The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) requires that all wanted person entries in National Crime Information Center (NCIC) be validated by the originating agency for accuracy and completeness (all information available shall be entered into the record) and that they are still worthy of prosecution, i.e., witness and victims are still available, etc.
Every month the Department of Justice (DOJ) electronically sends a list of all warrants that must be validated to the issuing station/bureau detective lieutenant. It is the detective lieutenant's responsibility to ensure that the warrants contained on the list are validated as described above. If it is determined that the warrant should no longer reside in NCIC as extraditable, the detective lieutenant shall ensure the warrant’s recall or if it is a felony warrant, have its status changed to non-extraditable in NCIC.
Adult Superior Court warrants shall be validated in the following manner:
An inquiry into the District Attorney's Prosecutor’s Information Management System (PIMS) shall be made;
If the case is not found in PIMS, a letter to the court manager of the issuing Superior Court shall be written inquiring as to the status of the warrant; and
All correspondence shall be maintained for three (3) years.
DOJ Guidelines for Validation
Validation is accomplished by reviewing the entry and current supporting documents and by recent consultation with any appropriate complainant, victim, prosecutor, court, nonterminal agency, or other appropriate source of individual. In the event the ORI agency is unsuccessful in its attempts to contact the victim, complainant, etc., the entering authority must make a determination based on the best information and knowledge available whether or not to retain then the entry in the file. Contributors have 30 days from the date of notification to complete their NCIC record validations.
Effective February 2020, the DOJ implemented a process to assist agencies with their monthly NCIC Validation requirement. The following steps will take place if an agency fails to validate their records within the scheduled timeframes:
30th day Validation must be completed upon notification;
31st day Telephone call to your agency California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) coordinator (ACC);
31st day Email to your validation contact, ACC and agency head (Sheriff); and
39th day Letter sent to your agency head (Sheriff).
Letter to the Sheriff will include:
Previous efforts to notify your agency;
Notification that your agency has been placed on the non-compliant list located on California Law Enforcement Web (CLEW) as a reminder;
Advisement that your agency may be required to appear before the CLETS Advisory Committee (COC) if more than three letters are received within a calendar year.