SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The FBI has revised this system of records notice to update information about this system. Established in 1967, the NCIC is a national criminal justice information system linking criminal (and authorized non-criminal) justice agencies located in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and possessions, as well as selected foreign countries to facilitate the cooperative sharing of criminal justice information. See 28 CFR. Sections 20.3(b) & (g) for definitions of “administration of criminal justice” and “criminal justice agency.” The NCIC provides a system to receive and maintain information contributed by participating agencies relating to criminal justice and national security missions. Information maintained in the NCIC is readily accessible for authorized purposes by authorized users via text-based queries ( i.e., using names and other descriptive data). The purposes of maintaining records in the NCIC include combatting acts of terrorism; apprehending fugitives; solving crimes; locating missing persons; locating and returning stolen property; protecting individuals during declared emergency situations; protecting victims of domestic violence; monitoring registered sex offenders; conducting firearms, licensee, and explosive background checks; and enhancing the safety of law enforcement officers.

This Notice modifies the previous publication of the NCIC System of Records Notice to (1) include new categories of records and individuals, (2) update routine uses, and (3) update the system location and the policies and practice for storage of records.

Since the September 10, 2019, publication of notice of this System of Records, 84 FR 47533, criminal justice agencies have requested that additional information be included in the NCIC to meet their needs. In recent years, mass shootings and other types of gun violence have prompted states to enact legislation attempting to prevent gun tragedies before they occur. Many states have passed “red flag” laws which permit law enforcement or family members to petition state courts to order the temporary removal of firearms from a person based on the belief they may present a danger to themselves or others. Many states have identified these orders as Extreme Risk Protection Orders. At the request of the law enforcement community, the FBI established the Extreme Risk Protection Order File within the NCIC to facilitate the nationwide sharing of such orders for officer and public safety purposes. The FBI is updating the category of individuals and category of records sections in this System of Records Notice to provide greater transparency that, in addition to individuals named in traditional protection orders, the NCIC also contains information about individuals named in extreme risk protection and similar type orders.

In addition, the FBI is updating the description of individuals in category of individuals “A(3)” to expand the category of Temporary Wants to include individuals subject to temporary wants for misdemeanor crimes of violence. The NCIC Wanted Person File was established in 1967 as part of the original NCIC. As initially implemented, the NCIC included the ability to enter temporary felony want records in the Wanted Person File. The FBI has updated the policy regarding the types of records that may be entered into the Wanted Person File many times throughout the years. However, when the FBI modified NCIC policy to allow the entry of all misdemeanor warrants into the Wanted Person File, the corresponding policy restricting temporary wants to felony crimes was not modified to include misdemeanor crimes of violence. Therefore, current policy restricts temporary wants to felony crimes. The law enforcement community has expressed concerns that the absence of temporary want records for misdemeanor crimes of violence in the NCIC creates a gap which could ultimately endanger lives. Consequently, at the request of the law enforcement community, the FBI has modified the policy for the NCIC Wanted Person File to include the entry of temporary wants for misdemeanor crimes of violence.

The FBI is also modifying the description of individuals in category of individuals “P” to clarify that any individual for whom the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) records a “denied” response may be included in the NICS Denied Transaction File within the NCIC.

The FBI is revising the description of the individuals in category of individuals “R” to remove “FBI.” Criminal justice agencies at all levels of government ( e.g., federal, state, local, tribal, territorial) use the NCIC to assist with their investigative efforts. Consequently, to support criminal justice agencies' investigative efforts, the FBI is expanding the language of category of individuals “R” to provide clarity that NCIC may contain information about any individual named in active investigations by authorized NCIC users.

This System of Records Notice also updates the routine uses for the information contained within the NCIC. Specifically, the FBI is updating the routine uses to reflect the change to 28 U.S.C. 534 that permits individuals licensed as an importer, manufacturer, or dealer of firearms to receive NCIC information when necessary to verify whether a firearm offered for sale to such licensee has been stolen. This routine use applies only to information from the NCIC Gun File. ( printed page 27084)

In addition, the FBI is adding a routine use to account for providing missing and unidentified person information to the National Institute of Justice and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), as required by Public Law 117-327, for the purposes of case validation and data reconciliation with the NamUs system, which serves as a national information clearinghouse and resource center for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases across the United States.

Finally, this modified System of Record Notice updates the system location and policies and practice for storage of records sections to reflect the transition of the NCIC to a FedRAMP approved cloud environment, updates the language in categories of records “Q” to reflect a name change to the Known or Suspected Terrorist File, and updates the language of categories of records “AA” to provide more precise notice about the NCIC transaction log.

