The primary purpose of this program is to fund projects for local law enforcement agencies to upgrade their technology infrastructure to allow for and support the submission of data to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Incident Based System (NIBRS), with special consideration given to solutions that support the subsequent submission of incident data to the National Data Exchange (N-DEx).
Funds may be used for activities that further the reporting of NIBRS data to DPS. Such activities include, but are not limited to, technology upgrades to existing infrastructure or the purchase of new technology that would allow for the reporting of NIBRS data. While the procurement of a complete Records Management System (RMS) does not directly correlate to the reporting of NIBRS data, identifiable components within an RMS procurement that specifically relate to NIBRS reporting would and, therefore, that specific component would be an eligible activity.
Eligible expenses include purchase of technology that furthers the agency's effort to move to a NIBRS reporting agency.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Entities receiving funds from Homeland Security Grants Division (HSGD) must be located in a county that has an average of 90% or above on both adult and juvenile dispositions entered into the computerized criminal history database maintained by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) as directed in the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 66. The disposition completeness percentage is defined as the percentage of arrest charges a county reports to DPS for which a disposition has been subsequently reported and entered into the computerized criminal history system.
- Beginning January 1, 2020, counties applying for grant awards from the Office of the Governor must commit that the county will report at least 90 percent of convictions within seven business days to the Criminal Justice Information System at the Department of Public Safety. By January 1, 2021, such reporting must take place within five business days.
- Eligible applicants operating a law enforcement agency must be current on reporting Part I violent crime data to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) for inclusion in the annual Uniform Crime Report (UCR). To be considered eligible for funding, applicants must have submitted a full twelve months of accurate data to DPS for the most recent calendar year.
- The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has established a goal set by the Texas Legislature for all local law enforcement agencies to implement and report crime statistics data by using the requirements of the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Additionally, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) will collect required crime statistics solely through the NIBRS starting January 1, 2021. Due to the upcoming federal deadline, grantees are advised that eligibility for future grant funding may be tied to compliance with NIBRS. Financial grant assistance for transitioning to NIBRS may be available for your jurisdiction from the Public Safety Office.
- Local units of government, including cities, counties and other general purpose political subdivisions, as appropriate, and institutions of higher education that operate a law enforcement agency, must comply with all aspects of the programs and procedures utilized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS”) to: (1) notify DHS of all information requested by DHS related to illegal aliens in Agency's custody; and (2) detain such illegal aliens in accordance with requests by DHS. Additionally, counties and municipalities may NOT have in effect, purport to have in effect, or make themselves subject to or bound by, any law, rule, policy, or practice (written or unwritten) that would: (1) require or authorize the public disclosure of federal law enforcement information in order to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection fugitives from justice or aliens illegally in the United States; or (2) impede federal officers from exercising authority under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), § 1226(c), § 1231(a), § 1357(a), § 1366(1), or § 1366(3). Lastly, eligible applicants must comply with all provisions, policies, and penalties found in Chapter 752, Subchapter C of the Texas Government Code. Each local unit of government, and institution of higher education that operates a law enforcement agency, must download, complete and then upload into eGrants the CEO/Law Enforcement Certifications and Assurances Form certifying compliance with federal and state immigration enforcement requirements. This Form is required for each application submitted to OOG and is active until August 31, 2021 or the end of the grant period, whichever is later. Eligible applicants must have a DUNS (Data Universal Numbering System) number assigned to its agency (to request a DUNS number, go to https://fedgov.dnb.com/webform).
- Eligible applicants must be registered in the federal System for Award Management (SAM) database located at https://sam.gov/. Failure to comply with program eligibility requirements may cause funds to be withheld and/or suspension or termination of grant funds.