1.This Act may be cited as
the Capture Arrest and Transport
Charged Fugitives Act of 2008
.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)Nationwide, there
are an estimated 2,800,000 to 3,200,000 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 escape 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 other law enforcement
agencies in support of fugitive investigations.
(5)(A)Pursuant to the
Presidential Threat Protection Act of 2000, the USMS created the Regional
Fugitive Task Force (referred to in this Act as the RFTF
)
program. Through the RFTFs, the USMS combines the efforts and resources of
Federal, State, and local law enforcement authorities for the purpose of
locating and apprehending fugitives.
(B)Between 2002 and 2006, the USMS
established 6 RFTFs—
(i)the New York/New Jersey RFTF, based
in New York, NY;
(ii)the Pacific Southwest RFTF, based
in Los Angeles, CA;
(iii)the Great Lakes RFTF, based in
Chicago, IL;
(iv)the Southeast RFTF, based in
Atlanta, GA;
(v)the Capital Area RFTF, based in
Washington, DC; and
(vi)the Gulf Coast RFTF, based in
Birmingham, AL.
(6)More than 230
Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies have partnered with the 6
RFTFs, creating a force multiplier
that significantly expands
the capacity of each agency to locate and apprehend fugitives. Since their
inception, these 6 RFTFs have arrested approximately 90,000 Federal and State
felony fugitive arrests. However, the USMS has not received significant
resources for developing additional RFTFs since 2006.
(7)(A)The USMS believes that
the following geographic areas of the United States would benefit from the
creation of an RFTF:
(i)The Carolinas.
(ii)The Caribbean.
(iii)Texas.
(iv)New England.
(v)Florida.
(vi)Northern California.
(vii)The Heartland.
(viii)Michigan and Ohio.
(ix)Pacific Northwest.
(x)Mountain.
(xi)Mid-Atlantic.
(xii)Southwest.
(B)The establishment of RFTFs in each of
these additional regions would enable the USMS to provide effective fugitive
location and apprehension assistance to every state and territory in the United
States.
(8)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 a very limited number of 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 fugitive’s arrest. Through
JPATS, these agencies are able to reduce the cost of extradition
significantly.
(9)Expanding JPATS
so that the USMS can make it available to all State and local law enforcement
agencies that participate in a RFTF would lower the cost of transporting
fugitives for extradition and lead to the prosecution of a greater number of
fugitives.
(10)Since 1967, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation has operated the National Crime Information
Center (referred to in this Act as the NCIC
), which administers
a nationwide database containing criminal history information from the Federal
Government and the States, including outstanding arrest warrants. The NCIC
database allows a law enforcement officer who stops a person in one State to
obtain information about a warrant for that person issued in another State. It
contains approximately 1,300,000 felony and misdemeanor warrants. It is missing
over half of the country’s 2,800,000 to 3,200,000 felony warrants, including
warrants for hundreds of thousands of violent crimes.
(11)A State’s
failure to enter a warrant into the NCIC database enables a fugitive to escape
arrest even when the fugitive is stopped by a law enforcement officer in
another State, because such officer did not have accurate information about the
warrant. Many such fugitives go on to commit additional crimes. In addition,
they pose a danger to officers who encounter them but have no knowledge of
their pending charges or record of fleeing law enforcement authorities.
(12)Improving the
completeness of the warrant records in the NCIC database would enable law
enforcement officers to identify and arrest a larger number of fugitives and
would improve the safety of these officers.
3.As used in this Act, the following
definitions shall apply:
(1)The term active warrant means a warrant that
has not been cleared.
(2)The term clear a warrant means the execution
of a warrant by arrest or a determination by a law enforcement agency that a
warrant has already been executed or that the subject of a warrant is
incarcerated or deceased.
(3)The term felony warrant means a warrant for
a crime that is punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding 1 year, whether
or not the jurisdiction that issued the warrant anticipates extradition.
(4)Serious
misdemeanor warrantThe term serious misdemeanor
warrant means a warrant for a crime that is punishable by a term of
imprisonment for 1 year or less but that involves domestic violence, as
described in section 921(a)(33)(A)(ii) of title 18, United States Code, or
child pornography as defined in section 2256 of title 18, United States Code,
whether or not the jurisdiction that issued the warrant anticipates
extradition.
