34 U.S.C. § 40506 — Authorization of the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System
submitted 4 years ago by Pub. L. 117-327 to r/title-34-CRIME-CONTROL-AND-LAW-ENFORCEMENT · 531 words · no verdicts yet
The Attorney General must maintain NamUs, a national clearinghouse for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases. NamUs provides a database, free forensic services, investigative support, and training. Grant funds can pay for staff, technology, forensic analysis, and training tied to these NamUs functions.
(a) In general: The Attorney General must maintain the "National Missing and Unidentified Persons System," or NamUs, following these rules:
(1) NamUs is a national information clearinghouse and resource center for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases across the country. The National Institute of Justice administers it, managed through an agreement with an eligible entity.
(2) NamUs must coordinate or provide: (A) an online database that works as a national clearinghouse to speed up matching and resolving cases; (B) various free forensic services to help identify missing persons and unidentified remains; (C) investigative support for criminal justice work on these cases; (D) technical help for missing persons' family members; (E) training and coordination help for state and local service providers supporting families affected by a loved one's disappearance or loss; and (F) training and outreach from NamUs experts, including help planning Missing Person Day events nationwide.
(b) Permissible use of funds
(1) In general: Funds awarded under this section to run and maintain the agreement in (a)(1) may be used to: (A) hire staff for case support and other core NamUs work; (B) develop new technology to speed up entering data into relevant databases; (C) handle contracting for core NamUs services; (D) provide forensic analysis -- such as DNA typing, forensic dentistry, fingerprint examination, and forensic anthropology -- to identify missing and unidentified persons; (E) train state, local, and Tribal law enforcement and forensic medicine providers on NamUs resources and best practices; (F) help states report information to the NCIC database, the NamUs database, or any future similar database; (G) report every deceased unidentified person, of any age, to law enforcement in the jurisdiction where the remains were found; (H) support family members at Missing Person Days and similar events with NamUs case entries and DNA collection; (I) help coordinate state and local service providers supporting affected individuals and families; (J) run data analytics and research projects to improve knowledge, best practices, training, and system upgrades related to these cases; (K) build and maintain a secure online tool connecting law enforcement, medical and legal professionals, emergency managers, and victims' families during a critical incident; and (L) any other purpose consistent with this section's goals.
(c) Amendments to the Crime Control Act of 1990 to require reports of missing children to NamUs
(1), (2) Omitted (these paragraphs were amendments to other laws, not restated here).
(3) Effective date: These amendments apply to reports made before, on, or after December 27, 2022.
The Attorney General,1 shall maintain the “National Missing and Unidentified Persons System” or “NamUs”, consistent with the following:
The NamUs shall be a national information clearinghouse and resource center for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases across the United States administered by the National Institute of Justice and managed through an agreement with an eligible entity.
The NamUs shall coordinate or provide—
online database technology which serves as a national information clearinghouse to help expedite case associations and resolutions;
various free-of-charge forensic services to aid in the identification of missing persons and unidentified remains;
investigative support for criminal justice efforts to help missing and unidentified person case resolutions;
technical assistance for family members of missing persons;
assistance and training by coordinating State and local service providers in order to support individuals and families impacted by the loss or disappearance of a loved one; and
training and outreach from NamUs subject matter experts, including assistance with planning and facilitating Missing Person Day events across the country.
The permissible use of funds awarded under this section for the implementation and maintenance of the agreement created in subparagraph (a)(1) include the use of funds—
to hire additional personnel to provide case support and perform other core NamUs functions;
to develop new technologies to facilitate timely data entry into the relevant data bases;
to conduct contracting activities relevant to core NamUs services;
to provide forensic analyses to support the identification of missing and unidentified persons, to include, but not limited to DNA typing, forensic odontology, fingerprint examination, and forensic anthropology;
to train State, local, and Tribal law enforcement personnel and forensic medicine service providers to use NamUs resources and best practices for the investigation of missing and unidentified person cases;
to assist States in providing information to the NCIC database, the NamUs database, or any future database system for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases;
to report to law enforcement authorities in the jurisdiction in which the remains were found information on every deceased, unidentified person, regardless of age;
to participate in Missing Person Days and other events to directly support family members of the missing with NamUs case entries and DNA collections;
to provide assistance and training by coordinating State and local service providers in order to support individuals and families;
to conduct data analytics and research projects for the purpose of enhancing knowledge, best practices, and training related to missing and unidentified person cases, as well as developing NamUs system enhancements;
to create and maintain a secure, online, nationwide critical incident response tool for professionals that will connect law enforcement, medico-legal and emergency management professionals, as well as victims and families during a critical incident; and
for other purposes consistent with the goals of this section.
The amendments made by this subsection shall apply with respect to reports made before, on, or after December 27, 2022.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 117–327, § 2, Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4454.)
- 2022Enacted · Pub. L. 117-327 · 136 Stat. 4454
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 117-327 on 2022-12-27.
all 0 arguments · sorted by: best
no arguments yet — make the first case