Congress calls on the President to convene a national summit on violence in America prior to convening the Commission established under this subchapter.
(Pub. L. 103–322, title XXVII, §270001, Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2089.)
There is established a commission to be known as the “National Commission on Crime Control and Prevention”. The Commission shall be composed of 28 members appointed as follows:
(1) 10 persons by the President, not more than 6 of whom shall be of the same major political party.
(2) 9 persons by the President pro tempore of the Senate, 5 of whom shall be appointed on the recommendation of the Majority Leader of the Senate and the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, and 4 of whom shall be appointed on the recommendation of the Minority Leader of the Senate and the ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
(3) 9 persons appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in consultation with the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, and 4 of whom shall be appointed on the recommendation of the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, in consultation with the ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary.
The Commission shall establish committees or task forces from among its members for the examination of specific subject areas and the carrying out of other functions or responsibilities of the Commission, including committees or task forces for the examination of the subject areas of crime and violence generally, the causes of the demand for drugs, violence in schools, and violence against women, as described in subsections (b) through (e) of section 14194 of this title.
(1) At least 1 member of the Commission appointed by the President, at least 2 members of the Commission appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate, and at least 2 members of the Commission appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be persons well-qualified to participate in the Commission's examination of the subject area of crime and violence generally, with education, training, expertise, or experience in such areas as law enforcement, law, sociology, psychology, social work, and ethnography and urban poverty (including health care, housing, education, and employment).
(2) At least 1 member of the Commission appointed by the President, at least 2 members of the Commission appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate, and at least 2 members of the Commission appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be persons well-qualified to participate in the Commission's examination of the subject area of the causes of the demand for drugs, with education, training, expertise, or experience in such areas as addiction, biomedicine, sociology, psychology, law, and ethnography and urban poverty (including health care, housing, education, and employment).
(3) At least 1 member of the Commission appointed by the President, at least 2 members of the Commission appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate, and at least 2 members of the Commission appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be persons well-qualified to participate in the Commission's examination of the subject area of violence in schools, with education, training, expertise, or experience in such areas as law enforcement, education, school governance policy and teaching, law, sociology, psychology, and ethnography and urban poverty (including health care, housing, education, and employment).
(4) At least 1 member of the Commission appointed by the President, at least 2 members of the Commission appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate, and at least 2 members of the Commission appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be persons well-qualified to participate in the Commission's examination of the subject area of violence against women, as survivors of violence, or as persons with education, training, expertise, or experience in such areas as law enforcement, law, judicial administration, prosecution, defense, victim services or advocacy in sexual assault or domestic violence cases (including medical services and counseling), and protection of victims’ rights.
(Pub. L. 103–322, title XXVII, §270002, Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2089.)
The purposes of the Commission are as follows:
(1) To develop a comprehensive proposal for preventing and controlling crime and violence in the United States, including cost estimates for implementing any recommendations made by the Commission.
(2) To bring attention to successful models and programs in crime prevention and crime control.
(3) To reach out beyond the traditional criminal justice community for ideas for controlling and preventing crime.
(4) To recommend improvements in the coordination of local, State, Federal, and international crime control and prevention efforts, including efforts relating to crime near international borders.
(5) To make a comprehensive study of the economic and social factors leading to or contributing to crime and violence, including the causes of illicit drug use and other substance abuse, and to develop specific proposals for legislative and administrative actions to reduce crime and violence and the factors that contribute to it.
(6) To recommend means of utilizing criminal justice resources as effectively as possible, including targeting finite correctional facility space to the most serious and violent offenders, and considering increased use of intermediate sanctions for offenders who can be dealt with adequately by such means.
(7) To examine distinctive crime problems and the impact of crime on members of minority groups, Indians living on reservations, and other groups defined by race, ethnicity, religion, age, disability, or other characteristics, and to recommend specific responses to the distinctive crime problems of such groups.
(8) To examine the problem of sexual assaults, domestic violence, and other criminal and unlawful acts that particularly affect women, and to recommend Federal, State, and local strategies for more effectively preventing and punishing such crimes and acts.
(9) To examine the treatment of victims in Federal, State, and local criminal justice systems, and to develop recommendations to enhance and protect the rights of victims.
