Tennessee Information Enforcement System (Ties)

(1) All of the official rules, regulations and operating procedures of the FBI, NCIC and NLETS are hereby adopted and made applicable to the operation of TIES. (2) Compliance - All Agencies having access to TIES as terminal or satellite terminal agencies shall comply with all rules, regulations and guidelines of NCIC, NLETS and TCIC. (3) Access - Only statutorily authorized agencies will be permitted to connect computer devices to the TIES. Terminals of statutorily authorized agencies not meeting the definition of a criminal justice or TENNESSEE CRIME INFORMATION CENTER CHAPTER 1395-1-1 law enforcement agency will be limited to the contribution and acquisition of the data authorized by statute for said agencies and prohibited from accessing NCIC and NLETS terminals and data bases, which would be in violation of laws and rules governing these agencies. All statutorily authorized agencies will meet the following criteria: (a) Equipment - All terminal equipment and software interfaced to TIES and constituting a part of TIES shall be compatible, as determined by TBI, with the TIES equipment and protocol. (b) Classification of Agencies - Agencies interfacing computer terminals to the TIES or receiving information from TCIC are divided into the following nine classes. 1. Class One shall consist of governmental law enforcement agencies or criminal justice agencies which meet the criminal justice agency definition and which operate terminals on a continuous basis, twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week. These agencies have full access and are directly connected to TBI. 2. Class Two shall consist of governmental law enforcement agencies or criminal justice agencies or criminal justice agencies which meet the criminal justice agency definition and which may or may not operate terminals on a continuous basis, twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week. These agencies have query-only access and are directly connected to TBI. 3. Class Three shall consist of governmental law enforcement agencies or criminal justice agencies which meet the criminal justice agency definition and which operate terminals on a continuous basis, twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week. These agencies have full access and are connected as Satellite Agencies to TBI through another agency’s computer system. 4. Class Four shall consist of governmental law enforcement agencies or criminal justice agencies which meet the criminal justice agency definition and which may or may not operate terminals on a continuous basis, twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week. These agencies have query-only access and are connected as Satellite Agencies to TBI through another agency’s computer system. 5. Class Five consists of agencies that operate a large-scale computer system directly interfaced with the TBI. These agencies have been approved by TBI to have sufficient staff and resources to provide security, training, and related computer services to other network agencies. 6. Class Six shall consist of consolidated and computer-assisted dispatch facilities, often referred to as 911 facilities. These may be governmental or non-governmental facilities that operate on a continuous basis, twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week. 7. Class Seven shall consist of non-criminal justice agencies that perform criminal justice functions. 8. Class Eight shall consist of non-criminal justice agencies accessing in-state records. 9. Class Nine shall consist of NLETS ORI access. (4) User Agreements - All agencies accessing the TIES shall execute a User Agreement with the TBI. Any agency providing TIES access to a non-terminal agency shall execute the appropriate agreement with that agency. Any Class Three agency providing access to another agency shall execute a User Agreement, which will include all requirements set out in a TBI User Agreement and any additional TENNESSEE CRIME INFORMATION CENTER CHAPTER 1395-1-1 provisions deemed necessary by that agency. All agreements between agencies shall be approved by TBI. Class Seven agencies shall execute the required security addendum as provided by the FBI. (5) Audit - All agencies shall submit to FBI and TBI audit to ensure compliance with all FBI, NCIC, NLETS and TCIC rules. No TBI employee who is responsible for auditing local law enforcement agencies shall conduct an audit of an agency by which the employee was employed in the past in any capacity. This applies regardless of the length of service and/or the time since service with the prior employer. (6) Access Cost - All directly connected terminal agencies will share in the costs incurred by TBI in the day-to-day operations of the TIES and associated communication network. (7) Any terminal agency, upon approval by TBI, is authorized at its own expense to furnish a terminal to another agency for operation as a satellite upon execution of an agreement requiring servicing of said terminals and operation thereof to meet minimum NCIC, NLETS and TCIC standards without degradation of TIES. (8) Any agency desiring to connect to the TIES shall make a request in writing to the TBI. Upon securing the approval of TBI, the agency shall execute and maintain an agreement. The agreement will require compliance with NCIC, NLETS, TCIC rules and regulations, operation to comply with all privacy laws, security of equipment, sharing of costs and performance of all things applicable to the appropriate class of agency required to make TIES an interactive system performing the duties and furnishing the benefits intended by Chapter 10 of Title 38 of T.C.A. (9) Absent provisions set forth in state law, Tennessee criminal history records are not accessible to the general public except under the following conditions: (a) To challenge an arrest that appears on a criminal history record check conducted for employment, license or firearms carry permit or purchase. (b) To challenge a criminal history record the individual must: 1. submit a written request to the TBI Records and Identification Unit; 2. provide satisfactory proof of identification including a photo ID; 3. submit at least two (2) classifiable fingerprint cards for comparison; and 4. pay a fee set by the Director as set forth in TCA 38-6-103(d)(1)(2). (10) Dissemination - Indirect dissemination of specific information received through the TIES shall be allowed unless there are specific state, local or federal laws precluding this dissemination. No agency authorized by statute to receive information from state CHRI shall use the information obtained there from for any purpose other than law enforcement purposes or as authorized by statute and is prohibited from disclosing, exposing or transmitting by any means information from TIES to any private citizen, corporation, entity