IJIS Institute Publishes National Data Exchange (N-DEx) Resource

Criminal Justice Information Services Program Advisory Committee compiles essential resources in guide to help industry implement N-DEx

Ashburn, VA (October 29, 2013). The IJIS Institute—a nonprofit organization that focuses on mission-critical information sharing for justice, public safety, and homeland security—announces the publishing of the Criminal Justice Information Services Program Advisory Committee’s (CPAC) resource document titled The Law Enforcement National Data Exchange (N-DEx) Implementer’s Trail Guide.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) N-DEx program provides criminal justice agencies with a national repository of criminal justice records for sharing, searching, linking, and analyzing information across jurisdictional boundaries. N-DEx records help “connect the dots” between people, places, and things in order to link investigations.

In support of N-DEx, CPAC has created the Trail Guide for companies providing software and related services to law enforcement and other criminal justice agencies. The purpose of the Trail Guide is to give the reader sufficient background to get started with N-DEx implementation. It is also a general reference source for expanding the reader’s knowledge of N-DEx. Agencies using these systems and services will also find this Trail Guide useful, especially for planning and procurement purposes. The underlying goal of the Trail Guide is to make participation in and use of N-DEx easier, quicker, and less expensive.

The CPAC, which is composed of industry and government representatives, works to stay abreast of the national information reporting systems administered by the FBI. The purpose of this committee is to keep industry abreast of the status and plans for the national law enforcement information reporting systems, and to provide feedback and other input to the FBI on these programs.

CPAC has played an active role, including being the sponsor for the adoption of the N-DEx Information Exchange Package Documentation (IEPD) as a national standard and the development of reference documents like the Trail Guide to help companies get started. The FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division and the CPAC, supported by the Institute, should be considered as resources for practitioners and solution providers developing and implementing plans to incorporate N-DEx into their programs and products. Contact the NISS Help Desk for more information on the N-DEx IEPD.

CPAC Chair Bruce Kelling, of Athena Advanced Networks, LLC, said, “The IJIS Institute is viewed by many as an organization to help bring government and industry together to further public safety and information sharing. With the development of the N-DEx Implementer’s Trail Guide, we see the other important role that the Institute plays, which is to bring companies together, many of whom are competitors, to work side by side to move the information sharing ball forward.”

For more information on N-DEx, visit the Institute’s website: http://www.ijis.org/_programs/n-dex.html

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About the IJIS Institute—The IJIS Institute unites the private and public sectors to improve mission-critical information sharing for those who protect and serve our communities. The IJIS Institute provides training, technical assistance, national scope issue management, and program management services to help government fully realize the power of information sharing. Founded in 2001 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation with national headquarters on The George Washington University Virginia Science and Technology Campus in Ashburn, Virginia, the IJIS Institute has grown to over 350 member companies and individual associates from government, non-profit, and educational institutions from across the United States. For more information, visit our website at: http://www.ijis.org/; follow us on Twitter @ijisinstitute; read the IJIS Factor Blog; or, join us on LinkedIn at Justice and Public Safety Information Sharing.