Glossary of Criminal Justice Terms

Abstract. The "rap sheet" document summary of arrest and disposition data maintained in the adult records of the Central Repository.

ACS Code. This designation is used to modify another offense as an "attempt," "conspiracy" or "solicitation" to commit the crime. It is important in defining the seriousness of the offense. However, not all offenses can be attempted, conspired or solicited, so this modifier is not available for all crimes.

Adult Correction Facility. Any public or private facility, secure or non-secure, which is used for the lawful custody of accused or convicted adult criminal offenders.

AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System). The computerized fingerprint image database maintained at the Central Repository.

Brady Act & Brady Check. The federal law enacted in November 1993 that governs firearm purchases. The permanent provisions of the act become effective in November 1998, and are operational through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). These permanent provisions apply to the sale of long guns as well as handguns, and require immediate checks of both state criminal history databases and a "federal segment" that includes several national criminal-justice-related databases. (18 U.S.C. 922 "The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act")

Central Repository. The criminal justice information system created by K.S.A. 22-4701, et seq. and the juvenile offender information system created by K.S.A. 38-2326, et seq. The central repository consists of the databases at the KBI that contain adult criminal history records and juvenile justice records on all state offenders. The central repository is responsible for processing criminal history records checks and state-level identification of arrestees. The central repository is also the control terminal for contact between Kansas criminal justice agencies and FBI criminal records systems.

Chapter. Chapters are the highest level grouping of Kansas laws. Definitions of crimes and the associated penalties under law are found in chapter 21 (entitled "Crimes and Punishments") as well as in a number of other chapters, including chapters 8 (vehicles and driving), 32 (wildlife, parks and recreation), 44 (labor and industries) and 65 (public health).

Child in Need of Care (CINC). A person less than 18 years of age who is lacking adequate care, is abused or neglected, commits a status offense or meets other conditions defined by K.S.A. 38-2202(d). Included in the definition is a person less than 10 years of age who commits an act that would be a felony or misdemeanor crime if committed by an adult.

Computerized Criminal History (CCH). This is the database of adult criminal history records maintained on the KBI central computer, and consists of the arrest and disposition elements. The arrest element of the record accounts for the entry of the individual into the criminal justice system. The disposition element of the offense consists of the prosecution, court and confinement segments.

Confinement Segment. This portion of the disposition of an adult criminal history record consists of information regarding the subject's incarceration(s), if any. This segment will not be included in the criminal history record unless the subject was sentenced to confinement or was paroled and later incarcerated for a parole violation.

Conviction. Dispositions in adult court including all pleas of guilty or Nolo Contendere, and all findings of guilt by a court or jury. Juvenile offender and child in need of care (CINC) events do not result in conviction or non-conviction. They are adjudicated with the conclusion that the child either is or is not a juvenile offender K.S.A. 38-2356 or a child in need of care (K.S.A. 38-2251).

Counts. The number of incidents/instances of an offense.

Court Segment. This portion of the disposition of an adult criminal history record consists of information regarding the court's disposition of the referral by the prosecutor. The court segment is reported to the central repository by PDR and also by Journal Entry (JE) form.

Crime Class Code. This code identifies whether the offense is classified as a felony (F), misdemeanor (M), infraction (I) or is unclassified/unknown (U).

Criminal History Record Information (CHRI). Defined by K.S.A. 22-4701. CHRI is the record that includes individual identifiers and describes an individual's arrests and dispositions. The information is contained within the KBI computer system as electronic data (known as the computerized criminal history) and is also contained in paper documents held in records jackets. Dispositions consist of data regarding prosecutors' actions, court dispositions and confinements in state correctional facilities. The KBI CHRI system consists of felony and misdemeanor events that occurred only in Kansas, and confinements to state correctional facilities under the control of the Kansas Department of Corrections. It does not include any arrests or dispositions that occurred in another state or under federal law.

Criminal Investigation Records. Records of investigatory or criminal justice agencies that are compiled in the process of preventing, detecting or investigating crime. Excluded from this definition are police blotters, court records, jail/detention facility inmate rosters, and records of traffic offenses (except for vehicular homicide, which is defined as a criminal investigation record). K.S.A. 45-217

Criminal Justice Agency. Any government agency authorized by law to exercise the power of arrest, detention, prosecution, adjudication, correctional supervision, rehabilitation or release of persons suspected, charged or convicted of a crime. Such agencies must allocate a substantial portion of its budget to any of these functions.

Criminal Justice Agency Records. The records obtained or created by a criminal justice agency in the course of normal operations.

Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS). The equipment, facilities, procedures, agreements and personnel used in the collection, processing, preservation and dissemination of criminal history record information (CHRI). K.S.A. 22-4701

Disposition. The disposition of an offense consists of the prosecution, court and confinement segments.

Dissemination of Criminal History Record Information (CHRI). The release of CHRI to persons or agencies other than the criminal justice agency which originated or maintains the information. Reporting an arrest or disposition to the KBI Central Repository is not considered dissemination. On the other hand, merely confirming the existence or non-existence of CHRI to a person requesting a records check is considered dissemination. Dissemination of CHRI by the Central Repository is governed by K.S.A. 22-4707(a) and by article 12 of chapter 10 of the K.A.R..

