FY 2021 National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP)

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is publishing this notice to announce the continuation of the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) in fiscal year (FY) 2021, to identify the program priorities, and to provide information on application requirements. This year, BJS is prioritizing the use of funds for two purposes: (1) to improve reporting of dispositions and (2) to improve reporting to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) of persons who are prohibited from possessing firearms for reasons related to mental health.

The following entities are eligible to apply: Agencies designated by the governor of their respective state to administer NCHIP (34 U.S.C. § 40301). Federally recognized tribal governments. To advance Executive Order 13929 Safe Policing for Safe Communities, the Attorney General determined that all state, local, and university or college law enforcement agencies must be certified by an approved independent credentialing body or have started the certification process no later than January 31, 2021, to be eligible for FY 2021 DOJ discretionary grant funding. To become certified, the law enforcement agency must meet two mandatory conditions: (1) the agency’s use of force policies adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws; and (2) the agency’s use of force policies prohibit chokeholds except in situations where use of deadly force is allowed by law. The certification requirement also applies to law enforcement agencies receiving DOJ discretionary grant funding through a subaward.  For detailed information on this new certification requirement, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/SafePolicingEO to access the Standards for Certification on Safe Policing for Safe Communities, Implementation Fact Sheet, and List of Designated Independent Credentialing Bodies. For additional information on eligibility, see Eligibility Information. All recipients and subrecipients (including any for-profit organization) must forgo any profit or management fee.