CSPRI Teams with Private IT Firms to Analyze DOJ Information Sharing System

GW’s Cyber Security Policy and Research Institute (CSPRI) and the Integrated Justice Information Systems (IJIS) Institute have established a lab at GW’s Virginia Campus to conduct performance testing on a technology integration and information-sharing tool developed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP).

Specifically, GW and the IJIS Institute are joining forces to analyze the OJP-sponsored Global Justice Extensible Markup Language Data Dictionary (GJXDD). The GJXDD is part of ongoing research and educational efforts by the OJP and others to improve system integration and information sharing in the justice and public safety communities.

There is a growing trend toward more integrated databases in law enforcement, with the goal of creating a more effective justice system and improved public safety,” said Professor Dianne Martin, chair of the Department of Computer Science and director of CSPRI. “GW and the IJIS Institute are contributing to this goal by studying a specific DOJ-developed database and recommending improvements to the GJXDD to ensure it is the best available resource of information for the justice and public safety communities.”

The completed research and recommendations for GJXDD by GW and the IJIS Institute will be publicized and distributed to agencies throughout the country using the system. Through the initial agreement between GW and the IJIS Institute, the groups will collaborate on GJXDD performance tests in the 500 square-foot test lab on the GW Virginia Campus through July 30, 2004. Two SEAS graduate students and one SEAS research faculty member will manage the analysis of the GJXDD, based on a test plan developed by the IJIS Institute.

The IJIS Institute is a non-profit corporation founded in the spring of 2001 and sustained by 52 information technology companies that are involved in developing and implementing justice information systems. The institute is funded primarily by grants from the OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance.