GW TEAMS WITH PRIVATE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FIRMS TO ANALYZE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE INFORMATION SHARING SYSTEM Overarching Goal is to Increase and Improve Flow of Information Among Organizations Involved in Federal, State and Local Justice and Public Safety ASHBURN, Va. — The George Washington University’s Cyber Security Policy and Research Institute (CSPRI) and the Integrated Justice Information Systems (IJIS) Institute announce today the establishment of a lab at GW’s Virginia Campus to conduct performance testing on a technology integration and information sharing tool developed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP). GW and the IJIS institute are joining forces specifically to analyze the OJP-sponsored Global Justice Extensible Markup Language Data Dictionary (GJXDD). The GJXDD is part of ongoing research and educational efforts by the OJP and others to improve system integration and information sharing in the justice and public safety communities. “There is a growing trend towards more integrated databases in law enforcement, with the goal of creating a more effective justice system and improved public safety,” said Dianne Martin, director of GW’s CSPRI. “GW and the IJIS Institute are contributing to this goal by studying a specific DOJ-developed database and recommending improvements to the GJXDD to ensure it is the best available resource of information for the justice and public safety communities.” “The member companies of the IJIS Institute are very excited about the partnership with The George Washington University in this important effort to address what we all believe to be a national priority,” said Paul Wormeli, executive director of the IJIS Institute. “The partnership of academia and industry has a tremendous potential to contribute to the body of knowledge about justice system integration including issues of cybersecurity, privacy and more effective information exchange.” The completed research and recommendations for GJXDD by GW and the IJIS Institute will be publicized and distributed to agencies throughout the country using the system. Through the initial agreement between GW and the IJIS Institute, the groups will collaborate on GJXDD performance tests in the 500 square-foot test lab on the GW Virginia Campus through July 30, 2004. Two GW graduate students and one GW research faculty member will manage the analysis of the GJXDD, based on a test plan developed by the IJIS Institute. “Justice-related information technology is an area GW, and the GW Virginia Campus in particular, will continue to be involved in,” said John Wilson, executive dean of the GW Virginia Campus. “With our growing expertise in homeland security we look forward to assisting not only justice and public safety organizations but every group involved in making our nation a safer place.” The IJIS Institute is a non-profit corporation founded in the spring of 2001 and sustained by 52 information technology companies that are involved in the development and implementation of justice information systems. The institute is funded primarily by grants from the OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance of the U.S. DOJ to provide technology assistance, training programs, and other company-neutral technology support to state and local governments that are engaged in building integrated justice information systems. The Cyber Security Policy and Research Institute, initially established in October 1993 as the Cyberspace Policy Institute, is a center for GW and the Washington area to promote technical research and policy analysis of problems that have a significant computer security and information assurance component. Inside GW, the institute bridges discipline barriers to bring together researchers from all of GW’s schools with interests in policy issues related to computer technology, the Internet and security of critical infrastructure. Outside of the University, it works with government and private organizations to study the impact of rapid technological change on business, government and society and the infrastructure security problems caused by the convergence of data and organizations in a networked world. Conveniently located in the Northern Virginia technology corridor near Dulles International Airport, the GW Virginia Campus is the University’s research and technology Campus. The 90-acre campus is a robust cluster of executive education and technology programs and world-class research initiatives in transportation safety and security, information technology and telecommunications. Since opening in August 1991, annual research funding at the campus has grown from $50,000 to more than $17 million. For more news about the GW Virginia Campus, visit www.gwvirginia.gwu.edu/news. - GW - Return to News Releases Directory

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