(See Minnesota Statute 299C.40)

Purpose:

The Comprehensive Incident Based Reporting System (CIBRS) is a repository of incident information submitted by law enforcement agencies in Minnesota. This electronic data-sharing program is designed to provide law enforcement access to data submitted by outside agencies on a statewide level.

The intent is to point law enforcement personnel to information gathered by other agencies to further investigations. Data provided by CIBRS is not meant to become part of the official investigative case file. For official use, the officer should obtain the information from the submitting agency.

Access:

Only department members who have met the certification requirements will be allowed to access the CIBRS database.  The Special Investigation Unit and Technology Unit personnel are authorized to access the CIBRS data base.  If a unit commander identifies a need for such access they need to make a written request directly to the TAC.  Upon TAC approval access may be granted. This access is solely for the purposes to:

  • Further or prepare a criminal case.

  • Serve process in a criminal case.

  • Inform law enforcement of possible safety issues before service of process.

  • Enforce no contact orders.

  • Locate missing persons.

  • Conduct a pre-employment background check on a candidate for a sworn officer position.

    Any employee of this department determined to have misused the CIBRS system will be subject to criminal and internal investigations, and the privilege to access the CIBRS system may be revoked. The strict adherence to Data Practices is paramount and in keeping with the departments intent to maintain public trust.  The commanders of the units will audit and reviewed their personnel queries to ensure use is ethical and transparent. 

    Classification of CIBRS Data:

    All data in the CIBRS system is classified as private or confidential. No data contained within the CIBRS system is public. All data gathered from the CIBRS database will be properly disposed of after its intended purpose.

    Original documents obtained from the submitting agency will be handled as usual in accordance with General Orders 235.10: Dissemination of Criminal Data, 235.30: Case File Maintenance and 338.00: Background Unit.

    Access of CIBRS Data by the Data Subject:

    Individuals requesting CIBRS data on themselves must specifically ask for data contained within the CIBRS system. The subject will be referred to the records unit for assistance. No employee may release data to the subject except for the records unit manager or data compliance officer.

    An individual may file a data challenge questioning the accuracy and/or completeness of the CIBRS data. An individual who wants to make a data challenge should be referred to the records unit manager or data compliance officer. The following requirements must be met and actions taken:

  • The request must be made in writing by the subject of the data and their identity must be verified through a government issued photo ID. The request must describe the nature of the inaccuracies.

  • The responsible authority will then ensure that the record(s) in question is flagged within the CIBRS database when the challenge request is initiated.

  • Within 30 days, the record challenge will be addressed, and a determination will be made by the chief of police or designee.

    1. Sustained challenges will be corrected or deleted upon determination. A letter will be sent to the data subject informing them of the results of their challenge. The responsible authority will then update the CIBRS database marking the record(s) in question as having been sustained. CIBRS will then automatically notify the responsible authorities of all agencies that have viewed the record(s) in question within the last year.

    2. If a challenge is not sustained, and the data will not be altered, a letter will be sent to the data subject informing them of the results of their challenge. They will also be informed that any appeal to this decision must be made to the Minnesota Department of Administration in Saint Paul.The responsible authority will then ensure the flag previously placed on the data is changed to decline.

      If a data challenge correction is received from another agency in regards to information that this agency has obtained from the CIBRS database, the correction will be forwarded to the employee who originally obtained the data. The employee will then properly dispose of the original data and replace it with the updated data.

   Certification:

Prior to accessing, all authorized law enforcement personnel authorized access will complete the BCA training program and pass the certification test. Employees must re-certify every two years. The technology commander shall coordinate training and certification.

Revised April 27, 2018

Last Edited: April 27, 2018