Alabama - - What are the laws governing criminal justice data collection and sharing in your state?

In 2015, Alabama consolidated a dozen state law enforcement entities into one agency: the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), overseen by the Secretary of Law Enforcement, an appointed member of the Governor’s cabinet. One of the entities ALEA absorbed is what is referred to in statute as the Criminal Justice Information Commission, the original state agency responsible for collecting, maintaining, disseminating, and keeping secure criminal history record information in the state. ALEA now oversees the CHRI system and all criminal justice agencies, including police, sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys, parole and probation officers, wardens, and other correctional officials, and the Administrative Office of the Courts are required to provide information to ALEA. Information in ALEA’s CHRI systems is “privileged, not public record, and subject to…criminal penalties for misuse.” ALEA can provide identified information to other state, federal, or international criminal justice agencies for their professional “crime fighting and public safety” purposes. The Governor’s office and other high-level policy makers may request and receive statistical information based on CHRI, but the information cannot identify particular individuals. Fraudulent attempts to obtain, or inappropriate dissemination of CHRI are both criminalized in Alabama.

The Administrative Director of Courts (ADC), who oversees the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) has sole authority and discretion over the state’s centralized court record databases and is exclusively vested with discretion to authorize the compilation and release of electronic data derived therefrom. Access to physical writings housed at local circuit courts is governed by the state’s single public access statute, but access to electronic information in the centralized AOC database is governed by the Rules of Judicial Administration, promulgated by the AOC itself. The same rule that specifies who and what may be released also describes certain intellectual property and ownership rights held by the AOC in their electronic data and prohibits subsequent resale of the data or revenue generation from it, as information in which the AOC exclusively has rights.

The AOC provides a standardized form for use in requesting compiled information, including specific information for intended use from which the requestor is not permitted to deviate. The ADC will evaluate the request and exercise discretion in determining whether to grant the request. Requestors will be required to bay all associated costs and fees up front, before the request will be initiated.

The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) oversees and maintains records for all adults who pass through state prison custody. ADOC keeps centralized records on all current and past occupants, in the central master file within the centralized records system. Pursuant to administrative regulation, the following information is considered public and will be released upon request:

• Name;
• Date of birth;
• Sex;
• Race;
• County of conviction;
• Crime and sentence;
• Prior incarcerations;
• Release eligibility;
• Photograph.

All requests for Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) records must be submitted on a standardized form provided by the agency. As DOC records are governed by Alabama’s spare public records laws, requesters must provide a direct, legitimate interest in the specific document(s) requested, to the satisfaction of the Department. As with other requests for public records in the state, there is no timeline for agency response nor is there a path to appeal the agency decision. In addition, all requests are subject to a $25 fee per request/record, as well as other additional fees for time to prepare and copying, etc.

ADOC’s Research and Planning Division reviews all public records requests and requests for data or other information for use in research. A research proposal must be submitted and pass through preliminary review by the Research and Planning Division before it is validated. Once a proposal is validated for further consideration, it will be evaluated on the potential value to ADOC and receive approval from each ADOC institution and/or division involved in any respective phase of the research. If a proposal clears these hurdles, independent researchers must sign an NDA and liability release with ADOC and pay all necessary costs and fees; the Central Records Division of ADOC will then coordinate with the Research and Planning Division to compile the requested information.

Researchers who would like to publish their ADOC-approved findings are encouraged to do so. Prior to publication, independent researchers must submit a copy of their document(s) to ADOC for editorial comment. The Research and Planning Division will also keep one copy of any publication in the ADOC Library.