or any other government agency not specifically authorized by statute to have such information. (11) Policy Violations - Any violations of policies governing the use and operation or information received from the TIES shall be reported immediately to the TBI. (12) Physical Security - Physical locations of all fixed agency terminals shall be approved by the TBI. The computer site and/or terminal area shall have adequate physical security to protect against any TENNESSEE CRIME INFORMATION CENTER CHAPTER 1395-1-1 unauthorized personnel gaining access to the computer equipment or to any of the stored data. Prior approval shall be received from the TBI for additional devices to be connected to the TIES network. (13) System Security - All agencies shall demonstrate compliance with the current CJIS security policy published by the FBI. Class five agencies shall ensure and provide evidence to TBI that the system has ample hardware and software safeguards to limit TIES access to only authorized terminals and personnel of the satellite agency. (14) Qualifications - (a) Terminal operators who are public safety emergency dispatchers shall meet the qualifications in TCA § 7-86-201. (b) Terminal operators who are not emergency dispatchers shall meet the following minimum qualifications. 1. Be at least eighteen (18) years of age; 2. Be a citizen of the United States; 3. Be a high school graduate or possess equivalency; 4. Have fingerprints on file with the TBI; 5. Have no felony convictions; and 6. Be of good moral character. (15) Certification - Certification requirements include, but are not limited to, the following: (a) All terminal operators must complete certification courses offered by TBI in order to operate the terminal equipment, or certification shall be issued upon successful completion of a training curriculum prescribed by the Information Systems division; (b) All certified operators must be re-certified once every two (2) years by successfully completing all certification courses offered by TBI; and (c) Only certified operators will be allowed to operate a TIES terminal (an exception being an operator-trainee who has not completed the initial certification program, in which case a certified operator must be present when the equipment is being operated by the trainee). (16) Training - Terminal agencies will require that their terminal operators attend training sessions offered by TBI to ensure proper operation of terminal equipment. Class five agencies shall provide TBI approved training for and certification of the Class five agency operators and satellite terminal agency operators. (17) Terminal Agency Coordinator - Each terminal agency shall appoint a Terminal Agency Coordinator to act as the liaison with TBI. The agency shall inform TBI of the Terminal Agency Coordinator assignment and any re-appointments that are made in said position. Re-appointments shall be made immediately upon the vacancy of a Coordinator’s position. Any agency whose TAC or alternate TAC is convicted of a criminal offense while holding such position shall notify TBI of such conviction immediately. TENNESSEE CRIME INFORMATION CENTER CHAPTER 1395-1-1 (18) TIES - Terminal agencies are authorized to transmit, receive or exchange information directly relating to law enforcement, but shall not use the system for the transmission of general or personal messages. TIES terminal stations, which are used to make NCIC entries, shall be operated twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week. Terminal stations, both fixed and mobile, which are used for query- only, shall be secured when unattended. (19) Criminal History Inquiries - All criminal history inquiries and disseminations shall be logged with a hardcopy showing information received and the requesting person's authority for making the request. The log shall be maintained for two (2) years from the date of transmission. (20) Violations of Federal or State laws and NCIC, NLETS, and TCIC rules and regulations will result in the following disciplinary action: (a) Willful violation of Federal law, T.C.A. § 39-3-Part 14 or § 40-32-101, will result in interruption of the interface of the terminal of the offending agency, and restoration will be made when the offending agency has furnished proof of appropriate action to correct the offense and assure future compliance; (b) Willful violation of rules and regulations or other laws, including unauthorized access of files or unauthorized disclosure of data obtained for lawful purposes, will result in a required formal notification, within a specified time, of the violation with an explanation of the correction and conditions or circumstances which produced the violation(s); (c) Any unauthorized acquisition and/or use of data relating to a specific person will require notification to the affected person by the offending agency or in lieu thereof, by TBI; and (d) Continued violations of the same kind or frequent violations after warnings will result in cancellation of the user agreement and discontinuance of the TIES access to the agency. (20) Equipment software will contain provisions for classification of data. All data transmitted over TIES is classified as follows: (a) Class A shall include any data the disclosure of which to unauthorized persons, or agencies or entities would constitute a violation of the criminal laws; (b) Class B shall include any data which is rendered confidential by a specific law or court decision; (c) Class C shall include data which the judiciary has determined to be private as protected by the United States Constitution and related laws; (d) Class D shall include any data which may be restricted by court order incident to a judicial proceeding; (e) Class E shall include all TBI case file information relating to specific crimes, criminal activity and persons; (f) Class F shall include all other general data relating to crimes, criminals and criminal activities, which may be disclosed to the public. (21) All criminal history record information or any other information protected by a privacy law received from NCIC through TIES will carry a privacy classification designation contained within equipment software which will attach to all subsequent transmission of that data by any means. Also, if any data is received through the system by an agency, which is not classified but becomes classified because of TENNESSEE CRIME INFORMATION CENTER CHAPTER 1395-1-1 any laws relating to that agency, then any subsequent dissemination of that information by that agency shall carry its privacy classification. (22) All agencies, which have been identified by NCIC and TCIC as being agencies authorized to handle data in relation to any of the programs and files maintained by NCIC and TCIC, shall be entitled to access the information in relation to those programs from both NCIC and TCIC files.