A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO study criminal justice data collection.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  The Department of Information Technology, Government Data Analytics Center, the Administrative Office of the Courts, and the Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice (the Departments), shall conduct a statewide study to identify the criminal justice data elements currently collected and maintained by jails, courts, and prisons. The purpose of the study is to (i) identify gaps in data and accessibility of data for research purposes and for use by judicial officials and other stakeholders and (ii) to identify solutions for improving availability and accessibility of data to inform public policy through an integrated tool or other system. In conducting this study, the Departments shall collaborate with at least five local or regional detention facility administrators, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Government, the Criminal Justice Information Network, organizations concerned with criminal justice data, and any other stakeholders the Departments deem appropriate.
SECTION 2.  The study shall examine at least all of the following issues:
(1)	The data elements currently being collected by each local and regional detention facility with regard to each individual admitted to jail and each facility's operation (e.g., admissions, population, revenue, costs), and the current system for collecting, recording, maintaining, and searching these data elements.
(2)	The data elements currently being collected by the courts with regard to individuals who have been charged with infractions or criminal offenses including magistrates' records and information from the courtroom clerk such as continuances, appearances, and failures to appear, and the current system for collecting, recording, maintaining, and searching these data elements.
(3)	The data elements currently being collected by Department of Public Safety with regard to individuals who have been convicted of one or more criminal offenses, and the current system for collecting, recording, maintaining, and searching these data elements.
(4)	The data elements needed for policymakers to understand the criminal justice system, including the demographics, reasons for involvement, and outcomes for individuals involved in the system at the county and statewide levels.
(5)	Any gaps in data elements and whether any data elements that are currently collected are inaccessible or made difficult to access or study because of certain aspects of data management and data entry, and specific actions to address those barriers to accessing and using data elements that are currently collected such as standardization of data entry, use of unique identifiers, and avoiding overwriting of data elements.
(6)	Steps that would be necessary to create a statewide program to collect county‑level criminal justice data to inform policymakers and other stakeholders, including solutions for integrating data from different systems including options for integrating data that currently is collected, as well as for addressing any data gaps identified, and options for making data elements available to judicial officials and other stakeholders, as well as for research purposes, in an open electronic format. Any recommendations should consider any related privacy or data security issues.
(7)	A review of best practices of other states that collect local‑level criminal justice data and integrate it with data from the court system and other state systems.
(8)	Any other related issues that the Departments deem necessary.
SECTION 3.  The Departments shall report findings and recommendations to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Information Technology and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety no later than March 15, 2020.
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.