As used in this article, the term:

(1) "Career criminal" means any person who has been previously convicted three times under the laws of this state of felonies or under the laws of any other state or the United States of crimes which would be felonies if committed within this state.

(1.1) "Center" means the Georgia Crime Information Center.

(2) "Council" means the Georgia Crime Information Center Council.

(3) "Criminal justice agencies" means those public agencies at all levels of government which perform as their principal function activities relating to the apprehension, prosecution, adjudication, or rehabilitation of criminal offenders.

(4) "Criminal justice information" means the following classes of information:

(A) "Criminal history record information" means information collected by criminal justice agencies on individuals consisting of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, accusations, information, or other formal charges, and any disposition arising therefrom, sentencing, correctional supervision, and release. The term does not include identification information, such as fingerprint records, to the extent that such information does not indicate involvement of the individual in the criminal justice system.

(B) "Restricted data" means data which contains information relating to data-gathering techniques, distribution methods, manuals, and forms.

(C) "Secret data" means data which includes information dealing with those operational and programming elements which prevent unlawful intrusion into the Georgia Crime Information Center/Criminal Justice Information System computer system, the communications network, and satellite computer systems handling criminal justice information.

(D) "Sensitive data" means data which contains statistical information in the form of reports, lists, and documentation, which information may identify a group characteristic. It may apply to groups of persons, articles, vehicles, etc., such as white males or stolen guns.

(5) "Criminal justice information system" means all those agencies, procedures, mechanisms, media, and forms, as well as the information itself, which are or which become involved in the origination, transmittal, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of information related to reported offenses, offenders, and the subsequent actions related to such events or persons.

(6) "Law enforcement agency" means a governmental unit of one or more persons employed full time or part time by the state, a state agency or department, or a political subdivision of the state for the purpose of preventing and detecting crime and enforcing state laws or local ordinances, employees of which unit are authorized to make arrests for crimes while acting within the scope of their authority.

(7) "Offense" means an act which is a felony, a misdemeanor, or a violation of a county or municipal ordinance.