Division of Criminal Justice Services

Internet Privacy Policy

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Introduction

Thank you for visiting the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services' (DCJS) website. This website is designed to make it easier and more efficient for individuals and businesses to interact with DCJS. DCJS recognizes that it is critical for individuals and businesses to be confident that their privacy is protected when they visit the DCJS website.

Consistent with the provisions of the Internet Security and Privacy Act, the Freedom of Information Law, and the Personal Privacy Protection Law, this policy describes DCJS privacy practices regarding information collected from users of this website. This policy describes what information is collected and how that information is used. Because this privacy policy only applies to this website, you should examine the privacy policy of any website, including other state agency websites, that you access using this website.

For purposes of this policy, "personal information" means any information concerning a natural person which, because of name, number, symbol, mark, or other identifier, can be used to identify that natural person. DCJS does not collect any personal information about you unless you provide that information voluntarily by sending an e-mail or by initiating an online transaction, such as a survey, registration or order form.

Information Collected Automatically When You Visit this Website

When visiting this website DCJS automatically collects and stores the following information about your visit:

  • The Internet Protocol Address, but not the e-mail address and domain name used. The Internet Protocol Address is a numerical identifier assigned either to your Internet service provider or directly to your computer;
  • The date and time you visited this site;
  • The web pages or services you accessed at this site;
  • If you downloaded a form, the form that was downloaded; and
  • Your Browser capabilities, including Browser Maker, Browser Version, Screen Resolution and Flash version.

None of the foregoing information is deemed to constitute personal information.

The information that is collected automatically is used to improve this website's content and to help DCJS understand how users are interacting with the website. This information is collected for statistical analysis, to determine what information is of most and least interest to our users, and to improve the utility of the material available on the website. The information is not collected for commercial marketing purposes and DCJS is not authorized to sell or otherwise disclose the information collected from the website for commercial marketing purposes.

Cookies

Cookies are simple text files stored on your web browser to provide a means of distinguishing among users of this website. The use of cookies is a standard practice among Internet websites. The DCJS site uses cookies in a variety of ways but never stores personal information in them. We use Cookies to:

  • Remember your last visited tab or panel on pages that utilize our tab or panel plugins
  • Remember your last letter you clicked to sort a sortable lists by
  • Remember whether or not you want to view captions on videos

Information Collected When You E-mail this Website or Initiate an Online Transaction

During your visit to this website you may send an e-mail to DCJS. Your e-mail address and the contents of your message will be collected. The information collected is not limited to text characters and may include audio, video, and graphic information formats included in the message. Your e-mail address and the information included in your message will be used to respond to you, to address issues you identify, to improve this website, or to forward your message to another State agency for appropriate action. Your e-mail address is not collected for commercial purposes and DCJS is not authorized to sell or otherwise disclose your e-mail address for commercial purposes.

During your visit to this website you may initiate a transaction such as a survey, registration, or other form. The information, including personal information, volunteered by you in initiating the transaction is used by DCJS to operate DCJS programs, which include the provision of services and information. The information collected by DCJS may be disclosed by DCJS for those purposes that may be reasonably ascertained from the nature and terms of the transaction in connection with which the information was submitted.

DCJS does not knowingly collect personal information from children or create profiles of children through this website. Users are cautioned, however, that the collection of personal information submitted in an e-mail will be treated as though it was submitted by an adult, and may, unless exempted from access by federal or State law, be subject to public access. DCJS strongly encourages parents and teachers to be involved in children's Internet activities and to provide guidance whenever children are asked to provide personal information online.

Information and Choice

As noted above, DCJS does not collect any personal information about you during your visit to this website unless you provide that information voluntarily by sending an e-mail or initiating an online transaction such as a survey, registration or other form. You may choose not to send us an e-mail, respond to a survey, or complete an order form. While your choice not to participate in these activities may limit your ability to receive specific services or products through this website, it will not prevent you from requesting information or products from DCJS by other means and will not normally have an impact on your ability to take advantage of other features of the website, including browsing or downloading publicly available information.

Disclosure of Information Collected Through This Website

The collection of information through this website and the disclosure of that information are subject to the provisions of the Internet Security and Privacy Act. DCJS will only collect personal information through this website or disclose personal information collected through this website if the user has consented to the collection or disclosure of such personal information. The voluntary disclosure of personal information to DCJS by the user, whether solicited or unsolicited, constitutes consent to the collection and disclosure of the information by DCJS for the purposes for which the user disclosed the information to the DCJS, as was reasonably ascertainable from the nature and terms of the disclosure.

