Attorney General Lockyer Announces Nick Dedier Honored as One of "Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers"

Government Technology Magazine Honors AG's Chief Information Officer

Tuesday, March 11, 2003
Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

(SACRAMENTO) – Attorney General Bill Lockyer today announced that Nick Dedier, Chief Information Officer for the Department of Justice (DOJ), has been honored by Government Technology magazine as one of the nation's "Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers." Dedier was selected for his implementation of key computerized programs that help law enforcement throughout the state access critical information in the field.

"Nick Dedier has helped take the Department of Justice and California's law enforcement community to new levels of technology," Lockyer said. "Thanks to his expertise, California has the nation's largest state electronic fingerprinting and photo identification systems, both crucial to solving crimes and protecting the public."

Appointed as Chief Information Officer by Lockyer last year, Dedier was instrumental in developing a computer database that contains 13.4 million fingerprints that law enforcement can easily access to quickly identify criminal suspects.

"Now you can get background checks done on individuals in a matter of hours, where it used to take 30 to 45 days," Dedier told the magazine.

Dedier also oversaw the development of Cal-Photo, a partnership with the state's Department of Motor Vehicles that provides peace officers with immediate access to more than 37 million driver licenses and law enforcement photos. Prior to creation of the database, gathering a suspect's photo could take hours, if not days.

A 27-year veteran of the DOJ, Dedier was appointed as director of the department's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) in 1996. Lockyer named him chief information officer in 2002, when CJIS was reorganized to centralize all information technology services and related programs throughout the department. He currently is charged with integrating and expanding the department's other computerized systems, including the state's registry of sexual offenders.

A resident of Elk Grove, Dedier is married and the father of two.

# # #