37 TAC §§27.101 - 27.106
The Texas Department of Public Safety proposes new §§27.101
- 27.106, relating to Computerized Criminal History System. The new sections
are necessary to implement provisions of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure,
Chapter 60, directing the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Texas
Department of Public Safety to adopt procedures to ensure that offender processing
data is reported from the time an offender is arrested until the time the
offender is released and to provide measures and policies designed to identify
and eliminate redundant reporting of information.
Tom Haas, Chief of Finance, has determined that for each year of the first
five-year period the rules are in effect there will be no fiscal implications
for state or local government, or local economies.
Mr. Haas also has determined that for each year of the first five-year
period the rules are in effect the public benefit anticipated as a result
of enforcing the rule will be to ensure the accuracy and completeness of information
in the computerized criminal history system and to ensure the promptness of
information reporting. There is no anticipated adverse economic effect on
individuals, small businesses, or micro-businesses.
Comments on the proposal may be submitted to Louis Beaty, Manager, Crime
Records Service, Texas Department of Public Safety, P.O. Box 4087, Austin,
Texas 78773-0230, (512) 424-5836.
The new sections are proposed pursuant to Texas Government Code, §411.004(3),
which authorizes the Public Safety Commission to adopt rules considered necessary
for carrying out the department's work and Texas Code of Criminal Procedure,
Article 60.08.
Texas Government Code, §411.004(3) and Texas Code of Criminal Procedure,
Article 60.08 are affected by this proposal.
§27.101.Computerized Criminal History System.
(a)
The Department of Public Safety (department) is responsible
for recording data and maintaining a database for a computerized criminal
history record information system that in connection with the Corrections
Tracking System managed by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice comprises
the Criminal Justice Information System.
(b)
The Computerized Criminal History System managed by the
department serves:
(1)
as the record creation point for the criminal justice information
system maintained by the state; and
(2)
as the control terminal agency for entry and indexing of
criminal history information records, in accordance with federal law, rule
and policy into the federal records systems maintained by the Federal Bureau
of Investigation.
(c)
Local law enforcement and criminal justice agencies must
report, and the department must retain, the information required by Texas
Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 60.
(d)
The maintenance and dissemination of information in the
Computerized Criminal History System, other than Computerized History Record
Information, shall be in accordance with applicable state law.
§27.102.Definitions.
The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall
have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
Computerized criminal history system - refers to the data base containing
arrest, disposition, and other criminal history maintained by the Department
of Public Safety. In addition, as required by Code of Criminal Procedure,
Article 60.051(f), the information maintained by the department under Code
of Criminal Procedure, Article 62.08 is maintained within the Computerized
Criminal History System.
§27.103.Specific Information Collected in the Computerized Criminal History System.
(a)
The department shall assign codes for the reporting of
data to the computerized criminal history system. The department shall designate
and distribute a list of uniform offense codes to be used in reporting data
to the criminal justice information system.
(b)
The department has the sole responsibility for designating
the state identification number for each individual whose name appears in
the criminal justice information system. The department shall, upon receipt
of fingerprint submissions of offender data, assign a unique state identification
number to each offender reported to the computerized criminal history system.
§27.104.Collection of Records of Offenders to Be Forwarded to the Computerized Criminal History System.
(a)
Law enforcement officers and other justice personnel shall
collect information described by these rules, as part of the computerized
criminal history system.
(b)
The computerized criminal history system shall contain
the information required by these rules and by Chapter 60, Code of Criminal
Procedure, as amended.
§27.105.Reporting of Data to the Computerized Criminal History System.
(a)
Criminal offender processing data as described by these
rules and Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 60 shall be reported by
each agency responsible for the data from the time an offender is initially
taken into custody or arrested until the time an offender is released from
the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system.
(b)
The arresting agency that initiates the entry of an offender
into the criminal justice process for a specific incident shall prepare a
fingerprint card, or an electronic submission of the same data, in order
to initiate the reporting process for each incident reportable to the criminal
justice information system.
(c)
The prosecutor exercising jurisdiction over an offender's
case shall ensure that each disposition by the prosecutor and the date of
that disposition is reported to the computerized criminal history system.
(d)
The clerk of the court exercising jurisdiction over an
offender's case shall promptly report to the department the disposition of
the case, including information concerning custody of an offender by a criminal
justice agency or probation, the date of disposition, and a description of
any appellate proceeding.
(e)
In each county, the reporting agencies may make alternative
arrangements for reporting the required information, including combined reporting,
or electronic reporting, if the alternative reporting is approved by the department.
If such an agreement is made, the ultimate responsibility for reporting remains
with the agency required by statute to report the information.
(f)
Except as otherwise required by applicable state laws or
regulations, information or data required to be reported, by these rules or
by Chapter 60, Code of Criminal Procedure, to the computerized criminal history
system shall be reported promptly to the department, as follows:
(1)
except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection,
the information shall be reported not later than the 30th day after the date
the information is received by the agency responsible for reporting the information;
(2)
an offender's arrest shall be reported to the department
not later than the seventh day after the date of the arrest.
§27.106.Compatibility of Data.
Data supplied to the computerized criminal history system shall be
compatible with the criminal justice information system and shall contain
the incident number appropriate to the individual and incident being reported.
The state identification number shall be reported when already assigned by
the Department and known by the reporting agency.
This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal authority to adopt.
Filed with the Office of
the Secretary of State on November 5, 2002.
TRD-200207214
Thomas A. Davis, Jr.
Director
Texas Department of Public Safety
Earliest possible date of adoption: December 22, 2002
For further information, please call: (512) 424-2135