The primary objective of integration is the elimination of duplicate data entry, access to information that is not otherwise available, and the timely sharing of critical data.

SEARCH, the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics

In December 2001, former Gov. George H. Ryan signed Executive Order No. 12 (2001), supporting justice systems integration and establishing the Illinois Integrated Justice Information Systems (IIJIS) Board. In the order the Governor said "that the tragic deaths caused by terrorist acts on September 11, 2001, have heightened my resolve to strengthen law enforcement information and intelligence systems, and by sharing complete information throughout the entire justice system, we will give the justice community the tools it needs to better protect our citizens."

Former Governor Ryan’s appointed integration board includes members from justice agencies and associations throughout Illinois. The Board is developing a strategic plan for justice systems integration in Illinois, which will be provided to the Governor and General Assembly in December of this year with the Board’s findings and recommendations.

Among the strategic initiatives that have been identified by the IIJIS Board’s Planning Committee are the following:

• Ensure a secure effective, and efficient enterprise Information Technology infrastructure that facilitates justice information sharing.
• Plan for and foster interoperability among wireless networks that meet stakeholders’ requirements.
• Ensure that mission-critical business process, computer resources and data are protected and can be restored in the event of a homeland security attack, natural disaster, or other business interruption.
• Establish standards for data sharing and infrastructure development

One of the most frequently cited objectives of integration is to allow justice agencies to electronically share and access critical information at key decision points. Integration should not only allow for more efficient exchange of information, but should also reduce or eliminate redundant data entry in the justice system. By facilitating the electronic transfer of information between agencies and eliminating human error associated with successively re-keying that information, integration should lead to greater availability of timely, accurate and complete incident, intelligence and criminal history information. Electronic real-time data sharing among Illinois justice agencies is critical for improving the quality and effectiveness of local, county and state justice systems, and allows justice decision makers to substantially expand their ability to make sound offender transactional decisions and to analyze and respond to criminal activity in their jurisdictions. It will also allow for the pattern-analysis of incidents, arrests and intelligence data that could indicate terrorist activity.

The President’s Office of Homeland Security is now integrating disparate data systems across at least 22 federal organizations to improve communication and information sharing and is creating a government-wide enterprise information portal architecture. Much of this information will be made available to state and local law enforcement but Illinois must adopt data exchange standards that are consistent with federal standards and leverage its existing communications infrastructure in order to participate in a meaningful way.

Electronic information exchange is the essence of justice systems integration; without seamless exchange of information as a part of the justice process, justice information will inevitably be inconsistent, incomplete, inaccurate and untimely. No single justice agency supplies all of the information needed to respond to criminal justice issues and events, but all rely, at least to some extent, on information supplied by other agencies. At present, most information is exchanged using paper and ink. These information transfer methods require each receiving agency to reenter the information into their own information systems, successively, as information moves from agency to agency. The inefficiencies and costs introduced by this type of successive manual data entry are enormous.

To remedy these deficiencies, the task of the IIJIS Board is to promote the seamless electronic exchange of information between justice agencies in a way that reduces unnecessary redundant data entry and enhances accuracy, timeliness and completeness. This information should then be made available to decision makers throughout the justice enterprise in a secure fashion.