[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3120 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3120
To encourage the entry of felony warrants into the National Crime
Information Center database by States and provide additional resources
for extradition.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 16, 2010
Mr. Specter (for himself and Mr. Durbin) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To encourage the entry of felony warrants into the National Crime
Information Center database by States and provide additional resources
for extradition.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fugitive Information Networked
Database Act of 2010'' or the ``FIND Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Nationwide, there are an estimated 2,700,000 active
Federal, State, and local warrants for the arrest of persons
charged with felony crimes.
(2) State and local law enforcement authorities have
insufficient resources to devote to searching for and
apprehending fugitives. As a result, large numbers of fugitives
evade arrest. State and local law enforcement authorities also
lack resources for extraditing fugitives who have been arrested
in other States. As a result, such fugitives frequently are
released without prosecution.
(3) Increasing the resources available for conducting
fugitive investigations and transporting fugitives between
States would increase the number of fugitives who are arrested
and prosecuted.
(4) The United States Marshals Service (referred to in this
Act as the ``USMS'') plays an integral role in the apprehension
of fugitives in the United States, and has a long history of
providing assistance and expertise to Federal, State, and local
law enforcement agencies in support of fugitive investigations,
including through 82 District Task Forces, and through the 7
Regional Fugitive Task Force Programs that have partnered with
Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies to locate and
apprehend fugitives.
(5) The USMS utilizes the Justice Prisoner and Alien
Transportation Service (referred to in this Act as the
``JPATS'') to transport Federal detainees and prisoners. It
also makes JPATS available to State and local law enforcement
agencies on a reimbursable, space-available basis for the
purpose of transporting a fugitive from the place where the
fugitive was arrested to the jurisdiction that issued the
warrant for the arrest of the fugitive. Through JPATS, these
agencies are able to reduce the cost of extradition
significantly.
(6) Expanding the availability of JPATS to State and local
law enforcement agencies would lower the cost of transporting
fugitives for extradition and lead to the prosecution of a
greater number of fugitives.
(7) Since 1967, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has
operated the National Crime Information Center, which
administers a nationwide database containing criminal history
information from the Federal Government and the States,
including outstanding arrest warrants. The National Crime
Information Center database allows a law enforcement officer
who stops a person in 1 State to obtain information about a
warrant for that person issued in another State. It contains
approximately 1,700,000 felony and misdemeanor warrants. It is
missing nearly half of the 2,800,000 to 3,200,000 of the felony
warrants issued across the Nation, including warrants for
hundreds of thousands of violent crimes.
(8) The failure of a State to enter a warrant into the
National Crime Information Center database enables a fugitive
to escape arrest even when the fugitive is stopped by a law
enforcement officer in another State, because the officer is
not aware there was a warrant issued for the fugitive. Many of
such fugitives go on to commit additional crimes. In addition,
such fugitives pose a danger to law enforcement officers who
encounter them without knowledge of the pending charges against
the fugitives or their record of fleeing law enforcement
authorities.
(9) All warrants entered into the National Crime
Information Center database must be validated on a regular
basis to ensure that the information in the warrant is still
accurate and that the warrant is still active.
(10) Improving the entry and validation of warrants in the
National Crime Information Center database would enable law
enforcement officers to identify and arrest a larger number of
fugitives, improve the safety of these officers, and better
protect communities from crime.
(11) Federal funds for State and local law enforcement are
most effective when they do not supplant, but rather supplement
State and local funds.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Active warrant.--The term ``active warrant'' means a
warrant that has not been cleared. A warrant may be cleared by
arrest or by the determination of a law enforcement agency that
a warrant has already been executed or that the subject is
deceased.
(2) Felony warrant.--The term ``felony warrant'' means any
warrant for a crime that is punishable by a term of
imprisonment exceeding 1 year.
(3) Indian country.--The term ``Indian country'' has the
meaning given the term in section 1151 of title 18, United
States Code.
(4) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the
meaning given the term in section 102 of the Federally
Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a).
