ANNAPOLIS (February 9, 2012)—The National Governors Association (NGA) has announced that Maryland is one of four states, along with the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, selected for the policy academy, Next Generation Justice Information Sharing. The program is aimed at helping governments improve their capabilities to share justice information.
The policy academy will help the selected states - Maryland, Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico - develop policy frameworks that focus on improving efficiency, security, reusability and scalability of the information systems that support their justice systems. Through the project, states will develop plans to assist them in improving justice information sharing in key areas, including:
-- Enhancement of privacy and information quality safeguards;
-- Adoption of uniform standards;
-- Development of reusable business processes; and
-- Implementation of effective security practices.
The selected states will participate in two policy academy meetings, an in-state policy workshop and a final capstone presentation; and will receive targeted technical assistance from NGA Center for Best Practices staff and a national faculty of justice information sharing experts.
"In its participation in the Academy," says Kristen Mahoney, Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Crime Control & Prevention, "Maryland will build on the information sharing and collaboration that have been the hallmarks of the O'Malley-Brown Administration. This sharing of data with state and local agencies and even with other states has been a major factor in the historic crime reductions on our state."
Source: Governor's Office of Crime Control & Prevention