Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS)
Iowa is a national leader in criminal justice information sharing. Since 2007, CJIS has served as a “system of systems” that integrates and shares criminal justice information among Iowa’s justice agencies in a seamless, real-time, and secure manner. CJIS makes Iowa’s justice system more efficient and effective by allowing agencies to share or receive critical information immediately and automatically, eliminating outdated methods and unnecessary manual entry.
Historically, criminal justice information systems have been developed in isolation, resulting in independent systems that are unable to effectively communicate with each other. CJIS was created to allow these separate systems to share information with each other using a centralized computer system that exceeds all federal and state security requirements.
In a typical month, CJIS sends over 400,000 separate secure data exchanges for 260 local police departments, all 99 county sheriffs’ offices, 67 county attorney offices, and statewide agencies including the Dept of Corrections, Dept of Transportation, Dept of Public Safety, Dept of Natural Resources, Dept of Human Services, State Public Defender, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and the Judicial Branch.
Board Members
Kim Reynolds, Governor of Iowa
Susan Christensen, Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court
Adam Steen, Director, Iowa Department of Administrative Services
Robert Gast, State Court Administrator, Iowa Judicial Branch
CJIS Advisory Committee
The CJIS Advisory Committee meets quarterly to receive updates from the CJIS Coordinator and other stakeholders. The Committee is tasked with providing input and voting on issues such as approving new data exchanges, budget considerations, and the overall direction of CJIS. Appointment terms are for three (3) years, and a member may be re-appointed for up to three (3) terms. The Governor and Chief Justice established CJIS through a Memorandum of Understanding stating that the CJIS Advisory Committee shall include the following members:
·Five Governor Appointees, currently including each of the following:
- Department of Corrections
- Department of Public Safety
- Department of Transportation
- Attorney General’s Office
- State Public Defender’s Office
·Five Chief Justice Appointees, currently including each of the following:
- District Court Judge
- District Court Administrator
- District Clerk of Court
- Chief Juvenile Court Officer
- Iowa Court Information System representative
·One member from each of the following organizations:
- Iowa County Attorney’s Association
- Iowa State Association of County Supervisors
- Iowa League of Cities
- Iowa State Sheriff’s and Deputies Association
- Iowa Association of Chiefs of Police and Peace Officers
·Four legislators, including two Senators (one from each party) and two Representatives (one from each party), to serve as Ex-Officio members