(10) To examine the ability of Federal, State, and local criminal justice systems to administer criminal law and criminal sanctions impartially without discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or other legally proscribed grounds, and to make recommendations for correcting any deficiencies in the impartial administration of justice on these grounds.
(11) To examine the nature, scope, causes, and complexities of violence in schools and to recommend a comprehensive response to that problem.
(Pub. L. 103–322, title XXVII, §270003, Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2091.)
The responsibilities of the Commission shall include such study and consultation as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes set forth in section 14193 of this title, including the specific measures described in subsections (b) through (e) of this section in relation to the subject areas addressed in those subsections.
In addressing the subject of crime and violence generally, the activities of the Commission shall include the following:
(1) Reviewing the effectiveness of traditional criminal justice approaches in preventing and controlling crime and violence.
(2) Examining the impact that changes in Federal and State law have had in controlling crime and violence.
(3) Examining the impact of changes in Federal immigration laws and policies and increased development and growth along United States international borders on crime and violence in the United States, particularly among the Nation's youth.
(4) Examining the problem of youth gangs and providing recommendations as to how to reduce youth involvement in violent crime.
(5) Examining the extent to which the use of dangerous weapons in the commission of crime has contributed to violence and murder in the United States.
(6) Convening field hearings in various regions of the country to receive testimony from a cross section of criminal justice professionals, business leaders, elected officials, medical doctors, and other persons who wish to participate.
(7) Reviewing all segments of the Nation's criminal justice systems, including the law enforcement, prosecution, defense, judicial, and corrections components in developing the crime control and prevention proposal.
In addressing the subject of the causes of the demand for drugs, the activities of the Commission shall include the following:
(1) Examining the root causes of illicit drug use and abuse in the United States, including by compiling existing research regarding those root causes, and including consideration of the following factors:
(A) The characteristics of potential illicit drug users and abusers or drug traffickers, including age and social, economic, and educational backgrounds.
(B) Environmental factors that contribute to illicit drug use and abuse, including the correlation between unemployment, poverty, and homelessness and drug experimentation and abuse.
(C) The effects of substance use and abuse by a relative or friend in contributing to the likelihood and desire of an individual to experiment with illicit drugs.
(D) Aspects of, and changes in cultural values, attitudes and traditions that contribute to illicit drug use and abuse.
(E) The physiological and psychological factors that contribute to the desire for illicit drugs.
(2) Evaluating Federal, State, and local laws and policies on the prevention of drug abuse, control of unlawful production, distribution and use of controlled substances, and the efficacy of sentencing policies with regard to those laws.
(3) Analyzing the allocation of resources among interdiction of controlled substances entering the United States, enforcement of Federal laws relating to the unlawful production, distribution, and use of controlled substances, education with regard to and the prevention of the unlawful use of controlled substances, and treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers.
(4) Analyzing current treatment and rehabilitation methods and making recommendations for improvements.
(5) Identifying any existing gaps in drug abuse policy that result from the lack of attention to the root causes of drug abuse.
(6) Assessing the needs of government at all levels for resources and policies for reducing the overall desire of individuals to experiment with and abuse illicit drugs.
(7) Making recommendations regarding necessary improvements in policies for reducing the use of illicit drugs in the United States.
In addressing the subject of violence in schools, the activities of the Commission shall include the following:
(1) Defining the causes of violence in schools.
(2) Defining the scope of the national problem of violence in schools.
(3) Providing statistics and data on the problem of violence in schools on a State-by-State basis.
(4) Investigating the problem of youth gangs and their relation to violence in schools and providing recommendations on how to reduce youth involvement in violent crime in schools.
(5) Examining the extent to which dangerous weapons have contributed to violence and murder in schools.
(6) Exploring the extent to which the school environment has contributed to violence in schools.
(7) Reviewing the effectiveness of current approaches in preventing violence in schools.
In addressing the subject of sexual assault, domestic violence, and other criminal and unlawful acts that particularly affect women, the activities of the Commission shall include the following:
(1) Evaluating the adequacy of, and making recommendations regarding, current law enforcement efforts at the Federal, State, and local levels to reduce the incidence of such crimes and acts, and to punish those responsible for such crimes and acts.
