Davids Announces Funding for Kansas Law Enforcement to Stop Criminals and Prevent Crime

Today, Representative Sharice Davids announced the U.S. Department of Justice awarded nearly $3 million to the state of Kansas to improve the quality, expeditiousness, and accessibility of criminal history records. The federal grant, awarded through the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP), will help the state establish an integrated system of accurate records for law enforcement to protect public safety.

“Throughout my time in Congress, it’s been my mission to boost support for Kansas law enforcement so folks can feel safe in our community,” said Davids. “Accurate criminal history information is essential for Kansas law enforcement professionals to do their jobs and these resources will also help ensure more efficiency in our justice system. I’m proud to have helped bring these investments home to Kansas.”

“The nearly $3 million Kansas is receiving from the National Criminal History Improvement Program will empower us to modernize our court systems, ensuring greater efficiency, accuracy, and convenience in data transmission,” said Kansas Governor Laura Kelly. “Thanks to the U.S. Department of Justice and the Office of Justice Programs, we will remain committed to upholding the rule of law and fostering a safer, more just Kansas.”

The National Criminal History Improvement program grant will help identify and stop criminals through accurate state and national records. Specifically, to protect public safety and national security, law enforcement keeps record of:

• Persons ineligible to hold positions involving children, the elderly, or the disabled;
• Persons subject to protection orders or wanted, arrested, or convicted of stalking and/or domestic violence;
• Persons ineligible to be employed or hold licenses for specified positions;
• Persons potentially presenting threats to public safety;
• Persons ineligible to purchase a firearm;
• Persons on the National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR).

Since being sworn in, Davids has worked to provide Kansas law enforcement officers with the tools needed to keep communities safe. She secured funding for the Olathe Police Department’s Mobile Command Unit and announced federal resources to hire additional law enforcement officers in Wyandotte County. She previously voted for historic, bipartisan gun violence prevention legislation to keep Kansans safe and a bill giving officers access to disability benefits for job-related PTSD. Most recently, she went on a ride-along with an Overland Park law enforcement officer and participated in trainings at the Johnson County Regional Police Academy. Last month, she helped secure a federal grant for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) to eliminate the state’s processing backlog of forensic DNA samples.

Background:

Accurate, timely, and complete criminal history records are critical for law enforcement in investigations and decision making. They enable criminal justice agencies to make decisions on pretrial release, career criminal charging, determinate sentencing, and correctional assignments across the country.

All states have established a criminal record repository to maintain records and respond to law enforcement inquiries, including data provided by all components of the criminal justice system: law enforcement, prosecution, courts, and corrections.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) administers national systems that permit interstate access to criminal records maintained in all 50 states, including the:

• National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Indices
• National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
• Interstate Identification Index (III)
• National Protection Order File
• National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR)
• Next Generation Identification (NGI) (formerly IAFIS).

The NCHIP program began in 1995, and grants awards annually on a competitive basis to states, territories, and recognized tribes. All states and eligible territories have received funds through the program.

Federal funding for this grant was authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which Davids voted to support in 2022. Davids and Senator Jerry Moran were the only two members of Kansas’ congressional delegation to support this funding.