Diversion. An agreement entered into by the subject and prosecuting attorney whereby a criminal offense is not referred to court, and the subject performs specified actions (such as payment of restitution, fine, community service, counseling) to satisfy the prosecutor's decision not to prosecute.

Elimination Prints. Prints taken from persons with legitimate access to evidence being examined for latent fingerprints. These are used to eliminate those fingerprints from the evidence prior to submission of the latent prints for entry into the AFIS for search/match processing.

Expungement. The court-ordered removal of a conviction from a subject's criminal history record. Under most circumstances, that conviction is not releasable and is unavailable to persons otherwise entitled to access central repository records. However, the conviction is still maintained within the CCH, and is released to certain agencies entitled by law to receive such data.

Felony Severity Code. This code portrays the severity level of felonies as established by the Legislature for sentencing guidelines requirements. There are ten levels, with 1 being the most severe and 10 the least severe

Finger Number. The number assigned to each finger, right thumb = 1, right little = 5, left thumb = 6, left little = 10.

Fingerprintable Offenses. The conditions under which an offender's fingerprints can be recorded on a ten-print fingerprint card and submitted to the KBI for processing and storage in the Central Repository. K.S.A. 21-2501 defines the requirements for adult suspects, and K.S.A. 38-2313 defines the requirements for juvenile offenders.

Handled as an Adult. This refers to processing through adult court a juvenile 14-17 years of age for traffic offenses K.S.A. 38-2302(n)(1), or a juvenile 16 or 17 years of age for fish and game violations K.S.A. 38-2302(n)(2).

IAFIS (Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System). The federal initiative to standardize and interconnect the various AFIS databases of the states and the FBI. This program is intended to automate the processing and submission of criminal justice fingerprints from booking through state repository to the national database, with the corresponding capability to search databases automatically when processing latent prints.

III (Interstate Identification Index). This is the criminal history record information database within the NCIC. The index includes identification information and references to each state that holds criminal information about an individual. A query of the III is done electronically, and results in a response from the III database and any state that has a criminal history record on the individual queried. These responses are automatic.

Jail. An adult lockup which is separated from juvenile offender housing and processing.

Journal Entry. The document used to record disposition of a court case. The Journal Entry form is the basis for the court segment of a reportable event in the criminal history record in the Central Repository.

Juvenile. A person 10 or more years of age but less than 18 years of age. By definition, a person younger than 10 is a "child",  not a "juvenile".

Juvenile Correctional Facility. A facility operated by the Commissioner of Juvenile Justice for juvenile offenders. There are four facilities: Atchison, Beloit, Larned and Topeka.

Juvenile Detention Facility. Any secure public or private facility used for the custody of accused or adjudicated juvenile offenders and which must not be a jail. K.S.A. 38-2302

Juvenile Justice Information System. That portion of the Central Repository's database which consists of offenses committed by juveniles and the dispositions recorded within the juvenile court system. (Offenses committed by juveniles which are disposed of in adult court are recorded in the Central Repository as adult records.)

Juvenile Offender. A person who does an act while a juvenile which if done by an adult would constitute the commission of a felony or misdemeanor.

Kansas Disposition Report (KDR). The form used to report disposition of a reportable adult offense to the Central Repository.

Kansas Open Records Act (KORA). K.S.A. 45-215, et seq. The Open Records Act controls the dissemination of government agency records. This is the statute that applies to release of criminal history record information maintained by the originating agency. Generally, the act holds that records shall be open for inspection/release unless otherwise protected from release by other law. KORA also provides some exceptions under which records may be withheld from dissemination.

K.S.A. Kansas criminal code is found in the body of work known as the Kansas Statutes Annotated (K.S.A.). The K.S.A. are published by the Office of the Revisor of Statutes and distributed by the Office of Secretary of State.
The numbering system used to organize Kansas statutes consists of several levels of detail and definition. At the highest level is the "Chapter," followed by the "Article," "Section" and "Subsection(s)."
For example, Theft of property with a value greater than $25,000 is defined by Section 01 of Article 37 of Chapter 21, subsection b, subsection 1. This is written as K.S.A. 21-3701 (b) (1).

Law Enforcement Agency. A federal, state or local organization empowered to enforce the law and staffed with law enforcement officers.

Law Enforcement Officer. Any person who, by virtue of that person's office, is vested by law with a duty to maintain public order or to make arrests for crimes, whether that duty extends to all crimes or is limited to specific crimes.

Live-scan. Automated devices for generating and transmitting fingerprint images. Live-scan devices capture fingerprint images directly from the subject's fingers, which are rolled onto scanning pads. The devices can print out multiple fingerprint cards or can transmit electronic fingerprint images to remote sites for printout or direct use in AFIS computers.

Misdemeanor Class Code. This code letter (A, B, C, or U=Unclassified) defines the seriousness of a misdemeanor. The class code is determined by the legislature when the statute is written.

