34 U.S.C. § 12513 — Demonstration program on trauma-informed, victim-centered training for law enforcement

(a) Definitions. In this section: (1) "Attorney General" means the Attorney General acting through the Director of the Office on Violence Against Women; (2) a "covered individual" is anyone who deals with victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including staff of a grantee, school staff (including campus and school police), and emergency or medical workers; (3) a "demonstration site" is the area a grantee has authority over; (4) an "eligible entity" is a State, local, territorial, or tribal law enforcement agency; and (5) a "mandatory partner" is a victim services organization working with that agency. (b) Grants authorized. (1) The Attorney General must award competitive grants to eligible entities, working with their mandatory partners, to test trauma-informed, victim-centered investigation techniques designed to: (A) prevent re-traumatizing victims; (B) get covered individuals using evidence-based response and investigation practices; (C) improve communication between victims and officers to help investigations and prosecutions succeed while protecting victims; (D) increase teamwork among the groups that respond to these crimes; and (E) evaluate how well the training works. (2) The Attorney General must award grants across a mix of entities and settings, including urban, suburban, tribal, remote, and rural areas, college campuses, and traditionally underserved communities. (c) Use of funds. A grantee must use its money to: (1) train covered individuals in evidence-based, trauma-informed, victim-centered techniques and knowledge of crime victims' rights, including conducting victim interviews that get useful information without re-traumatizing the victim, running investigations using current best practices, adapting approaches to fit the community's culture and language, handling complex cases (such as ones involving drugs or alcohol, strangulation, a known attacker, a same-sex attacker, a male victim, a victim with a disability, or an LGBT victim), building relationships between officers and the community, and correctly identifying and classifying these crimes; and (2) publicize its efforts to improve its response — through its website, social media, print materials, and community meetings — so covered individuals know about and join the trainings. (d) Demonstration program trainings. (1) The Attorney General must identify existing law enforcement trainings that use a trauma-informed, victim-centered approach and cover trauma responses, trauma's effects on victims, and effective investigation techniques; each grantee must pick one or more of these approaches to test at its site. (2) In doing this, the Attorney General must consult with the Director of the Office for Victims of Crime to gather input and build consensus among outside experts through discussions and focus groups. (e) Evaluation. The Attorney General, working with the Director of the National Institute of Justice, must require each grantee to find a research partner — ideally a local one — to: (1) design a system for collecting the right data; (2) periodically evaluate the program's impact; and (3) periodically publish preliminary results and recommendations for improving the grant's use. (f) Authorization of appropriations. $5,000,000 a year is authorized for fiscal years 2023 through 2027. (g) Rule of construction. Nothing in this section interferes with anyone's due process rights.