Federal Cooperative Agreement Summary

The Montana Board of Crime Control received a $700,000 Cooperative Agreement from the Bureau of Justice Statistics under the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP, CFDA 16.554) effective July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029. The award funds continued operations of the state's criminal history data management infrastructure, including personnel costs for dedicated data management staff who oversee the quality and completeness of Montana's computerized criminal history records. The project delivers an artificial intelligence-based analytics tool designed to analyze and visualize criminal justice data, enhancing the state's capacity to identify trends and improve system performance across law enforcement and criminal justice agencies.

Additionally, the award supports strengthening data quality through an enhanced National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) quality assurance review program. This initiative includes onsite compliance visits to local law enforcement agencies throughout Montana to audit data submissions and identify areas for improvement, coupled with the development of a supporting software application to streamline the quality assurance process. These combined efforts ensure that Montana's criminal history records meet federal standards for accuracy and completeness, ultimately supporting both general criminal justice operations and firearm purchase background checks through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).