---

Audio Transcript

Mollie Halpern: The FBI’s computerized system that has assisted in investigations such as the Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people marks its 50th anniversary this year.

The National Crime Information Center, or NCIC, provides instant and vital information to the country’s law enforcement agencies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

It’s the go-to tool used to identify an individual as either a fugitive or a missing person, indicate if a vehicle is stolen, and provide protection for the public and law enforcement personnel.

John Derbas: Our partners in law enforcement have called the NCIC the lifeblood of law enforcement, primarily because NCIC supplies law enforcement with critical information they need to do their job.

Mollie Halpern: That was Deputy Assistant Director John Derbas of the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division.

NCIC contains about 12 million active records.

It hit a new all-time high last year when it processed about 17.5 million transactions in one day.

A plan is in the works to modernize and expand NCIC’s capabilities.

Derbas: Our hope for NCIC for the future is that through enhanced technology, that NCIC will be more user-friendly for the officers on the street.

Halpern: With FBI, This Week, I’m Mollie Halpern of the Bureau.