(2) Evaluating the adequacy of, and making recommendations regarding, the responsiveness of prosecutors and courts to such crimes and acts.
(3) Evaluating the adequacy of rules of evidence, practice, and procedure to ensure the effective prosecution and conviction of perpetrators of such crimes and acts and to protect victims of such crimes and acts from abuse in legal proceedings, making recommendations, where necessary, to improve those rules.
(4) Evaluating the adequacy of pretrial release, sentencing, incarceration, and post-conviction release in relation to such crimes and acts.
(5) Evaluating the adequacy of, and making recommendations regarding, the adequacy of Federal and State laws on sexual assault and the need for a more uniform statutory response to sex offenses, including sexual assaults and other sex offenses committed by offenders who are known or related by blood or marriage to the victim.
(6) Evaluating the adequacy of, and making recommendations regarding, the adequacy of Federal and State laws on domestic violence and the need for a more uniform statutory response to domestic violence.
(7) Evaluating the adequacy of, and making recommendations regarding, the adequacy of current education, prevention, and protective services for victims of such crimes and acts.
(8) Assessing the issuance, formulation, and enforcement of protective orders, whether or not related to a criminal proceeding, and making recommendations for their more effective use in domestic violence and stalking cases.
(9) Assessing the problem of stalking and recommending effective means of response to the problem.
(10) Evaluating the adequacy of, and making recommendations regarding, programs for public awareness and public dissemination of information to prevent such crimes and acts.
(11) Evaluating the treatment of victims of such crimes and acts in Federal, State, and local criminal justice systems, and making recommendations designed to improve such treatment.
(Pub. L. 103–322, title XXVII, §270004, Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2092.)
The President shall designate a member of the Commission to chair the Commission.
Members of the Commission shall receive no pay or benefits by reason of their service on the Commission, but shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies under sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5.
Vacancies on the Commission shall be filled in the same manner as initial appointments.
The Commission shall be considered to be an agency for the purposes of section 552b of title 5 relating to the requirement that meetings of Federal agencies be open to the public.
(Pub. L. 103–322, title XXVII, §270005, Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2094.)
With the approval of the Commission, the chairperson shall appoint a staff director for the Commission.
With the approval of the Commission, the staff director may appoint and fix the compensation of staff personnel for the Commission.
The staff of the Commission shall be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive service. Staff compensation may be set without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of that title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, but in no event shall any such personnel be compensated at a rate greater than the rate of basic pay for level ES–4 of the Senior Executive Service Schedule under section 5382 of that title. The staff director shall be paid at a rate not to exceed the rate of basic pay for level V of the Executive Schedule.
With the approval of the Commission, the staff director may procure temporary and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5.
Upon the request of the Commission, the head of any Federal agency may detail, on a reimbursable basis, personnel of that agency to the Commission to assist in carrying out its duties.
The Administrator of the General Service Administration shall provide suitable office space for the operation of the Commission. The facilities shall serve as the headquarters of the Commission and shall include all necessary equipment and incidentals required for proper functioning.
(Pub. L. 103–322, title XXVII, §270006, Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2094.)
Level V of the Executive Schedule, referred to in subsec. (c), is set out in section 5316 of Title 5.
For the purposes of carrying out this subchapter, the Commission may conduct such hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such testimony, and receive such evidence, as the Commission considers appropriate. The Commission may administer oaths before the Commission.
Any committee, task force, member, or agent, of the Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, take any action that the Commission is authorized to take under this subchapter.
The Commission may request directly from any Federal agency or entity in the executive or legislative branch such information as is needed to carry out its functions.
The Commission may use the United States mails in the same manner and under the same conditions as other Federal agencies.
(Pub. L. 103–322, title XXVII, §270007, Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2095.)
Not later than 2 years after the date on which the Commission is fully constituted under section 14191 of this title, the Commission shall submit a detailed report to the Congress and the President containing its findings and recommendations. The Commission shall terminate 30 days after the submission of its report.
(Pub. L. 103–322, title XXVII, §270008, Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2095.)
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subchapter—
(1) 1 $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1996.
(Pub. L. 103–322, title XXVII, §270009, Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2095.)