Athens Review, Athens, Texas

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October 27, 2009

County looks to improve record standards

By Rich Flowers News Editor

The Henderson County Commissioners Court created a state-mandated committee Tuesday to help the county meet requirements for keeping criminal records.

The Local Data Advisory Board is charged with improving record reporting to the Criminal Justice Information System.

The board must develop a written plan by June 1, 2010 to bring the county into compliance with the state-imposed threshold of 90 percent. Once completed, the plan will be filed with the state.

“CJIS is the system that builds an individual’s criminal history,” County Attorney Clint Davis said. “When someone does a criminal background check, that is the state-wide system that builds that background.”

The criminal history consists of three types of records; arrests; prosecution; and court proceedings.

The board consists of the sheriff, the district attorney, district clerk, county clerk, the police chief of the largest municipality in the county (Athens), representatives of the hardware and software suppliers and the county's IT director.

Davis and Athens Police Chief Buddy Hill are attending training sessions in Nacogdoches this week concerning the committee’s task.

IT Director Betty Spencer has been in charge of entering the data. She said Henderson County is currently at about 86 percent compliance, which is considerably better than it was a few years ago.

“It’s all on our Able Term system,” Spencer said. “Whatever is put in there is transmitted to the state. The state sends a download back of what needs to be corrected, or if the reporting is correct.”

Davis said the information submitted by the various law enforcement and criminal justice entities around the state are a valuable tool for prosecutors.

“When we check an individual’s criminal history, it’ll print out about three or four pages if they have no criminal record, to as many as about 20 pages if they have a lengthy record.

The printout will show any arrests involving the individual, any conviction or other disposition the case might have had.

In other action Commissioners:

• denied payment of $2,698 to Embarq for a cut cable adjacent to County Road 4117;

• tabled appointment of a new member to serve on the Emergency Services District No. 1 Board;

• approved a resolution to apply for the 2010 Task Force on Indigent Defense Formula Grant and;

• authorized payment of bills in the amount of $168,602.

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