Five Commonly Asked Questions About Nlets

May 27, 2021

Commonly Asked Questions About Nlets

After an Nlets employee is asked what they do, one of the first questions they are asked is, ‘Can you fix my speeding ticket?’

And, of course, the answer is no.

But we are asked dozens of other questions as well, and today, we’d like to share some of the most asked questions (and answers) with you.

1. Are NCIC and Nlets the Same Thing? 

Simply put, the answer is no. NCIC and Nlets are partners, but we aren’t the same. The FBI’s NCIC is a centralized information system that facilitates the flow of criminal justice data between federal, state, local law enforcement, and other criminal justice agencies. In contrast, Nlets is a self-funded, private, not-for-profit corporation funded and governed solely by the 54 lead law enforcement agencies that make up the principal customers of Nlets. Nlets has created dozens of partnerships for securely exchanging data and for criminal justice information sharing.

2. Is Nlets a Vendor?

We are not. We work closely with both our industry partners and our membership, but we are not a vendor. Instead, think of us as the hub of information sharing. We facilitate a great deal of information sharing between our membership and our industry partners.

3. Nlets Can Only Run Driver and Vehicle Registrations, Right?

We do access driver and vehicle registration information, which is critical to the roadside officer, but we do so much more than that! We have dozens and dozens of resources accessible to our users. Rather than list them all out here, please check out our website and wiki for more information about the other resources we make available to our users.

4. Does Nlets Own and Control the Data They Access?

While a common misunderstanding, we do not own or control the data we access! Instead, think of us like the superhighway of information sharing.  We facilitate the sharing of the information between the agencies that own the data and deliver it to our members within seconds, but we don’t own the information itself.

5. Can Anyone Become an Nlets Strategic Partner?

Nope! One of the requirements to become a Strategic Partner is that the organization must serve the same mission as Nlets. In some way, it has to support justice and public safety and/or other like-minded law enforcement entities.

So, there you have some of the most asked questions about Nlets. We know that we didn’t answer everything, so feel free to reach out to Bonnie Locke, Nlets' Chief Marketing Officer, at blocke@nlets.org if you have any other questions.