6 U.S.C. § 162 — Mission of Office; duties

(a) Mission. The Office has a two-part mission: to serve as the national focal point for work on law enforcement technology, and to carry out programs — through equipment, training, and technical assistance — that improve the safety and effectiveness of law enforcement technology and improve how federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies access it. (b) Duties. In carrying out this mission, the Office must: 1. Provide recommendations and advice to the Attorney General. 2. Establish and maintain advisory groups — exempt from chapter 10 of title 5 — to assess law enforcement agencies' technology needs. 3. Establish and maintain performance standards, following the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995, and test and evaluate technologies agencies may use. 4. Run a certification program that certifies, validates, and marks technology products meeting those standards; the program may allow suppliers to self-declare conformity. 5. Coordinate with other parts of the Justice Department, other federal agencies, and the White House on federal law enforcement technology policy. 6. Carry out research, development, testing, evaluation, and cost-benefit analysis to improve law enforcement technology, including in specific fields: weapons only authorized users can fire (personalized guns); protective apparel; bullet- and explosion-resistant glass; monitoring and alarm systems with precise location information; interoperable wired and wireless communications; investigative and forensic tools, including computer forensics; counterterrorism equipment, including devices to disable terrorist devices; guides for State and local agencies; DNA identification technology; and tools for investigating computer crime. 7. Administer a program to improve interoperability between voice and data public-safety communications. 8. Serve on the Defense Department's Technical Support Working Group and other relevant interagency panels, when requested. 9. Develop and share technical assistance and training materials for law enforcement personnel, including prosecutors. 10. Operate the regional National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Centers, and establish additional centers through a competitive process if needed. 11. Administer a program to acquire, research, develop, and share advanced investigative and forensic tools that help State and local agencies fight cybercrime. 12. Support research fellowships connected to its mission. 13. Serve as a clearinghouse for information on law enforcement technologies. 14. Represent the United States and State and local agencies in international activities on law enforcement technology, when requested. 15. Enter contracts, cooperative agreements, and grants — which may require in-kind or cash matching from the recipient — as necessary for its mission. 16. Carry out other duties the Attorney General assigns to accomplish its mission. (c) Competition required. Except where a law expressly provides otherwise, all research and development the Office carries out, directly or through others, must be done on a competitive basis. (d) Information from federal agencies. Federal agencies must give the Office, on request and consistent with federal law, any data, reports, or information requested — unless a law specifically prohibits sharing it. (e) Publications. Decisions about what the Office publishes rest solely with the Office's Director. (f) Transfer of funds. The Office may transfer funds to other federal agencies, or fund non-federal entities through grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts, to carry out its duties, following section 605 of Public Law 107–77. (g) Annual report. The Director must include, with the Justice Department's budget materials submitted to Congress each year, a report on the Office's activities. Each report must cover: for the next five fiscal years starting with the budget year, the Director's assessment of federal, State, and local agencies' needs for law enforcement technology assistance, and a strategic plan for meeting those needs; and for the fiscal year just before the budget year, a description of what the Office actually did and an evaluation of how well it met the needs identified in earlier reports.