What is Nlets, exactly?
Nlets – the International Justice and Public Safety Network, is a not-for-profit computer-based message switching system that links together and supports every state, local, and federal law enforcement, justice, and public safety agency for the purposes of sharing and exchanging critical information.
In simpler terms, we are the information superhighway of the law enforcement community. Just like a highway exists to transport vehicles, we exist to move criminal justice information where it needs to go.
However, it is important to note that we do not own any of the data that is being used in the criminal justice or public safety realm – we exist solely for the purpose of securely accessing that information for the criminal justice community.
History
Nlets was founded in the 1960s, but our role has substantially changed since that time. Originally, the name, ‘Nlets’, stood for ‘National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System’, but as our role in the community grew to encompass far more than that, we transitioned away from that acronym to a new title: The International Justice & Public Safety Network. However, since many of our members have known us as ‘Nlets’ for more than fifty years, we decided to combine the two names for recognition’s sake.
As we continue to evolve as an organization, Nlets has become known for breaking ground on new and innovative information sharing technology, for leading-edge grant work to develop breakthrough programs, and for supporting law enforcement.
What Kind of Information Can Nlets Users Access?
Through the Nlets network, law enforcement and criminal justice agencies can access a wide range of information: everything from standard driver license and vehicle registration information to Wildlife Registration data. The collections of data sets that Nlets users can access are commonly referred to as ‘Message Keys’.
To view which data sets are available and where, view our Message Key Map.
The array of services we provide is constantly expanding as we strive to meet the growing demands for information by our law enforcement partners, so we recommend subscribing to our newsletter to stay up-to-date with any changes we make to our service offerings.
Additional Information
If you are interested in learning more information about Nlets, we recommend checking out the blogs below.
If you have additional questions about Nlets and how we operate, you may also email training@nlets.org.