(5)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, the Northern Mariana Islands, and any Indian Tribe that performs law
enforcement functions, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior.
(6)The term unit of local government
means—
(A)any city, county,
township, borough, parish, village, or other general purpose political
subdivision of a State; or
(B)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.
<enum>I</enum><header>Expansion of the
United States marshal service fugitive apprehension program</header>
<section id="IDce990821601b4702bd34162c2c9adcdb"><enum>101.</enum><header>Authorization
of funding for additional United States marshal service regional fugitive task
forces</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">Section 6(b) of the
Presidential Threat Protection Act of 2000 (28 U.S.C. 566 note; Public Law
106–544) is amended by striking <quote>and $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2008 through 2012</quote> and inserting “$10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, and
$50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2012 and $25,000,000 for each
of fiscal years 2013 through 2015 for—</text>
<quoted-block display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id71517FC5B3B842A5BEC9C368547BEB02" style="OLC">
<paragraph id="IDd549e6ea071b406e861d6407008b08bf"><enum>(1)</enum><text>hiring
senior-level criminal investigator deputy marshals and administrative analysts
to increase the staffing of the 6 existing Regional Fugitive Task
Forces;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="ID2726777f74104596804e786d2bb3f3a0"><enum>(2)</enum><text>establishing new
Regional Fugitive Task Forces in the areas of the country not currently served
by existing Regional Fugitive Task Forces;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="IDe17937d2157a4248923ce4a9092a9e4e"><enum>(3)</enum><text>hiring
senior-level criminal investigator deputy marshals and administrative analysts
to staff each new Regional Fugitive Task Force established under this
section;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="IDa5665d98d14a47cc9e3d626fb5ea9a3e"><enum>(4)</enum><text>hiring
senior-level criminal investigator deputy marshals to increase the staffing of
the United States Marshals Service Technical Operations Group, which provides
electronic and air surveillance in support of fugitive investigations;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="IDf898a676128341d7946e7237745d5ec9"><enum>(5)</enum><text>providing
training facilities and enhancing training opportunities for Federal, State,
and local task force officers from agencies that participate in the Regional
Fugitive Task Forces; and</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="idE944444406CF4B6D972C361053844D0A"><enum>(6)</enum><text>other activities
related to those described in paragraphs (1) through (5).</text>
</paragraph><quoted-block-continuation-text quoted-block-continuation-text-level="subsection">Any funds
made available under this subsection shall remain available until
expended.</quoted-block-continuation-text><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block>
</section><section id="ID2e518feab0a14bd2b956941581225036"><enum>102.</enum><header>Authorization
of funding for fugitive extraditions</header>
<subsection id="IDecc1059e491e45309dc5cf594bb73df6"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Authorization</header><text>The
Attorney General shall assist States and units of local government that
participate in a Regional Fugitive Task Force by securing transportation
services for the extradition of fugitives via the United States Marshal Service
Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation Service.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="ID172dd8f087e34c51acd924f39259f82b"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Funding</header><text>There
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for each
of fiscal years 2009 through 2015. Any funds made available under this section
shall remain available until expended.</text>
</subsection></section><enum>II</enum><header>Extradition
assistance and transmittal of warrants to the NCIC</header>
<section id="ID27ae9a643b2c464ab6c2abbf925efc91"><enum>201.</enum><header>Extradition
assistance to States</header>
<subsection id="ID25f83cb28e1f4326b61bff52cfe8fd67"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Grant
assistance</header>
<paragraph id="ID6ed8de285770413390f28b664434626d"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Authorization
of grant assistance</header>
<subparagraph id="ID3fb170c990bc4aeeadad84688d710f76"><enum>(A)</enum><header>In
general</header><text>The Attorney General shall, subject to subsection (b)(2),
make grants to States for periods of 1 year per grant which shall be used by
the States and units of local government to extradite a person from another
State for prosecution.</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="IDa41454f2b35e443598ea15f2c8a73450"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Set
aside</header><text>Up to 5 percent of the grant funding available under this
section may be reserved for Indian tribal governments, including tribal
judicial systems.</text>
</subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="IDe3937d2910324e40a313d59b1834db56"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Matching
funds</header><text>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 title unless the Attorney General waives, wholly or in part, the
requirements of this paragraph in the event of extraordinary
circumstances.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="IDd52a35afc764433e973b47351a60c523"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Conditions</header>
<subparagraph id="ID01e2f79f51204fe59f6a028df8f8068a"><enum>(A)</enum><header>First
period</header><text>During the 2-year period beginning 3 years after the date
of enactment of this Act—</text>
<clause id="ID91ca57316cb142c3bb7ab1b1edd12062"><enum>(i)</enum><text>a
State shall not be eligible to receive a grant under this section if it
provides less than 50 percent of the records required to be provided under this
section, as determined for the State by the Attorney General under subsection
(d), or fails to provide an estimate of the total number of active felony and
serious misdemeanor warrants issued by the State and units of local government
within the State, as required by subsection (b); and</text>
</clause><clause id="ID0d8e71d2d3bc41d49bdde53bcd04a98f"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>a
State shall not provide any portion of a grant received under this section to a
unit of local government that provides to the NCIC less than 50 percent of the
total number of serious misdemeanor and felony warrants that it has issued, as
determined by the State and consistent with the method determined by the
Attorney General in subsection (d).</text>
</clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="IDb7807fd351be4a8c9bef6ddd3d3d88e2"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Second
period</header><text>During the 2-year period beginning 5 years after the date
of enactment of this Act—</text>
<clause id="IDc6b796f55d5941f998b7bcc9574e5e66"><enum>(i)</enum><text>a
State shall not be eligible to receive a grant under this section if it
provides less than 70 percent of the records required to be provided under this
section, as determined for the State by the Attorney General under subsection
(d), or fails to provide an estimate of the total number of active felony and
serious misdemeanor warrants issued by the State and units of local government
within the State, as required by subsection (b); and</text>
</clause><clause id="IDc358fb5c151e4ecbb60a8609a70b4382"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>a
State shall not provide any portion of a grant received under this section to a
unit of local government that provides to the NCIC less than 70 percent of the
total number of serious misdemeanor and felony warrants that it has issued, as
determined by the State and consistent with the method determined by the
Attorney General in subsection (d).</text>
</clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="IDcf0d0bd1b93b4634a9fc6b829aa73512"><enum>(C)</enum><header>Third
period</header><text>After the expiration of the period referred to in
subparagraph (B)—</text>
<clause id="ID9900411c7b8a4eb9b26ededca076e86f"><enum>(i)</enum><text>a
State shall not be eligible to receive a grant under this section if it
provides less than 90 percent of the records required to be provided under this
section, as determined for the State by the Attorney General under subsection
(d), or fails to provide an estimate of the total number of active felony and
serious misdemeanor warrants issued by the State and units of local government
within the State, as required by subsection (b); and</text>
</clause><clause id="ID3d886cf32f8240a78fc27bd0a26cfb2e"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>a
State shall not provide any portion of a grant received under this section to a
unit of local government that provides to the NCIC less than 90 percent of the
total number of serious misdemeanor and felony warrants that it has issued, as
determined by the State and consistent with the method determined by the
Attorney General in subsection (d).</text>
</clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="IDb5d23cd21feb4e51a770a123c398eab3"><enum>(D)</enum><header>Minimum
requirement</header><text>A unit of local government may not be eligible to
receive a portion of a grant received by the State under this section unless,
during the 1 year period covered by the grant, the unit of local government has
already extradited a number of persons from other States for prosecution that
is equal to or greater than the average of the number of persons extradited
during the 3 year period immediately preceding the date of enactment of this
Act.</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="IDa591143c0a6d4bcb925d6d33bea6dd54"><enum>(E)</enum><header>Oversight</header><text>As
a condition of receiving a grant under this section, a State shall—</text>
<clause id="ID708b4f51b8614c128e6c0bc513b0b549"><enum>(i)</enum><text>specify the
project or projects for which grant amounts will be used;</text>
</clause><clause id="ID760c94340926485d9d6bb3ebebcbd188"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>use such amounts
only as specified; and</text>
