HICAAP Fact Sheet

I. BACKGROUND

• Since May 1990, a multi-jurisdictional task force formed under the Countywide Criminal Justice Coordination Committee studied the impact of deportable aliens in the Los Angeles County Jail system. Three studies were conducted, with the latest one (1997) revealing the following facts:
  • Deportable aliens comprised 17% of the County’s jail population;
  • Within one year of their release from custody, 45% were re-arrested an average of 1.8 times;
  • 87% of the re-arrests occurred in Los Angeles County
• The task force concluded that existing federal enforcement efforts were ineffective in alleviating the criminal alien problem in Los Angeles County, and identified key factors that undermine enforcement efforts to address the escalating problem; these factors were:
  • Inability of local law enforcement to positively and rapidly identify previously deported criminal aliens at the time of arrest;
  • Lack of effective operational protocols for coordination among local law enforcement agencies;
  • Inability of INS to rapidly capture and send automated fingerprint records due to inadequate or incompatible systems technology;
  • Inability to effectively target habitual criminal alien offenders for federal felony prosecutions for illegal re-entry after deportation;
  • Lack of adequate INS and US Attorney resources to identify and prosecute previously deported criminal aliens
• The task force proposed the High Intensity Criminal Alien Apprehension and Prosecution (HICAAP) Project, a local initiative for a comprehensive and coordinated interagency technology-based strategy that would intensify local, State, and federal law enforcement efforts targeting previously deported criminal aliens.
  • Under the HICAAP Project, Los Angeles County, building upon its existing Consolidated Criminal History Records System (CCHRS), will develop a criminal alien identification and tracking system that will:
    • rely on biometric measures (i.e., fingerprints) for positive identification,
    • build on existing automated criminal identification and criminal history records systems,
    • interface with State and federal justice system databases for consolidated criminal alien and deportation information, and
    • be used by local, State, and federal law enforcement and prosecution agencies. 

In June 2000, Los Angeles County was awarded $2.3 million to develop a law enforcement technology program targeting repeat criminal alien offenders. This grant was made possible by a direct congressional appropriation by the U.S. Department of Justice to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the Countywide Criminal Justice Coordination Committee (CCJCC) for implementation of the High Intensity Criminal Alien Apprehension and Prosecution (HICAAP) Project. The HICAAP project was conceived as a multi-jurisdictional program that will emphasize interagency coordination and utilize state-of-the-art fingerprint and computer technologies to intensify enforcement efforts against repeat criminal alien offenders.

Project Goals

• To improve public safety in local communities through the establishment of a Countywide multi-agency technology-based criminal alien identification program through intergovernmental coordination and collaboration
• To establish and implement an integrated fingerprint-based computerized system for identifying previously deported criminal aliens for use by local, State, and federal law enforcement agencies

Project Objectives

• To provide local, State, and federal law enforcement agencies early (i.e., at time of arrest and booking) positive identification of previously deported criminal aliens for increased federal prosecution, incarceration, and/or deportation
• To enhance greater interagency coordination, and greater integration and standardization of key systems and automated fingerprint technologies
• To facilitate the establishment and implementation of policies, procedures, and practices for timely and efficient handling (i.e., detaining, prosecuting, sentencing, and transferring custody) of previously deported criminal aliens once identified
• SCAAP Reimbursement.
• To establish an effective working model of criminal alien enforcement based on intensified interagency coordination and cooperation, and technology integration that could be replicated regionally and/or nationally

TECHNOLOGY

The HICAAP project is an interagency enforcement strategy designed to facilitate the positive identification of previously deported criminal aliens at the point of arrest by local police and includes four key components in concert with the Immigration and Naturalization Service:

• Installation of LiveScan fingerprint terminals at the INS's Los Angeles District Office to permit digital processing of fingerprints through the State's automated fingerprint identification system (i.e., Cal-ID)
• Development of a HICAAP Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) to permit conversion of INS fingerprint cards on criminal aliens who had been formally deported
• Enhancement of the CCHRS-INS Web-Enabled Interface to permit electronic access to consolidated criminal history records; 
  
  Los Angeles County Consolidated Criminal History Reporting System (CCHRS)
  Upon a suspect’s arrest and booking, the arresting and/or booking law enforcement agency makes a query via CCHRS for the suspect’s criminal history. CCHRS accesses criminal history information from various State and federal databases which provide personal data (e.g., physical description, mug shot photo, fingerprints, address(es), and social security number), and criminal case history and disposition information. CCHRS then consolidates the information in an easy-to-understand report. As a result of funding from the HI-CAAP Project, CCHRS is now web-enabled, thus allowing access by all participating law enforcement agencies via the Internet.
• Enhancement of CCHRS to permit incorporation of digital photo capability to enhance positive identification of previously deported criminal aliens.