However, DCJS may collect or disclose personal information without user consent if the collection or disclosure is: (1) necessary to perform the statutory duties of the DCJS, or necessary for DCJS to operate a program authorized by law, or authorized by state or federal statute or regulation; (2) made pursuant to a court order or by law; (3) for the purpose of validating the identity of the user; or (4) of information to be used solely for statistical purposes that is in a form that cannot be used to identify any particular person.

Further, the disclosure of information, including personal information, collected through this website is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Law and the Personal Privacy Protection Law.

DCJS may disclose personal information to federal or state law enforcement authorities to enforce DCJS rights against unauthorized access or attempted unauthorized access to DCJS information technology assets. DCJS will report to the appropriate law enforcement agencies any activities that are or may be unlawful, as well as e-mail containing or implying threats or other illegal activity.

Retention of Information Collected Through this Website

The information collected through this website is retained by DCJS in accordance with the records retention and disposition requirements of the New York State Arts & Cultural Affairs Law. In general, the Internet services logs of DCJS, comprising electronic files or automated logs created to monitor access and use of Agency services provided through this website, are retained for three years and then destroyed. Information, including personal information, that you submit in an e-mail or when you initiate an online transaction such as a survey, registration form, or order form is retained in accordance with the records retention and disposition schedule established for the records of the program unit to which you submitted the information. Information concerning these records retention and disposition schedules may be obtained through the Internet privacy policy contact listed in this policy.

Access to and Correction of Personal Information Collected Through this Website

Any user may submit a request to the DCJS Privacy Compliance Officer to determine whether personal information pertaining to that user has been collected through this website. Any such request shall be made in writing to the address below and must be accompanied by reasonable proof of identity of the user. Reasonable proof of identity may include verification of a signature, inclusion of an identifier generally known only to the user, or similar appropriate identification. The Privacy Compliance Officer may be reached at:

Privacy Compliance Officer
Office of Legal Services
NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services
Alfred E. Smith Building
80 South Swan St.
Albany, New York 12210

The privacy compliance officer shall, within five (5) business days of the date of the receipt of a proper request: (i) provide access to the personal information; (ii) deny access in writing, explaining the reasons therefore; or (iii) acknowledge the receipt of the request in writing, stating the approximate date when the request will be granted or denied, which date shall not be more than thirty (30) days from the date of the acknowledgment.

In the event that DCJS has collected personal information pertaining to a user through the state agency website and that information is to be provided to the user pursuant to the user's request, the privacy compliance officer shall inform the user of his or her right to request that the personal information be amended or corrected under the procedures set forth in section 95 of the Public Officers Law.

Confidentiality and Integrity of Personal Information Collected Through this Website

DCJS is strongly committed to protecting personal information collected through this website against unauthorized access, use or disclosure. Consequently, DCJS limits employee access to personal information collected through this website to only those employees who need access to the information in the performance of their official duties. Employees who have access to this information are required to follow appropriate procedures in connection with any disclosures of personal information.

In addition, DCJS has implemented procedures to safeguard the integrity of its information technology assets, including, but not limited to, authentication, monitoring, auditing, and encryption. These security procedures have been integrated into the design, implementation, and day-to-day operations of this website as part of our continuing commitment to the security of electronic content as well as the electronic transmission of information.

For website security purposes and to maintain the availability of the website for all users, DCJS employs software to monitor traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or otherwise damage this website.

Disclaimer

The information provided in this privacy policy should not be construed as giving business, legal, or other advice, or warranting as fail proof, the security of information provided through this website.

Accessibility Statement

The content of the DCJS website has been reviewed and revised to comply with the NYS Office for Technology (OFT) Policy NYS-P08-005, the World-Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Level A Accessibility Guidelines and Section 508 of the Workforce Investment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Contact us at pressinfo@dcjs.ny.gov if you have trouble accessing any page with adaptive technology.

Contact Information

For questions regarding this Internet privacy policy, please contact:

Privacy Compliance Officer (via e-mail)

via regular mail:

Privacy Compliance Officer
Office of Legal Services
NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services
Alfred E. Smith Building
80 South Swan St.
Albany, New York 12210