</clause><clause id="ID2f7e0b7e67b649ffb80c454da279c513"><enum>(iii)</enum><text>maintain and
report such data, records and information (programmatic and financial) as the
Attorney General may require.</text>
</clause></subparagraph><subparagraph id="ID7f6afc1a9fa04001b1fa60947589082e"><enum>(F)</enum><header>Audit</header><text>The
Attorney General or the Inspector General of the Department of Justice may
conduct an audit of a State or unit of local government to ensure compliance
with the provisions of this subsection concerning the conditions for receiving
grant money and subsection (b)(1) concerning the use of the Attorney General’s
methodology to estimate the number of warrants. A State or unit of local
government that violates this subsection shall be liable to the Attorney
General for the full amount of the grant received under this section or any
portion of the grant found to be appropriate given the findings of the audit or
the nature of the violation.</text>
</subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="ID92a735cf580b4b798e2fda2cc39ba855"><enum>(4)</enum><header>Authorization
of appropriations</header><text>There are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through
2015.</text>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="ID50591de3402e4950a15a27cc137e2b20"><enum>(b)</enum><header>State
estimates</header>
<paragraph id="IDe70492ca69304e04ace76e30caefd728"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In
general</header><text>To assist the Attorney General in making a determination
under subsection (a) concerning eligibility to receive a grant and section
202(d)(2) concerning the allocation of grants, and 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, each State shall provide the Attorney
General with a reasonable estimate, as calculated by a method determined by the
Attorney General, of the total number of active felony and serious misdemeanor
warrants issued by the State and by local jurisdictions within the State,
regardless of the age of the warrants.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="IDea913793262641dd893b35e5ffbd06f1"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Failure to
provide</header><text>A State that fails to provide an estimate 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 such
estimate to the Attorney General.</text>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="IDfea6d025ccd2426c915c138adb72ee95"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Transmittal of
warrants to the NCIC</header>
<paragraph id="ID3dd92568a8b34813b75449544df69f40"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Availability</header><text>Each
State shall make electronically available to the NCIC all serious misdemeanor
and felony warrants issued by the State and by local jurisdictions within the
State.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="ID4eae595e5f934f268a94b6ba303da975"><enum>(2)</enum><header>State
update</header><text>Each State, on being made aware that an active serious
misdemeanor or felony warrant has been cleared, shall, as soon as practicable,
provide an update to the NCIC consistent with the NCIC’s rules and
policies.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="ID17bc019213c44c8099cf6bbb9fb4741a"><enum>(3)</enum><header>NCIC
update</header><text>Upon receiving an update under paragraph (2), the NCIC
shall ensure that the records in the NCIC database are updated within 15 days
of receipt.</text>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="IDad7f3f5163cb40ee826b75b2daa5b871"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Determination
of transmittal performance</header><text>The Attorney General, for the purposes
set forth in this section and section 202, shall determine the percentage of
the total number of serious misdemeanor and felony warrants provided by a State
to the NCIC and the method to be used by the States for determining the
percentage of the total number of such warrants provided by a unit of local
government to the NCIC.</text>
</subsection><subsection id="IDbe7a1983367443489b893f15904e4995"><enum>(e)</enum><header>Attorney
general report</header>
<paragraph id="IDa891d955b7524c74b062c30b9317f74d"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In
general</header><text>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—</text>
<subparagraph id="IDfc711ed0e70d44c19e8567f486fc8358"><enum>(A)</enum><text>containing the
estimates submitted by the States under subsection (b);</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="IDc3f60ffdeba84e44b38f5e0641eedded"><enum>(B)</enum><text>describing the
progress of States in making warrants electronically available to the NCIC
pursuant to the requirements of subsection (c); and</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="IDdd046e1354a6476f8398688ef8899f67"><enum>(C)</enum><text>describing the
practices of the States regarding the collection, maintenance, automation, and
transmittal of serious misdemeanor and felony warrants to the NCIC, that the
Attorney General considers to be best practices.</text>
</subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="ID57482c47ed234f34a1c652b2a7d9f75d"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Best
