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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fifth Legislature, First Regular Session
criminal justice commission; data collection
Purpose
Allows the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission (ACJC) to collect specified criminal justice data and requires the ACJC to create a State Criminal Justice Data Inventory Report (Report).
Background
Statute requires the ACJC to: 1) monitor progress and implementation of new and continuing criminal justice legislation; 2) facilitate research among criminal justice agencies and maintain criminal justice system information; 3) facilitate coordinated statewide efforts to improve criminal justice information and data sharing; 4) prepare a biennial criminal justice system review report for the Governor; 5) provide supplemental reports on criminal justice issues of special timeliness; 6) in coordination with other governmental agencies, gather and disseminate information on programs designed to effectuate community crime prevention and education using citizen participation and on programs for alcohol and drug abuse prevention, education and treatment; 7) make recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor regarding the purposes and formula for allocation of fund monies through the biennial agency budget request; 8) adopt rules for the purpose of allocating fund monies; 9) make reports to the Governor and the Legislature as required; 10) oversee the research, analyses, studies, reports and publications of crime and criminal justice statistics prepared by the Arizona Statistical Analysis Center; 11) prepare an annual report on law enforcement activities in Arizona that are funded by the Drug and Gang Enforcement Fund and that relate to illicit drugs and drug-related gang activity; 12) compile and disseminate information on best practices for cold case investigations; and 13) submit an annual recidivism report to the Legislature that compares the recidivism rate for a person who serves a term of mandatory incarceration in a county jail and a person who serves that term of mandatory incarceration in prison (A.R.S. § 41-2405).
The ACJC consists of the following persons or their designees: 1) the Attorney General; 2) the Director of the Department of Public Safety; 3) the Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC); 4) 14 members appointed by the Governor, no more than 7 of whom may be of the same political party; 5) the Administrative Director of the Courts; and 6) the Chairperson of the Board of Executive Clemency. Members appointed by the Governor must include at least: 1) one police chief, one county attorney and one county sheriff from counties with a population of 1,500,000 or more persons; 2) one police chief, one county attorney and one county sheriff from counties with a population equal to or greater than 800,000 persons but fewer than 1,500,000 persons; 3) at least one police chief, one county attorney and one county sheriff from counties with a population of fewer than 800,000 persons; 4) one law enforcement leader; 5) one former judge; 6) one mayor; 7) one member of a county board of supervisors; and 8) one chief probation officer (A.R.S. § 41-2404).
A criminal justice agency is: 1) a court at any governmental level with criminal or equivalent jurisdiction, including courts of any foreign sovereignty duly recognized by the federal government; or 2) a government agency or subunit of a government agency that is specifically authorized to perform as its principal function the administration of criminal justice pursuant to a statute, ordinance or executive order and that allocates more than 50 percent of its annual budget to the administration of criminal justice, including agencies of any foreign sovereignty duly recognized by the federal government (A.R.S. § 41-1750)
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Designates the ACJC as the central collection point for criminal justice data collection.
2. Allows the ACJC, unless prohibited by federal or state law, to require any state or local criminal justice agency to submit any necessary information that is currently collected and readily reportable by the agency at the time of the request.
3. Stipulates that the ACJC is not authorized to require state or local criminal justice agencies to collect or maintain any new data.
4. Requires the ACJC to conduct a comprehensive survey of data contained in criminal justice records systems housed at local and state criminal justice agencies, including courts, law enforcement agencies, prosecuting attorney and county and municipal public defender offices, ADC, the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections and county and municipal jails in order to create a Report identifying what data is housed at each type of agency.
5. Requires the Report to include:
a) cost estimates and recommendations on the technology elements necessary for the ACJC to implement a statewide Criminal Justice Data Reporting System (System) that is published on the ACJC's website in a modern, open, electronic format and that is readily accessible to the public; and
b) where identifiable, cost estimates for the necessary reprogramming or updating of local and state criminal justice data into the statewide System.
6. Requires the ACJC, by August 1, 2022, to submit the Report to the Governor, the Secretary of State, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, the House of Representatives Minority Leader and the Senate Minority Leader and provide a copy of the Report to the Secretary of State.
7. Requires the ACJC to develop, by November 1, 2022, a comprehensive list of the data that local and state criminal justice agencies are required to report into the System after the System becomes operational.
8. Contains a legislative intent clause.
9. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
CJR 1/27/21 DP 9-0-0-0
APPROP 2/3/21 DPA 13-0-0-0
3rd Read 2/23/21 59-0-1
Prepared by Senate Research
March 9, 2021
JA/RC/kja