Robin Layton, Interim Director
The Mississippi Department of Public Safety (MDPS), the parent agency of the Criminal Information Center (CIC), is the administrator for criminal history improvement programs for the State of Mississippi. The CIC is Mississippi’s primary conduit for information exchange with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) National Criminal Information Center (NCIC) system, as well as for other national data exchanges and statewide law enforcement information exchange within Mississippi.
Mission
The Criminal Information Center (CIC) was established in March of 1998 in accordance with Miss. Code Ann. 45-27-5. The CIC is responsible for the communication of vital information relating to crimes, criminals, and criminal activity. The mission of the Center is to maintain a state-of-the-art records repository and to perform the duties and functions as set forth in Miss. Code Ann. 45-27-7, which includes maintaining the state’s criminal records repository and providing fingerprint-based identification services to law enforcement and other criminal justice entities in the State of Mississippi and throughout the United States.
CIC is comprised of the following units, each of which performs specific functions:
- Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) Intelligence Analysis
- Mississippi Sex Offender Registration (MSOR)
- Mississippi Justice Information Center (MJIC)
- Special Processing
- Applicant Processing
- Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS)
- Mental Health Adjudication Reporting
- NIBRS (National Incident-Based Reporting System)
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) Intelligence Analysis division conducts detailed research and analysis of confidential intelligence and investigative information relating to law enforcement operations and programs. The Intelligence Analysis division also assists in requesting and receiving confidential intelligence and other information and is responsible for compiling, analyzing, and disseminating information to appropriate personnel. Duties also include assisting in coordinating the exchange of interstate and intrastate information pertaining to criminal activity and syndicated criminal movement; preparing written reports requiring thorough analysis and evaluation of intelligence and investigative information; and researching patterns, structures, trends, and movements of the syndicated criminal groups.
The Mississippi Sex Offender Registration (MSOR) division has a sexual offender registry (SOR) webpage that it maintains. The state’s SOR webpage contains information regarding offenders who have been convicted of crimes of a sexual nature that require the offenders to register as a sex offender. The webpage allows users to search for registered sex offenders living in Mississippi by name, address or zip code. Results include photo, aliases, primary residence, conviction date and offense. This information is uploaded to the National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR). The Mississippi Sex Offender Registration division is also responsible for compiling and managing the sex offenders’ information received from the state’s driver's license stations and sheriffs’ offices as well as managing non-compliant sex offenders.
For information on the Mississippi sexual offender registry, please visit http://state.sor.dps.ms.gov/
Click here to download the New Agency O.R.I. Request form. Please complete and return all of the required documentation to the Mississippi Justice Information Center.
The Mississippi Justice Information Center (MJIC) serves as the 24-hours a day, 7 days a week technical support for dispatchers/law enforcement officers in the field performing NCIC and NLETS checks that include but are not limited to:
- Driver’s licenses
- Wants and warrants
- Stolen vehicles and articles
- Missing persons
The CJIS Systems Officer (CSO) has overall responsibility for the administration and usage of NCIC within a district, state, territory, or federal agency within the State of Mississippi. The CSO is responsible for monitoring system use, enforcing system discipline and security, and assuring that all users follow operating procedures. Criminal justice agencies enter records into NCIC that are accessible to law enforcement agencies nationwide. For example, a law enforcement officer can search NCIC during a traffic stop to determine if the vehicle in question is stolen or if the driver is wanted by law enforcement. The system responds instantly. However, a positive response from NCIC is not probable cause for an officer to take action. NCIC policy requires the inquiring agency to make contact with the entering agency to verify the information is accurate and up-to-date. Once the record is confirmed, the inquiring agency may take action to arrest a fugitive, return a missing person, charge a subject with violation of a protection order, or recover stolen property. NCIC policy establishes a number of security measures to ensure the privacy and integrity of the data. The information passing through the network is encrypted to prevent unauthorized access. Each user of the system is authenticated to ensure proper levels of access for every transaction. To further ascertain and verify the accuracy and integrity of the data, each agency must periodically validate its records. Agencies also must undergo periodic audits to ensure data quality and adherence to all security provisions.
The Special Processing division of CIC is responsible for processing several types of criminal information processing functions that include pre-trial documents, expunction orders and court dispositions. The expunction orders are court orders that direct the criminal record technicians at CIC to remove criminal offenses from an offender’s Mississippi rap sheet. Court dispositions are final rulings on a case or issue in legal proceedings.
The Applicant Processing division is responsible for performing fingerprint and name-based background checks used to clear certain classes of government workers for employment as well as teachers, healthcare workers, social services personnel, corrections personnel, elder care workers, nursing home workers, daycare workers, bankers, physician licensing, pharmacist licensing, nurse licensing, casino workers and other critical positions in industry.
The Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) is a complex biometric identification system that provides automated computerized categorization of fingerprint information for identification (or exclusion) of individuals with criminal records. The system ensures:
- Each individual has a single identity, regardless of name, date-of-birth, license number, social security number, etc. provided at each arrest or recorded incident.
- Enables CIC to provide a comprehensive rap sheet of criminal activity by linking all arrest to the single fingerprint identity.
- Allows the Mississippi Crime Lab latent fingerprints to be compared to known criminals in the process of solving crimes.
- The system links into the federal FBI system for recording and searching national arrest records.
- Enables CIC to process applicant (non-criminal) fingerprint-based background checks that are not dependent on name, date-of-birth, license number, social security number, etc.
The Mental Health Adjudication Reporting division is responsible for entering mental health adjudications that are received from the circuit and chancery court clerks that would disqualify a person from receiving a firearm. The identifying information about a federally prohibited person is entered into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) database.
The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) was developed by the FBI to improve the statistical reporting and analysis capabilities of the law enforcement community. The specifications for NIBRS are the result of a collaborative effort between the FBI and local, state and national criminal justice agencies and professional organizations. For information on Mississippi NIBRS please go to https://www.nibrs.dps.ms.gov/.