practices</header><text>Not later than January 31 of each year, the Attorney
General shall also provide the information regarding best practices, referred
to in paragraph (1)(C), to each State submitting information to the
NCIC.</text>
</paragraph></subsection></section><section id="ID4a11d6d6c4a4484b8294b698df00e258"><enum>202.</enum><header>Implementation
assistance to States</header>
<subsection id="ID78a911fab8cd441fbf6868b964133cd4"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Authorization
of grant assistance</header>
<paragraph id="IDb7f57aaf01b941b3805c9cf050b710c5"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In
general</header><text>The Attorney General shall make grants to States in a
manner consistent with the National Criminal History Improvement Program, which
shall be used by the States to establish or upgrade information and
identification technologies for serious misdemeanor and felony warrants,
including technologies used by local governments and State and local
courts.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="ID6ccb4424d00f48cb9a75b62963723968"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Set
aside</header><text>Up to 5 percent of the grant funding available under this
section may be reserved for Indian tribal governments, including tribal
judicial systems.</text>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="ID1f70f26d711f4e23808431f38567cccc"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Use of grant
amounts</header><text>Grants awarded to States or Indian tribes under this
section may only be used to—</text>
<paragraph id="IDe2c6bd24bbe7462fbdeb5cf8a726c3c8"><enum>(1)</enum><text>carry out, as
necessary, assessments of the capabilities of the courts and law enforcement
agencies of a State to automate and transmit serious misdemeanor and felony
warrants to the NCIC;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="ID7de68846ec0c47b18891045570a00c98"><enum>(2)</enum><text>implement
policies, systems, and procedures for the automation and transmission of
serious misdemeanor and felony warrants to the NCIC;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="IDddc9e19c09ca4b5bb5b0472a3042e398"><enum>(3)</enum><text>create electronic
systems which provide accurate and up-to-date information on serious
misdemeanor and felony warrants to the NCIC;</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="IDc3112671c74043ca94175fb18cd0b58f"><enum>(4)</enum><text>supply accurate
and timely information to the NCIC concerning serious misdemeanor and felony
warrants; and</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="IDe475ded57ddc4c98ad338ea66b924403"><enum>(5)</enum><text>collect and
analyze data needed to demonstrate levels of State compliance with this
Act.</text>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="IDfdfb8033e34140a4ac52859f0ce8098c"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Condition</header>
<paragraph id="ID12b6bf7b51854bee9d171afd9a6a18a2"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In
general</header><text>As a condition of receiving a grant under this section, a
State shall specify the projects for which grant amounts will be used, and
shall use such amounts only as specified.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="ID82fad2af2ed54957802833db7eef5267"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Violation</header><text>A
State that violates this subsection shall be liable to the Attorney General for
the full amount of the grant received under this section.</text>
</paragraph></subsection><subsection id="ID4789645c9f7d4c3e8cea785851a33bdc"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Authorization
of appropriations</header>
<paragraph id="IDbc8e3c383af847ee932881a00171e084"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In
general</header><text>There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013.</text>
</paragraph><paragraph id="IDded93c943e6d471d9b2193095866432c"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Allocations</header>
<subparagraph id="ID1cf6281c2ce84154ae7ffe5ca8d64cd3"><enum>(A)</enum><header>In
general</header><text>For fiscal years 2009 and 2010, the Attorney General
shall endeavor to allocate at least 50 percent of the authorized appropriations
to those States providing to the NCIC more than 50 percent of their total
serious misdemeanor and felony warrants, as determined for each State by the
Attorney General under section 201(d). For fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013,
the Attorney General shall endeavor to allocate at least 50 percent of the
authorized appropriations to those States providing to the NCIC more than 70
percent of their total serious misdemeanor and felony warrants, as determined
for each State by the Attorney General under section 201(d).</text>
</subparagraph><subparagraph id="IDd382e9284fb746eaa801bf7b975731f5"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Adjustments</header><text>The
allocations in this paragraph shall be subject to the discretion of the
Attorney General, who shall have the authority to make adjustments to the
distribution of the authorized appropriations as necessary to maximize
incentives for State compliance with section 201(c).</text>
</subparagraph></paragraph></subsection></section>