(5) National crime information center database.--The term
``National Crime Information Center database'' means the
computerized index of criminal justice information operated by
the Federal Bureau of Investigation under section 534 of title
28, United States Code, and available to Federal, State, and
local law enforcement and other criminal justice agencies.
(6) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the
United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the
Northern Mariana Islands.
(7) Unit of local government.--The term ``unit of local
government''--
(A) means--
(i) any city, county, township, borough,
parish, village, or other general purpose
political subdivision of a State; or
(ii) any law enforcement district or
judicial enforcement district that is
established under applicable State law and has
the authority to, in a manner independent of
other State entities, establish a budget and
impose taxes;
(B) includes law enforcement agencies, courts, and
any other government agencies involved in the issuance
of warrants; and
(C) in the case of Indian tribes, includes tribal
law enforcement agencies, tribal courts and any other
tribal agencies involved in the issuance of warrants.
SEC. 4. GRANTS TO ENCOURAGE STATES TO ENTER FELONY WARRANTS.
(a) Authorization of Grants.--
(1) In general.--The Attorney General shall make grants to
States or Indian tribes in a manner consistent with the
National Criminal History Improvement Program, which shall be
used by States or Indian tribes, in conjunction with units of
local government, to--
(A)(i) develop and implement secure, electronic
State, local or tribal warrant management systems that
permit the prompt preparation, submission, and
validation of warrants and are compatible and
interoperable with the National Crime Information
Center database to facilitate information sharing and
to ensure that felony warrants entered into warrant
databases by State, local and tribal government
agencies can be automatically entered into the National
Crime Information Center database; or
(ii) upgrade existing State, local or tribal
electronic warrant management systems to ensure
compatibility and interoperability with the National
Crime Information Center database to facilitate
information sharing and to ensure that felony warrants
entered into warrant databases by State, local and
tribal government agencies can be automatically entered
into the National Crime Information Center database;
and
(B) ensure that all State, local, and tribal
government agencies that need access to the National
Crime Information Center database for criminal justice
purposes can access the database.
(2) Duration.--A grant awarded under this section shall
be--
(A) for a period of 1 year; and
(B) renewable at the discretion of the Attorney
General if the State seeking renewal submits an
application to the Attorney General that demonstrates
compliance with subsection (b)(2).
(3) Hiring of personnel.--Not more than 5 percent of the
grant funds awarded under this section to each State and Indian
tribe may also be used to hire additional personnel, as needed,
to validate warrants entered into the National Crime
Information Center database.
(4) Set-aside.--Not more than 5 percent of the total funds
available to be awarded under this section may be reserved for
Indian tribes.
(b) Eligibility.--
(1) In general.--In order to be eligible for a grant
authorized under subsection (a), a State or Indian tribe shall
submit to the Attorney General--
(A) a plan to develop and implement, or upgrade,
systems described in subsection (a)(1);
(B) a report that--
(i) details the number of active felony
warrants issued by the State or Indian tribe,
including felony warrants issued by units of
local government within the State or Indian
tribe;
(ii) describes the number and type of
active felony warrants that have not been
entered into a State, local, or tribal warrant
database or into the National Crime Information
Center database;
(iii) explains the reasons State, local,
and tribal government agencies have not entered
active felony warrants into the National Crime
Information Center database; and
(iv) demonstrates that State, local, and
tribal government agencies have made good faith
efforts to eliminate any such backlog; and
(C) guidelines for warrant entry by the State or
Indian tribe, including units of local government
within the State or Indian tribe, that--
(i) ensure that felony warrants issued by
the State or Indian tribe, including units of
local government within the State or Indian
tribe, will be entered into the National Crime
Information Center database; and
(ii) include a description of the
circumstances, if any, in which, as a matter of
policy, certain such warrants will not be
entered into the National Crime Information
Center database.
(2) Deposit bail and citizens right to know.--A State that
submits a grant renewal application under subsection (a)(3)(B)
shall require that each unit of local government or State
pretrial services agency in such State that has recieved grant
funds under this section file with the Attorney General and the
appropriate county clerk's office of jurisdiction the following
public reports on defendants released at the recommendation or
under the supervision of the unit of local government or State
pretrial services agency:
(A) An annual report specifying--
(i) the number of defendants assessed or
interviewed for pretrial release;
(ii) the number of indigent defendants
included in clause (i);
(iii) the number of failures to appear for
a scheduled court appearance; and
(iv) the number and type of program
noncompliance infractions committed by a
defendant released to a pretrial release
program.
