Pulaski County Police Department & 911: Where Does the County Stand?

Regarding the last set of questions, clarification was obtained from Kentucky State Police Compliance Section with an open records request. As it stands today, the LINK/NCIC Operations Manual says, “the FBI is only authorized to release criminal justice information (CJI) [warrants, criminal history, etc., as defined in Section 4.1 on page 10] to authorized criminal justice agencies [agencies with authorized criminal justice ORIs] to use for the administration of criminal justice [as defined on page A-1]. According to Section 3.2.2 (a) and (b) on page 6, responsibility for managing the approved security requirements and network security of criminal justice information shall remain with the criminal justice agency. In simpler terms, the criminal justice agency authorized to receive the information is ultimately held responsible for any security or lack thereof for the CJI. So yes, the claims by the previous 911 director are legitimate. 

An overview of how the 911 center is set up to have access to criminal justice information follows:

The Pulaski Co 911 Center has a satellite agency agreement with KSP CJS, and 911 has satellite agency user agreements with each law enforcement agency with access to this information. However, the way we understand it, the Pulaski County 911 Center is under the management of a director, which is under the direct control of the Pulaski County Fiscal court. The Pulaski County Fiscal Court does not meet the definition of a “criminal justice agency” defined in the regulation requirement. In addition, the current 911 director is not KLEC certified by DOCJT as a police officer. That is where the original vision of the Pulaski County Police Department, run by the 911 director, came into play when it was first presented to the fiscal court as a police department in name only. Once Ross, a certified police officer, resigned, it left 911 in a vacuum regarding the LINK/NCIC terminals.

Law Enforcement Authority for the 911 Center

From previous fiscal court meetings, the county attorney’s office appears to be acting as the law enforcement authority to fill the gap when Ross resigned from his post. Having the Pulaski County Attorney’s office temporarily fill the role as the law enforcement agency in control of criminal justice information for the 911 Center seems to meet the requirement but is unconventional. Unconventional because it usually falls to a law enforcement agency within the ordinance establishing a 911 center within the county. By law, the county attorney’s office prosecutes criminal offenders. However, in most cases across the state, the county attorney’s office is a satellite agency with limited access to LINK/NCIC. In other words, a more permanent solution needs to happen concerning the LINK/NCIC law enforcement control of the information at the 911 center.    

As a side note, we don’t recall seeing an administrative act by the fiscal court to have the county attorney’s office act as top cover for 911 while the issue is being resolved.

CJIS Audits

The criminal justice information coming in and going out of the 911 center is regularly audited by the Criminal Justice Information Systems division of Kentucky State Police (for short, we will refer to that office as CJIS KSP, which may not be the official acronym). The FBI also has the authority to audit any agency using the CJIS. So, a big question is what happens if the 911 Center is not in compliance. Who takes the hit on that? As it stands, the county attorney’s office would be the one to answer to any non-compliance by the 911 Center and the agencies our 911 center has agreements with (Burnside, Ferguson, Eubank, Science Hill, etc.). Or would they? Has it been made official with CJIS KSP? It seems to be a gray area for sure. The agency agreements are with KSP and 911, and then 911 and the agencies within Pulaski County. It may be that CJIS KSP has signed off on this temporary arrangement with the county attorney’s office. We expect that the county attorney checked that box off before the temporary measures went into effect. 

Limited Constable Access to CJIS in Pulaski County

According to verification from an open records request to the state compliance office with the CJIS KSP, thru whom all LINK/NCIC access is granted, each agency is subject to an audit of LINK/NCIC entries and access. This also includes all constables in Pulaski Co who meet the requirement of having CJIS access. It is unknown if any constable has a Satellite Agency agreement with 911. Since none of the constables have completed DOCJT-approved CJIS access training (that we are aware of), they do not have access to these records (active warrants, stolen items, or OLN/vehicle registration information), thereby limiting their access to data and criminal information regardless of when they were sworn in as Constable. Additionally, NONE of the constables have completed POPS certification, verified by open records request to the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training Academy (DOCJT). DOCJT is responsible for all training for certifying officers under Kentucky Revised Statutes. In other words, constables only have access if they are certified by DOCJT.

Where and What is the County’s Authority on 911

What happened to the original Pulaski County 911 Ordinance? Was it revised when they enacted the Pulaski County Police Department? Last we checked, it was not on the list of ordinances on the county’s website. What happened to the 911 Board that was part of that original ordinance? That board was made up of many of the city and county first responder department heads.

We understand that the old 911 Board was defunct when the new LINK/NCIC rules were enacted. A board that governs a 911 center could not include someone who is not authorized access to that information. However, a 100% law enforcement governing board may be an option. The question would be if a 911 governing board would be a law enforcement body accepted by those who set the rules and regulate access.

In other counties with LINK/NCIC terminals, the 911 center is directly under the authority of one of the law enforcement authorities described in the ordinance that creates a 911 center.

So, the question is, what has the new administration done, or will it do to address this issue? It appears that isn’t on the radar right now. Rumors of disbanding the Pulaski County Police Department have been circulating. KRS 70.540 states that the County Judge Executive must reappoint officers yearly.

Lingering Questions

• If PC Police Dept is disbanded, what does that mean for Pulaski Co 911?
• If it is not disbanded, will the current 911 director have to go to the DOCJT academy? That seems to be the easy solution.
• Or will the county attorney permanently take over 911?
• Or are there more extensive plans to merge the Emergency Management division, the Pulaski County Police Department, and the 911 Center with a certified officer at the head?
• Or will one of our established law enforcement agencies take over the administration of the 911 center? That seems to be the best option of all.

Final Thoughts

The last option seems to be the most viable, but with someone qualified in each of the service areas and properly certified, the next to last option seems to be the next best.  However, having a 911 board or an emergency services board (equipped with a seat or two for citizens) that come together to discuss issues would seem to go a long way to strengthen agency collaboration, transparency, and perhaps bring public trust back to this county where the last administration seemed to fail miserably. To clarify, we do not mean a board to advise on LINK/NCIC and maybe not only 911, but perhaps a board or committee to provide input on all public safety issues, emergency services, and response. 

Many had hoped that the leadership positions within the county would be competitive to allow the most educated, experienced, and qualified of applicants a shot at bringing progression to the county.

It is only a little over two weeks into the new administration so let’s hope we see proactive moves that will take this county to the level it needs to be financially and administratively.

SPA Editorial