AUTOMATED COURT DISPOSITIONS

Good news for the Georgia Court System and the citizens of Georgia.

PLUS Incorporated is pleased to announce that the GCIC division of the GBI is planning to test the company's CrimiNet TCP/IP software's capability for reporting Automated Dispositions to the GCIC CCH system.    CrimiNet software is currently used by Law Enforcement Agencies for everything from running a car tag or capturing a mug shot to NCIC and Interpol data capture.   If the tests are successful, CrimiNet will be certified by GCIC for reporting dispositions.   PLUS is already a certified vendor for the NCIC 2000 terminal systems that use CrimiNet Imaging software.

OBJECTIVE

One objective in automating the submission of court dispositions is to provide real-time creation or updating of criminal history files so repeat offenders do not escape added prosecution when they are arrested again.    In the past, many court clerks submitted their dispositions by mail to the state for entry into the GCIC system.   Over time, as the state population grew, the number of convictions expanded well beyond the ability of the state to enter the data in a timely manner.   Thus a DUI conviction, for example, could sometimes take several weeks or months before it appeared on the offenders record.    In the meantime, the convicted driver could have another arrest for the same offense, appear again in the same court before the same judge and have the prior offense not legally available for the judge's use in the sentencing phase of the trial.   Electronic data entry of court dispositions, within hours of the closing of the court, will eliminate this travesty of justice.

ERROR ELIMINATION

Many court clerks are concerned about correct entry of automated court dispositions because prior to CrimiNet Windows based software, the primary software available for this use was DOS based.   The use of DOS software required the clerk to log into and out of at least two data sessions in order to enter the disposition and then check the correctness of the entry.   If errors occurred, it was difficult to make corrections using DOS based software.  

CrimiNet Windows based software not only allows the use of multiple sessions, CrimiNet provides drop down boxes with the offense number and matching offense description.   This eliminates the need for the clerk to try and look up the correct offense by thumbing through a large book filled with numbers and descriptions.   Further, after the offense has been entered, the clerk can easily check the entry and print a copy of the entry for attachment to the OBTS document.   If errors have occurred, CrimiNet is still holding the sessions open and corrections can be made before final data entry.

SUMMARY

Upon certification by GCIC, CrimiNet software for use by the court clerks will enhance the database shared by criminal justice agencies by providing prompt, accurate and complete criminal history files.