Moniker. A moniker is a nickname which is not a variation of the subject's given name, but is usually descriptive of some individual characteristic or character trait. For example, "Red," "Outlaw," "Lefty," "Speedy."

National Child Protection Act of 1993 (Oprah Winfrey Act). This federal legislation consists of two major elements. First, it requires state central repositories to capture at least 80% of dispositions of child abuse offenses reported within each state. Secondly, the act allows state access to the national criminal history database for records checks of persons responsible for care of children, the elderly and the disabled (42 USC 5119).

NCIC (National Crime Information Center). An automated database of criminal justice records maintained by the FBI. The portion of the NCIC database that contains criminal history record information is the III.

NICS (National Instant Check System). The permanent provisions of the federal Brady Act. These provisions become effective in November 1998, and apply to the sale of long guns as well as handguns. NICS will require immediate checks of both state criminal history databases and a Afederal segment" which will include III and, additionally, several national criminal-justice-related databases. (18 U.S.C. 922)

NLETS (National Law Enforcement Teletype System). A computerized high-speed message switching system which provides for interstate exchange of criminal justice information between local, state and federal criminal justice agencies.

Non-Conviction. Dispositions through adult criminal court including all acquittals, dismissals and releases, as well as dispositions in which the prosecutor has elected to not commence criminal proceedings. Also, an adult arrest event which is at least one year old and for which no disposition has been received at the Central Repository will be considered a non-conviction disposition.

ORI Number. Originating Agency Identifier Number. A nine-digit alphanumeric identifier that is unique for each criminal justice agency. The FBI issues the ORI.

Person Code. An offense characterized as a "person" offense (for example, assault) is one in which a person is the victim of the crime. An offense that is characterized as a "non-person" offense (for example, passing a worthless check) is one in which a person is not the victim. The person/non-person characterization is determined by the legislature when the statute is written.

Prosecution Segment. This portion of the disposition of an adult criminal history record consists of information regarding decisions made by the prosecuting attorney in handling the offense. The prosecutor will either file charges with the court reflecting the charges made by the arresting agency, file amended charges, decline to prosecute or place the subject on diversion. The form used to provide this information to the Central Repository (KBI) is the Prosecutor Disposition Report (PDR).

Public Record. Any recorded information that is made or maintained by any public agency. Excluded from this definition are certain records relating to public employee compensation and records maintained by legislators or the governing body of political or taxing subdivisions of the state. K.S.A. 45-217

Reportable Events. Those events which constitute portions of a criminal history record, and which are to provided to the central repository. Reportable offenses fall into three categories:

• Adult. Reportable adult offenses/events in Kansas are enumerated in K.S.A. 22-4705 and K.S.A. 21-2501a.
   
• Juvenile Offenders. Reportable juvenile offender events are defined in K.S.A. 38-2325(e).

Section and Article. Sections and articles are subordinate groupings of laws found in a chapter. Sections are comprised of articles. For example, "K.S.A. 8-1560" represents section 60 of article 15 of chapter 8.

If the sections in an article exceed 99, the section numbers are preceded by a comma. For example, section 119 of article 1 of chapter 8 would be designated "8-1,119."

If a lower case letter "a" appears in the middle of a K.S.A. citation (for example, "12-6a05"), it indicates that the section is section 5 of article 6a of chapter 12. Article 6a is an independent article that is found immediately after article 6.

If a lower case letter appears at the end of a section number, such as "8-1459a," the section is an independent section and is located in the statute book following 8-1459.

Subsections. Subsections represent the lowest-level organizational grouping of a statute. These further define the crime by accounting for a specific portion of the chapter and section. There are up to three levels of subsection possible; however, statute citations aren't required to have any subsections.

For example, "K.S.A. 21-3420" represents the crime of kidnapping in general. "21-3420a" is the more particular offense of kidnapping for ransom. "21-3420b" is kidnapping in the commission of a crime, and "21-3420c" is kidnapping to inflict injury.

Secure Facility. Any facility operated within the juvenile justice system in which facility staff exclusively controls the entrances and exits, or where residents are controlled by locked rooms or buildings, fences or physical restraints. This definition is found in K.S.A. 38-2202(bb) .

Shelter Facility. Any public or private facility or home other than a juvenile detention facility that provides care to children in need of care (CINC). This definition is found in K.S.A. 38-2202(dd).

SID Number. State Identification Number, which is also the "KBI Number." A unique number assigned to an individual when the central repository creates his/her criminal history record.

Status Offense. An act which, when committed by a person under 18 years of age, is prohibited by state or city/county ordinance/resolution but which is not prohibited when committed by an adult. For example, possession of alcohol or tobacco.

Waiver to Adult Status. This refers to processing a juvenile, 14-17 years of age, who has committed a felony under certain circumstances which either permit or require that the offense be processed through adult court. K.S.A. 38-2302(n) and K.S.A. 38-2347(a)

Warrant A written order by a judge of the court directed to any law enforcement officer commanding the officer to take into custody the person named or described therein.

Youth Residential Facility. Any home or structure providing 24-hour-a-day care for children, and which is licensed pursuant to article 5 of chapter 65, K.S.A. (K.S.A. 38-2302).