(B) An annual report at the end of each year,
setting forth the budget of the unit of local
government or State pretrial services agency for the
reporting year.
(c) Report to the Attorney General.--A State or Indian tribe that
receives a grant under this section shall, 1 year after receiving the
grant, submit a report to the Attorney General that includes--
(1) the number of active felony warrants issued by that
State or Indian tribe, including units of local government
within that State or Indian tribe;
(2) the number of the active felony warrants entered into
the National Crime Information Center database; and
(3) with respect to felony warrants not entered into the
National Crime Information Center database, the reasons for not
entering such warrants.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Attorney General $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal
years 2011 through 2015 for grants to carry out the requirements of
this section.
SEC. 5. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION COORDINATION.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall provide to State, local,
and tribal government agencies the technological standard to ensure the
compatibility and interoperability of all State, local, and tribal
warrant databases with the National Crime Information Center database,
as well as other technical assistance to facilitate the implementation
of automated State, local, and tribal warrant management systems that
are compatible and interoperable with the National Crime Information
Center database.
SEC. 6. REPORT REGARDING FELONY WARRANT ENTRY.
(a) In General.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall submit to the House and Senate Committees on the Judiciary a
report regarding--
(1) the number of active felony warrants issued by each
State and Indian tribe, including felony warrants issued by
units of local government within the State or Indian tribe;
(2) the number of the active felony warrants that State,
local, and tribal government agencies have entered into the
National Crime Information Center database; and
(3) for the preceding 3 years, the number of persons in
each State with an active felony warrant who were--
(A) apprehended in other States or in Indian
country but not extradited; and
(B) apprehended in other States or in Indian
country and extradited.
(b) Assistance.--To assist in the preparation of the report
required by subsection (a), the Attorney General shall provide the
Comptroller General of the United States access to any information
collected and reviewed in connection with the grant application process
described in section 4.
(c) Report by Attorney General.--On an annual basis, the Attorney
General shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate
and the House of Representatives a report containing the information
received from the States and Indian tribes under this section.
SEC. 7. EXTRADITION ASSISTANCE.
(a) Grant Assistance.--
(1) Authorization of grant assistance.--
(A) In general.--The Attorney General shall,
subject to paragraph (4), make grants to States and
Indian tribes for periods of 1 year which shall be used
by States and Indian tribes, including units of local
government within the State or Indian tribe, to
extradite fugitives from another State or Indian
country for prosecution.
(B) Set aside.--Not more than 5 percent of the
grant funding available under this section may be
reserved for Indian tribal governments, including
tribal judicial systems.
(2) Matching funds.--The Federal share of a grant received
under this section may not exceed 80 percent of the costs of a
program or proposal funded under this section unless the
Attorney General waives, wholly or in part, the requirements of
this paragraph in the event of extraordinary circumstances.
(3) Grant applications.--A State or Indian tribe seeking a
grant under this subsection shall submit an application to the
Attorney General that--
(A) describes the process and any impediments to
extraditing fugitives apprehended in other States or in
Indian country after being notified of such fugitives'
apprehension;
(B) specifies the way in which grant amounts will
be used, including the means of transportation the
State or Indian tribe, or unit of local government
within the State or Indian tribe, intends to use for
extradition and whether the State or Indian tribe or
unit of local government will participate in the JPATS
program, as well as whether it has participated in that
program in the past;
(C) specifies the number of fugitives extradited by
all jurisdictions within that State or Indian tribe for
each of the 3 years preceding the date of the grant
application; and
(D) specifies the total amount spent by all
jurisdictions within that State or Indian tribe on
fugitive extraditions for each of the 3 years preceding
the date of the grant application.
