The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) has published a revised version of its Guidelines for Developing a Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee, designed to help local criminal justice stakeholders, including government officials, enhance public safety through improved justice planning, analysis and collaboration. Armstrong Teasdale lawyers Greg Ramos and Shannon Dunham worked with Debra Allen of the National Criminal Justice Association’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee (CJCC) Advisory Council to develop numerous resources that have been adopted as part of the guidelines for communities and agencies seeking to develop collaborative structures for addressing issues facing the justice system and its constituent agencies.

The guidelines published online offer a blueprint for creating effective decision-making structures for collaboration, communication and understanding among stakeholders about one another’s roles, responsibilities, practices and policies. Ramos and Dunham provided guidance on creating information-sharing frameworks and legal governance that took into account data privacy regulations while allowing various law enforcement agencies to share data and work together more effectively.

“The Bylaws, Intergovernmental Cooperative Agreements, Intergovernmental Information Sharing Agreements, Business Associate Agreements and Platform User Agreements that Ramos and Dunham developed reflected all the legal and political interests equally, paving the legal and political path for all these different interests to work together,” said Allen.

Ramos, a partner in the firm’s Denver office, has more than 30 years of experience helping companies large and small execute on their strategic vision through corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic business transactions. Clients have leveraged his experience in technology transactions, particularly software and information technology services, to secure mission critical technology valued in the billions of dollars.

Dunham, of counsel in St. Louis, represents companies in business and transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, and the negotiation of enterprise-level agreements, including technology, software and content licensing and development.

The NIC is the only federal agency with a legislative mandate (Public Law 93-41 5) to provide specialized services to corrections from a national perspective. NIC provides practical, direct assistance in planning and implementing improvements at the federal, state and local levels.