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), the Department has provided a report to OMB and Congress on this notice of a modified system of records.

Justice/FBI-001

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:

National Crime Information Center (NCIC), JUSTICE/FBI-001

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

Unclassified.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):

Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20535-0001; 202-324-3000.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

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Records may be maintained in secure cloud computing environments. The cloud computing service provider on the date of this publication is Amazon Web Services, located at 12900 Worldgate Drive, Herndon, VA 20170. Cloud computing service providers may change. For information about the current cloud computing service provider, please contact the Unit Chief, Privacy and Civil Liberties Unit, Office of the General Counsel, FBI, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20535-0001; telephone 202-324-3000. Records may also be maintained at all locations at which the FBI operates or at which FBI operations are supported, including: J. Edgar Hoover Building, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20535-0001; FBI Academy and FBI Laboratory, Quantico, VA 22135; FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division, 1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, WV 26306; FBI Information Management Division, 170 Marcel Drive, Winchester, VA 22602-4843; and FBI field offices, legal attaches, information technology centers, and other components listed on the FBI's website, https://www.fbi.gov. Some or all system information may also be duplicated at other locations where the FBI has granted direct access for support of FBI missions, for purposes of system backup, emergency preparedness, and/or continuity of operations.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

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Individuals for whom a “Temporary Want” has been entered. Temporary want records allow a law enforcement agency to take prompt action to apprehend a person suspected of committing a felony or violent misdemeanor when circumstances prevent the agency from immediately obtaining a warrant. Procedural safeguards for these Temporary Wants include that they may only be entered in NCIC for the apprehension of a person who has committed, or the officer has reasonable grounds to believe has committed, a felony or violent misdemeanor; the person may seek refuge by fleeing across jurisdictional boundaries; and (as noted) circumstances preclude the immediate procurement of an arrest warrant. A Temporary Want shall be specifically identified as such and automatically expires 48 hours after entry.

[Delete existing paragraph P and replace with the following:]

Individuals who have been denied as a result of a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) check.

[Delete existing paragraph R and replace with the following:]

Individuals associated with active investigations such as suspects, subjects of interest, witnesses, or victims.

[Add the following paragraph]

Y. Individuals subject to orders issued by a criminal or civil court temporarily restricting an individual from purchasing or possessing a firearm, ammunition, or other related items, based on a finding that they may pose a significant danger of personal injury to themselves or others, and individuals petitioning for such orders.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

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Threat Screening Center File: Described in “Categories of Individuals Covered by the System: I, J, and K.”

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Transaction Log: All transactions that enter, update, query, access, clear, or cancel the records described above; rejected transactions; and system administrative messages. The Transaction Log now maintains the transaction history for the life of the system; however, the transaction history prior to 1990 was maintained for 10 years. Transaction logs may contain information regarding all “Categories of Individuals.” Search criteria from queries initiated by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), JUSTICE/FBI-018 for background checks, are not logged.

[Add the following paragraph]

BB. Extreme Risk Protection Order File: Described in “Categories of Individuals Covered by the System: Y.”

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND THE PURPOSE OF SUCH USES:

[Add the following paragraphs]

SS. To the National Institute of Justice (or any successor agency) or its designee administering the National Missing and Unidentified Persons (NamUs) program for the purpose of reviewing missing and unidentified person records in NCIC for case validation and NamUs data reconciliation, and to the NamUs system (or any successor system) for the purpose of, among other uses, serving as a national information clearinghouse and resource center for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases across the United States. This routine use applies only to records in the Missing Persons File and the Unidentified Persons File.

TT. To a person licensed as an importer, manufacturer, or dealer of firearms when necessary to verify whether a firearm offered for sale to such licensee has been stolen. This routine use applies only to information in the NCIC Gun File. ( printed page 27085)

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:

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Computerized records are stored electronically in a government approved cloud computing infrastructure ( e.g., FedRAMP approved) offered by a cloud service provider ( e.g., Amazon Web Services), on hard disk, removable storage devices, or other digital media. Some information may be retained in hard copy format and stored in individual file folders and file cabinets with controlled access, and/or other appropriate GSA-approved security containers.

HISTORY:

National Crime Information Center (NCIC), JUSTICE/FBI-001, 84 FR 47533 (Sep. 10, 2019).

91 FR 27082