Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center Unveils Official State Criminal Background...

Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center Unveils Official State Criminal Background Check System Online for Employers at http://www.background.alabama.gov

MONTGOMERY, Ala.--(Business Wire)--
Employers now have a quick and secure way to check an applicant or
employee's official Alabama arrest and conviction records, thanks to a
new online system unveiled by the Alabama Criminal Justice Information
Center (ACJIC) at http://www.background.alabama.gov.

Known as the Alabama Background Check (ABC) system, the secure,
web-based program provides qualifying employers with Alabama felony
and misdemeanor arrest and court conviction records of employees or
prospective employees who provide the employer with a signed waiver
authorizing the "right to know" this information.

The ABC system, Alabama's official criminal history records site
for employers, is administered under the legal authority of ACJIC in
partnership with the Alabama Administrative Office of Courts (AOC) and
the Alabama Department of Public Safety (DPS). Further details about
the system may be found at http://www.background.alabama.gov.

"The Alabama criminal information found in the ABC system normally
is available only to authorized law enforcement agencies," said Maury
Mitchell, ACJIC director. "An exception in Alabama law allows our
agency to also provide this information to employers or prospective
employers."

Employers must meet certain qualifications to be approved to use
the ABC system, and must also have a signed waiver from the employee
or prospective employee authorizing each search. In accordance with
state law, ABC system background checks are available at a cost of $25
each. The ABC program is available as an Alabama eGovernment
subscriber service.

"ABC system reports include felony and misdemeanor arrests
compiled from information provided by Alabama law enforcement
agencies," stated Mitchell. "ACJIC has also gone a step further by
combining forces with Alabama's court and public safety agencies to
provide employers with a more comprehensive Alabama records check,
including available Alabama circuit, district, and local court records
for the past seven years and court cases that are currently pending."

In the event an individual disputes the accuracy of the criminal
records identified by the ABC system, the individual will then be able
to submit to a state fingerprint based criminal background check for
verification, provided by DPS through this partnership, at no
additional cost.

All transactions made through the ABC system are monitored and
logged by ACJIC, which may also investigate and refer for prosecution
any alleged misuse of the system. Under Alabama law, persons who
willingly request, obtain, or seek to obtain criminal offender record
information under false pretenses may be subject to felony criminal
penalties.

"This system's ability to provide business owners with an
effective tool to maintain a safer, more profitable workforce is
important, but the true value of the product is that it is secure and
is monitored to ensure it is used correctly," said Alabama Supreme
Court Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb. "The partnership between the
courts, ACJIC and ADPS is designed to look out for the employer - and
to make sure that the information returned is accurate for the
protection of the individual employee or prospective employee."

"To be able to work together on a system that can help employers
know critical information about who they hire and trust - and to
ensure that the individuals can challenge and we can confirm the data
in our state's criminal history repository - is a win-win for
everyone," said Col. J. Christopher Murphy, director of the Alabama
Department of Public Safety.

The ABC system conducts the name-based background checks by using
basic identifying information and specific numeric identifiers
provided by the employee and employer. ABC reports normally are
available immediately to the requesting employer; in the event the
provided information appears to conflict with other Alabama criminal
records, however, the system has been designed to direct the request
for review by ACJIC before an ABC report is returned via the online
system to the requesting employer.

About ACJIC

The Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center is the state
technology agency primarily responsible for providing timely and
accurate mission-critical data services to state, local and federal
criminal justice agencies. ACJIC operates information systems which
process more than 15 million transactions per month, and are accessed
by more than 15,000 sworn law enforcement officers in over 900
criminal justice entities within Alabama and across the nation. The
agency systems are connected nationally to the FBI, and to all 50
states via the International Justice and Public Safety Network, also
known as Nlets.

For more information, visit www.acjic.alabama.gov

About ADPS

The Alabama Department of Public Safety is a full-fledged,
statewide law enforcement agency comprising six divisions:
Administrative, Alabama Bureau of Investigation, Driver License,
Highway Patrol, Protective Services and Service. For more information,
visit www.dps.alabama.gov

About AOC

The Alabama Administrative Office of Courts created in 1977 to
oversee the administration of daily operations of Alabama's Unified
Judicial System. The agency also serves to assist with the
administrative duties of the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme
Court.

About Alabama.gov

Alabama.gov is the state of Alabama's official Web portal
(http://www.alabama.gov) and a collaborative effort between the state
of Alabama and Alabama Interactive. It was built and is marketed,
operated, and maintained by Alabama Interactive, a Montgomery-based
wholly owned subsidiary of eGovernment firm NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV).

About NIC

NIC manages more eGovernment services than any provider in the
world. The company helps government communicate more effectively with
citizens and businesses by putting essential services online. NIC
provides eGovernment solutions for 2,900 state and local agencies that
serve more than 69 million people in the United States. Additional
information is available at http://www.nicusa.com.

www.alabama.gov
Sloane Wright, 334-261-1989
sloane@nicusa.com
or
ACJIC
Lynn M. Childs, 334-353-4732

Copyright Business Wire 2008