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There are three levels of criminal history records. One level is the state central repository. In Wisconsin that is the CIB. The CIB will only establish a criminal record for someone when a fingerprint card is provided to the CIB from a Wisconsin law enforcement agency. If an agency does not fingerprint the individual or does not submit the fingerprints to the CIB the arrest/conviction information will not be in the CIB.
Each state maintains a central repository of criminal history record information. In Wisconsin, this statewide repository is maintained at CIB. Criminal History Record Information (CHRI) consisting of arrest/custody fingerprint card, photograph, demographic information and related final disposition report from the District Attorney/Prosecutor, Clerk of Court or correction agencies is stored in the repository. On July 1, 1971, the Crime Information Bureau began accepting and processing fingerprint cards, photographs and other identifying information of value to the law enforcement community. Wisconsin State Statutes 165.83(2)(a) and 165.84(1) mandate fingerprinting of all persons arrested or taken into custody by law enforcement agencies for offenses which are felonies, selected misdemeanors or local ordinance violations, fugitives from justice, all unidentified human corpses, and for any offense designated by the Attorney General. Mandatory fingerprinting applies to "all persons," adult and juvenile -- Attorney General Opinion 1-73. In addition, persons not arrested or taken into custody by law enforcement agencies for mandatory fingerprintable offenses, but who are summoned or issued a citation for a mandatory offense shall have fingerprints obtained at the initial appearance before a judge in accordance with Wisconsin State Statute 970.02(7).
An initial query of the state central repository is made to determine the existence of a record. The computer searches its database and returns a list of possible ident segments relating to your request. The segments contain physical identifiers, additional numeric data and aliases.
An authorized criminal justice agency will be able to make an inquiry based on name and numeric identifiers (birth date, Social Security Number, etc.) to determine the existence of a criminal record matching the inquiry. A response will be generated to advise of “no record” or provide information relating to a “possible record.” A positive response will contain additional identifying data to associate the record with the person of the inquiry (height, weight, race, fingerprint classification, tattoos, etc.) and a state identification number (SID). Each state identification segment has a format unique to that state, however all state identification numbers have a common element: each state identification number (SID) begins with a two-character abbreviation indicating the state.
Because of the name search techniques used, extreme caution must be exercised in reviewing the response(s) received to ensure that the information matches the person of the inquiry.
Based on the response(s), the user will determine if the record matches the person who is the subject of the inquiry. Once a record is located, a second message must be used to obtain the specific criminal history record from the state.
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