Agencies/Terminals Not Having 24 Hour Coverage

Any agency that has entries in the computerized data files shall be responsible for providing the capability to verify and confirm an entry, within a reasonable amount of time, when requested to do so by an inquiring agency. (National policy requires initial acknowledgement in ten minutes or one hour, depending on the level of urgency reported.) This policy includes agencies that do not provide normal 24-hour per day, 7 days per week terminal operator attendance. An agency responsible for a terminal that is not staffed for an extended period of time shall be required to make the necessary arrangements to verify and confirm an entry for an inquiring agency should it occur during the unstaffed period. Alternatives may include the placement of backup “hit confirmation” data in the Remarks or Miscellaneous Field of each record; having personnel regularly check the terminal; or removing the terminal from service during the unmanned period and rerouting incoming traffic to a designated backup terminal located in another agency.

An agency that does not provide for 24 hour per day, 7 days per week operator attendance must submit in writing to the Director, Wisconsin Crime Information Bureau, P.O. Box 2718, Madison, Wisconsin 53701, procedures to be used for verifying and confirming entries during unmanned periods.

Agency procedures along with effective cooperation with the courts and among all law enforcement agencies will keep your system, the TIME System, effective.