PROPOSED OPERATING PROCEDURES

• Upon a suspect being booked into the Los Angeles County Consolidated Booking System, and subsequently livescanned, an inquiry will be sent via the Justice Data Interface Controller System (JDIC) to the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).
  • Currently a query to the Law Enforcement Service Center (LESC) of INS is triggered by the place of birth, and will show the Alien Registration Number (if known), correct place of birth (POB), FBI and CII numbers (if known). Problems with this type of query include:
    • If the arrestee lies about his POB, no query will be triggered.
    • The return is predominately based on a name search, which is not fingerprint-based
  • The livescanned fingerprints will be compared in AFIS to a statewide database which maintains criminal histories of all state Department of Justice (DOJ) retainable arrest records based upon positive fingerprint identifications.
  • “Criminal Alien Flag” - 
    A critical component of the HICAAP Project is the “criminal alien flag.” This flag is generated by CCHRS whenever a queried subject is identified as being a previously deported criminal alien. The “criminal alien flag” is entered into the State’s Automated Criminal History System (ACHS), one of many but integral databases from which CCHRS compiles a subject’s criminal history and personal information. 
    
    The “criminal alien flag” is set by the California Department of Justice (CalDOJ) under their CalDOJ-INS Criminal Alien Flagging Project (see Appendix A for details) that was implemented in August 1994 (and terminated in January 2001). CalDOJ “flags” the criminal history record of subjects identified by INS as having been convicted, served their sentences in a California state prison facility, and have been formally deported upon receiving record of the information from INS. INS fingerprints these individuals, records their criminal case disposition and sentence and deportation information, and provides copies of this information to CalDOJ (Fingerprints are entered into the California Identification (Cal-ID) database and criminal case and deportation information are entered into ACHS). 
    
    The “criminal alien flag” will alert the law enforcement agency that the subject booked into their custody is a HICAAP defendant and all participating enforcement agencies (i.e., arresting and booking law enforcement agencies, INS, and local and federal prosecutors) will be notified of the subject’s status. 
  • The originating agency will be sent a response from the AFIS inquiry via the Consolidated Criminal History Reporting System (CCHRS) indicating whether the suspect is a HICAAP qualified person or not.
  • A response will also be sent via e-mail to the Inmate Reception Center Classification HICAAP e-mail group along with other agency(ies) e-mail groups that are subsequently determined at the time of the initiation of the HICAAP project.
    
    If a CCHRS response indicates a suspect is qualified under HICAAP standards, the arresting officer or jailer will telephonically notify the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) personnel via the 24-hour HI-CAAP “hotline” to determine whether it will issue an “administrative hold” on the subject in custody until timely determination of whether to prosecute by local and federal prosecutors.
  • The responding INS agent will either place an “administrative hold” on the suspect or disqualify “DQ” the suspect from the HICAAP project. Based upon INS procedures (i.e., telephone interview, etc.), if it is determined a HI-CAAP hold will be placed on the suspect, the INS agent will ensure that a teletype is sent via JDIC to both the originating agency and the Inmate Reception Center indicating that an INS hold is to be placed on the suspect.
  • If INS personnel “DQ” the suspect, he/she will be processed according to existing procedures.
  • The existing procedures include the compilation of a list of inmates to be interviewed by INS personnel. The list is prioritized on previously deported, those with ARN numbers and those who are not known to the INS data base. Depending on the number of interviews that INS agents complete, those unknowns will be released without being interviewed or without being issued an ARN number.

II. STATUS OF PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

• Enhancement of the CCHRS-INS Web-Enabled Interface to permit electronic access to consolidated criminal history records.
  • The system has been successfully installed and has been on line since November, 2001.
  • HICAAP alerts are being transmitted to the Inmate Reception Center based upon the existing CAL-ID database.
• Enhancement of CCHRS to permit incorporation of digital photo capability to enhance positive identification of previously deported criminal aliens.
  • The system has been successfully installed and has been online since November 2001.
• Installation of LiveScan fingerprint terminals at the INS's Los Angeles District Office to permit digital processing of fingerprints through the state's automated fingerprint identification system.
  • The Livescan equipment has been installed in the INS Los Angeles District Office, including 25 desk top computers and 2 color printers.
  • Preliminary tests reveal the system will provide fingerprint data to the intended CAL-ID database.
• Development of a HICAAP Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) to permit conversion of INS fingerprint cards on criminal aliens who had been formally deported