(4) Eligibility.--
(A) In general.--In determining whether to award a
grant under this section to a State or Indian tribe,
the Attorney General shall consider the following:
(i) The information in the application
submitted under paragraph (3).
(ii) The percentage of felony warrants
issued by the State or Indian tribe, including
units of local government within the State or
Indian tribe, that were entered into the
National Crime Information Center database, as
calculated with the information provided under
subsection (b) and, beginning 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, whether the
State or Indian tribe has made substantial
progress in improving the entry of felony
warrants into the National Crime Information
Center database.
(iii) For grants issued after an initial 1
year grant, whether the State or Indian tribe,
including units of local government within the
State or Indian tribe, has increased
substantially the number of fugitives
extradited for prosecution.
(B) Preferences.--In allocating extradition grants
under this section, the Attorney General should give
preference to States or Indian tribes that--
(i) 3 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, have entered at least 50 percent of
active felony warrants into the National Crime
Information Center database;
(ii) 5 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, have entered at least 70 percent of
active felony warrants into the National Crime
Information Center database; and
(iii) 7 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, have entered at least 90 percent
of active felony warrants into the National
Crime Information Center database.
(5) Use of funds.--States and Indian tribes, including
units of local government within the State or Indian tribe,
receiving a grant under this section may use grant monies to
credit the costs of transporting State and local detainees on
behalf of such State to the Justice Prisoner and Alien
Transportation System.
(6) Recordkeeping.--States and Indian tribes, including
units of local government within the State or Indian tribe,
that receive a grant under this section shall maintain and
report such data, records, and information (programmatic and
financial) as the Attorney General may require.
(7) Audit.--
(A) In general.--The Attorney General shall conduct
an audit of the use of funds by States and Indian
tribes receiving grants under this section 18 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act and
biennially thereafter.
(B) Ineligibility.--A State or Indian tribe, or
unit of local government within a State or Indian
tribe, that fails to increase substantially the number
of fugitives extradited after receiving a grant under
this section will be ineligible for future funds.
(8) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $30,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015.
(b) Active Felony Warrants Issued by States and Indian Tribes.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter on a date
designated by the Attorney General, to assist the Attorney
General in making a determination under subsection (a)(4)
concerning eligibility to receive a grant, each State and
Indian tribe applying for a grant under this section shall
submit to the Attorney General--
(A) the total number of active felony warrants
issued by the State or Indian tribe, including units of
local government within the State or Indian tribe,
regardless of the age of the warrants; and
(B) a description of the categories of felony
warrants not entered into the National Crime
Information Center database and the reasons for not
entering such warrants.
(2) Failure to provide.--A State or Indian tribe that fails
to provide the information described in paragraph (1) by the
date required under such paragraph shall be ineligible to
receive any funds under subsection (a), until such date as it
provides the information described in paragraph (1) to the
Attorney General.
(c) Attorney General Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than January 31 of each year,
the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the
Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of
the House of Representatives a report--
(A) containing the information submitted by the
States and Indian tribes under subsection (b);
(B) containing the percentage of active felony
warrants issued by those States and Indian tribes that
has been entered into the National Crime Information
Center database, as determined under subsection
(a)(4)(A)(ii);
(C) containing a description of the categories of
felony warrants that have not been entered into the
National Crime Information Center database and the
reasons such warrants were not entered, as provided to
the Attorney General under subsection (b)(1);
(D) comparing the warrant entry information to data
from previous years and describing the progress of
States and Indian tribes in entering active felony
warrants into the National Crime Information Center
database;
(E) containing the number of persons that each
State or Indian tribe, including units of local
government within the State or Indian tribe, has
extradited from other States or in Indian country for
prosecution and describing any progress the State or
Indian tribe has made in improving the number of
fugitives extradited for prosecution; and
(F) describing the practices of the States and
Indian tribes regarding the collection, maintenance,
automation, and transmittal of felony warrants to the
National Crime Information Center, that the Attorney
General considers to be best practices.
(2) Best practices.--Not later than January 31 of each
year, the Attorney General shall provide the information
regarding best practices, referred to in paragraph (1)(F), to
each State and Indian tribe submitting information to the
National Crime Information Center.
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