Code of Massachusetts Regulations
803 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION SERVICES
Title 803 CMR 7.00 - Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS)
Section 7.02 - Definitions
All definitions set forth in 803 CMR 2.00: Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI), 5.00: Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) - Housing, 8.00: Obtaining Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) for Research Purposes, 9.00: Victim Notification Registry (VNR), 10.00: Gun Transaction Recording and 11.00: Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) are incorporated by reference in 803 CMR 7.02. The following additional words and phrases as used in 803 CMR 7.00 shall have the following meanings:
Agency Head. The chief law enforcement or criminal justice official (e.g., Chief of Police, Colonel, Commissioner, Executive Director, etc.) at an agency with access to CJIS or the information contained therein.
Authorized Criminal Justice Purpose. Any purpose described in the definition of criminal justice agency at M.G.L. c. 6, § 167(a), (b), or (c) which the agency in question is authorized by law to perform and which the user in question is authorized by the agency to perform in the user's official capacity. Authorized criminal justice purposes shall also include use of the Criminal Justice Information System for criminal justice employment and background checks as well as licensing where the criminal justice agency is the licensing authority.
Backup CJIS Representative. An employee of a criminal justice agency designated by the agency head to be the agency's secondary point of contact with DCJIS.
Criminal History Record Information (CHRI). Criminal history record information means information collected on individuals by criminal justice agencies anywhere in the United States or its territories, which information consists of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, informations, or other formal criminal charges, and any disposition arising therefrom, including acquittal, sentencing, correctional supervision, and release. CHRI does not include identification information such as fingerprint records if such information does not indicate the individual's involvement with the criminal justice system.
CJIS Authorized User. An employee within a criminal justice agency that is authorized to use CJIS in performance of the employee's official duties.
Criminal Justice Agency (CJA). Pursuant to M.G.L. c. 6, § 167, criminal justice agencies are those agencies at all levels of government which perform as their principal function activities relating to:
(a) crime prevention, including research or the sponsorship of research;
(b) the apprehension, prosecution, adjudication, incarceration, or rehabilitation of criminal offenders; or
(c) the collection, storage, dissemination, or usage of criminal offender record information.
Pursuant to 28 CFR § 20.3(g), criminal justice agencies also includes courts and any governmental agency or any subunit thereof that performs the administration of criminal justice pursuant to a statute or executive order, and that allocates a substantial part of its annual budget to the administration of criminal justice, including state and federal Inspector General Offices.
Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS). Local, state, regional, interstate, and/or federal information systems, including databases, computer applications, and data networks, used by any criminal justice agency for collecting, storing, sharing, or providing any law enforcement intelligence or any identification or locating information of any individual for criminal justice purposes. Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) specifically includes, but is not limited to, public safety information systems such as CJISWeb, NCIC, and any law enforcement intelligence database.
CJIS Representative. An employee of a criminal justice agency designated by the agency head to be the agency's primary point of contact with DCJIS.
CJIS Systems Agency (CSA). The agency designated by the FBI to provide management control of FBI CJIS systems within a state. The CSA for Massachusetts is DCJIS.
CJIS Systems Officer (CSO). The individual designated by the CSA within a state who maintains management oversight of FBI CJIS systems on behalf of the FBI. The CSO for Massachusetts is an employee of DCJIS.
CJIS Technical Representative. An employee of a criminal justice agency designated by the agency head to serve as the technical liaison with DCJIS.
CJIS User Agreement. An agreement executed between DCJIS and an authorized criminal justice agency that sets forth the rules and responsibilities for accessing and using information maintained within CJIS or shared via a CJIS network. As referenced in 803 CMR 7.00, CJIS User Agreement is synonymous with a DCJIS Policy.
FBI CJIS Security Policy (CSP). The FBI CJIS Division document that describes the security requirements to which all CJIS user agencies shall adhere. A copy of this document is publicly available on the FBI CJIS Division's website.
Global Justice and Public Safety User Agreement. An agreement executed between DCJIS and an authorized criminal justice agency that sets forth the rules and responsibilities for accessing and using criminal justice information maintained in systems other than those maintained or shared by DCJIS.
Offense-based Tracking Number (OBTN). A unique identifying number assigned by a police department or other criminal justice agency to each arrest event associated with a Massachusetts criminal offense or offenses. The construct of each OBTN shall conform to the format established by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. An offender may have multiple OBTN numbers.
Originating Agency Identifier (ORI). A unique identifier assigned by the FBI CJIS Division to each agency authorized to access or submit data to FBI CJIS information systems.
Public Safety Information System. Any database, application, system, or network service facilitated, managed, or provided by or through DCJIS and used by criminal justice agencies for any authorized criminal justice purpose.
