and justice-related communities about acceptable integrated justice system security measures, encouraging them to adopt security guidelines that have been reviewed to ensure trusted partnerships and data integrity.
  • Global Privacy and Information Quality Working Group—The Global Privacy and Information Quality Working Group was formed because of the growing need to address information privacy as impacted by advancing technological capabilities. Goals of this working group include assisting governments in ensuring that personal information will not be inappropriately disseminated or misused; ensuring that there are safeguards against the collection and use of inaccurate information—particularly when the information is disseminated in open environments such as Internet-based systems; and improving the reliability of criminal records in an integrated electronic system.
  • Global Intelligence Working Group—The Global Intelligence Working Group was formed to examine and integrate into the GAC dialogue the particular challenges to intelligence sharing. This working group has developed a National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan—a formal intelligence sharing initiative that will securely link local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies, facilitating the exchange of critical intelligence information. This Plan contains model policies and standards and describes a nationwide network that will link all levels of law enforcement personnel, including officers on the street, intelligence analysts, unit commanders, and police executives. In October 2003, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft approved the Plan.
  • Global Infrastructure/Standards Working Group—The Global Infrastructure/Standards Working Group was formed because successful broadscale data exchange is greatly facilitated by (if not dependent on) the development and adoption of standards that enable transparent integration of disparate systems. The goal of this working group is to define a framework that will assist government entities in establishing an operational environment that will enable them to share justice information within the guiding principles of the GAC. The framework will be designed to identify those critical components, programmatic and technical, necessary to develop and maintain a sound infrastructure.

Global Web Site—www.it.ojp.gov

The Web site provides information about Global and other important information technology initiatives. The Web site is in response to the need for additional information sharing resources throughout justice and public safety communities. This valuable online tool offers resources that support information sharing at all levels of government.