A close-up of police lights. The Alabama Justice Information Commission Thursday threatened to revoke access to criminal justice database to four local law enforcement agencies for not reporting their crime data. (Getty)
The Alabama Justice Information Commission Thursday voted to impose sanctions on four law enforcement agencies who did not appear at a meeting to explain the reasons for not reporting their crime numbers to the AJIC.
The Napier Field and York police departments and the Perry County and Sumter County sheriffs’ offices will have 15 days to report their statistics or risk losing access to state criminal justice databases.
“Agencies have to submit their crime reports to the state,” said Maury Mitchell, the state crime information director for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, during the meeting. “In between the last commission meeting and today, there were 74 agencies that were still not compliant with submitting what they should have.”
Mitchell told members that warning letters were sent to the 74 agencies after the last regular meeting in July and that 42 had come into compliance. Another 15 agencies were not technically compliant. Of those, 7 received orders to appear before the Commission because they had already not complied for three months.
Four were eventually threatened with sanctions while one continued to have its access revoked.
Napier Field Police Department Chief Charles Duncan said Thursday that he has reported his crime statistics to the commission.
“I talked with him last week, and apparently it is some sort of a computer issue because I have been reporting,” Duncan said of a conversation he had with Mitchell. “I have got a call in to him today to try and figure out what is going on.”
Messages seeking comment were sent to the three other law enforcement agencies on Thursday.
The state could lose out on federal grant money if local agencies do not report their crime numbers.
Law enforcement agencies that are out of compliance could lose access to the National Crime Information Center, a centralized database managed by the FBI. Local law enforcement need commission approval to access the database, which provides data on fugitives, protective orders and gang members, among other subjects. The agencies could also lose access to the Law Enforcement Tactical System, which provides vehicle and driver data and criminal violation information to law enforcement officers when they pull cars over.
During the July meeting, the commission threatened to revoke access to five agencies who had not provided crime data. Since then, the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office and the Cuba and Fort Deposit police departments have become compliant with the crime reporting requirements, according to the commission.
The Alabama Historic Ironworks Commission has not reported its numbers and continues to be restricted from the databases.
“I felt it was important to get everybody here,” Mitchell said. “As soon as we let one slide, it is just going to seem insignificant what the Commission does.”
The chiefs of the Uniontown and Newville police departments appeared before the commission Thursday to explain the situation.
“I looked back on my forms, and I have January, but I put February,” said Newville Police Department Chief Henry Dazney during Thursday’s meeting. “I have January saved, but I put the wrong date on there, and I put February.”
Uniontown Police Chief Michael Kiser said the work “just didn’t get done.”
“It was a little bit overwhelming, there was a lot of stuff,” he told the Commission. “Being a new chief, I was just a little bit overwhelmed. I am probably going to need a little bit of help to get back into compliance.”
Members allowed both additional time before they would revoke their access.
From Alabama Reflector Post Url: Visit
Author: Ralph Chapoco