by Rob Thomson

"(AP) Flaws Seen in Gun-Check Database"

This article tells the same story we preach every day: the very best databases maintained by educated and trained professionals with the best intentions simply do not represent consistently accurate  information that can be relied upon when the stakes are high.  In question here is the NICS database maintained by the FBI and used to clear individuals nationwide for retail gun purchases.  The constant that never changes is that any database relies on receiving complete and constantly updated information from hundreds and thousands of independent resources, each of whom is faced with its own unique rules, definitions, procedures, privacy protocols, lack of resources, and countless other challenges.

Statewide and national criminal databases used for employment screening are subject to the same issues described in this article:

• "A2005 study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that about 18 states cite privacy laws as an obstacle to sharing complete mental health records, and 10 others cite inadequate communication between agencies, incomplete records or lack of resources."
• "In creating the background check system, Congress passed a law in 1993 that said states must supply mental health records on people who have been declared mentally defective by or have beeninvoluntarily committed. But in 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down that requirement, saying states cannot be forced to take part in a federal program of this sort."

To reiterate, privacy concerns, inadequate communication between agencies, incomplete records, and simple lack of resources mean that information that SHOULD be in databases frequently does not make it there.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 3rd, 2007 at 11:55 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.