The National Data Exchange (N-DEx) 4.0 Information Exchange Package Documentation (IEPD) is ready for public review and comments.  The N-DEx 4.0 IEPD will be available until July 9, 2019.  The goal of this IEPD is to simplify, streamline, and increase efficiency in performing data integration efforts between criminal justice agencies and the N-DEx System.  Please email all comments and feedback to the N-DEx Program Office at ndex@leo.gov.

The U.S. Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Policing recognizes individual state, local, or tribal sworn rank-and-file police officers, deputies, and troopers for exceptional efforts in effective policing. The awards will be presented by the U.S. Attorney General at a ceremony honoring the recipients in Washington, DC, at the Great Hall of the Robert F. Kennedy Justice Department Building. 

By distinguishing and rewarding these efforts, the U.S. Department of Justice strives to promote and sustain its national commitment to policing and to advance proactive policing practices that are fair and effective.

Nominations must be submitted by 8:00 p.m., ET, on Wednesday, June 19, 2019.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is seeking applications for funding for a new initiative designed to establish standards for the collection, analysis, and use of state- and local-level data in criminal justice policy and practice decision making, including data-sharing protocols and resource allocation decisions.  This program furthers the U.S. Department of Justice’s mission to reduce crime and recidivism by helping state governments improve their capacity to set goals for their criminal justice systems, measure whether they are achieving those goals, and use results to make data-driven policy decisions and allocate scarce resources effectively.

Applications Due:  July 16, 2019

Emergency alert, warning, and notification (AWN) systems protect lives and property by identifying information about an impending threat, communicating that information to those who need it, and facilitating timely protective actions. 

To enhance this critical information sharing across all AWN systems, SAFECOM and the National Council of Statewide Interoperability Coordinators, in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, developed the Ten Keys to Improving Emergency Alerts, Warnings, and Notifications.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Atlanta Field Office recently announced the results of Operation Safe Summer (OSS), a collaborative effort by 27 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, led by the FBI’s Metro Atlanta Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking task force.

From May 1, 2019, to May 24, 2019, 231 missing and/or exploited children were located.  The operation’s goal was to combat all forms of child exploitation and make our community safer for our children heading into the summer months. With an emphasis on prevention, OSS concentrated much of its efforts on locating and identifying those vulnerable children before they were targeted by sexual predators.  The end of OSS coincided with National Missing Children’s Day on May 25.

According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC):

• In 2018, more than 23,500 runaways were reported to NCMEC, and one in seven were likely victims of child sex trafficking.
• In 2016, 11% of endangered runaways were believed to be involved in gangs.

It is estimated that, as of March 2019, there were 419 missing/runaway children on the streets of the five-county Metro Atlanta region.