TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Technology Update By: Christopher J. Braun MSIT, PCPA Technology Coordinator
Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence (MCDV) and Relationship to Victim (RTV) Codes
PA CHIEFS OF POLICE ASSOCIATION
Effective January 28, 2020, important changes were made to the data collected during the booking and fingerprint process. These changes are necessary due to the dangerous nature of domestic violence situations and cases for both the safety of the responding police officers and the victims. Because there are different State and Federal
Firearms prohibitions associated with Domestic Violence crimes, and the previous processes capture insufficient information to adequately define Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence, modifications were made to improve the accuracy of criminal records. These modifications now meet the NICS definitions of Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence (MCDV). The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) has expanded the automated fingerprint protocol, adding blocks to the manual fingerprint card to capture the Relationship to Victim (RTV) for all crimes of Domestic Violence in addition to the MCDV. The ability to capture and integrate this information across several PSP Systems will assist with restricting prohibited persons from obtaining firearms. While this
Effective January 28, 2020, important changes were made to the data collected during the booking and fingerprint process. These changes are necessary due to the dangerous nature of domestic violence situations and cases for both the safety of the responding police officers and the victims. 48
requires a little extra work, the result is added protection for the responding officers, the victims of domestic violence, and our Pennsylvania communities. In cases where the arresting officer is not present at the time of booking, the person responsible for booking the suspect must know the relationship between the suspect and the victim in the crimes associated with domestic violence. Therefore, some police departments and central booking sites will have to add additional documentation about the relationship to the victim. Again, this information is critical to everyone’s safety, including the police officers. A short video and written guides for either ink cards or livescan processing can be obtained from the PCPA Web site https://pcpa.memberclicks.net/ central-booking-training-resources. For questions contact the PSP AFIS room: 717-783-5515 EMAIL: RA-PSPAFISSUPERVISOR@PA.GOV FAX: 717-772-3681. PAVTN
