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FBI gives Arizona score on criminal records system while DPS tracks gaps
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) released their annual review of individual state criminal history tracking systems.
They are judged on overall accuracy.
In Arizona, criminal records are kept and compiled by the Department of Public Safety (DPS).
Arizona’s score is 70 percent. That means 30 percent of the people arrested in our state last year did not have complete criminal histories.
An ABC15 Investigation in March showed a gap in criminal records after convicts serve time in prison. Some get out without the prison term on their individual record.
That’s better than many other states according to Lt. Colonel Jeff Raynor.
“There are states where criminal history systems are confidential. Arizona is one of those,” he said.
Raynor said our state records could be more accurate if they were open to the public.
“In some states, like Michigan and Florida, criminal history systems are open,” he said. “They tend to be more accurate then because people know that someone can pay $3 to get their criminal history.”
Law Enforcement and the Department of Corrections want to make sure criminals who serve time are properly recorded, while people arrested but never convicted want to make sure their histories are cleared.
The state with the lowest grade received 6 percent.
The state with the highest grade received 84 percent.
Raynor said they are always striving for 100 percent. “There's always room for improvement”.
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