1.This Act may be cited as
the Text a Tip Act of
2011
.
2.A
pilot program for texting crime tips
(a)The Attorney General may make grants to State or local
police departments to implement an anonymous tip program using cell phone text
messaging that comply with the requirements of this Act.
(b)A State or local police department that receives a grant
under this Act shall use amounts provided under the grant to develop,
implement, or expand the anonymous tip system using cell phone text messaging
which may include payment of the following expenses:
(1)Salaries,
personnel, training, technology, and other costs directly related to the
operation of the program, including reward money.
(2)Promotion of the
program including public service announcements, printed advertisements, and
other forms of marketing.
(c)The Federal share of a grant under this Act shall not
exceed 75 percent of the cost of the program.
(d)Supplement and
Not supplantGrant amounts received under this Act shall be used
to supplement, and not supplant, non-Federal funds that would otherwise be
available for activities funded under this Act.
3.A texting tip
program eligible for a grant under this Act shall comply with the following
requirements:
(1)A State or local
police department shall administer the program.
(2)The incoming text
messages shall be stripped of any identifying information before it is
transmitted to the police through a verifiable technology or third
party.
(3)The text tip
shall not be traceable by any means.
(4)The texting
program shall not replace any existing 1–800 tip hotlines.
(5)The police
department shall train sufficient personnel to intercept and respond to the
text tips.
(6)The police
department shall, to the extent possible, make this program compatible with
most mobile phone providers.
(7)The texting
program should include an unidentifiable code that can be given to the tipster
if they want to send follow up information to the police, allowing for
increased continuity and more accurate information.
(8)The texting
program shall include a feature to abort a tip while it is in the process of
being given.
(9)The grantee shall
not impose any additional fees on the tipster’s mobile phone. Only standard
messaging rates from the tipster’s mobile phone provider shall apply.
(10)The police
shall, to the extent possible, promote the texting program to encourage
citizens, especially youth, to participate in the program.
4.
(a)To request a grant under this Act, a State or local
police department shall submit an application to the Department of Justice in
such form and containing such information as the department may reasonably
require.
(b)Each
application for a grant under this Act shall contain the certification of the
State or local police department that the program for which the grant is
requested meets each of the requirements of this Act.
5.
(a)For each fiscal year, each recipient of a
grant under this Act during that fiscal year shall submit to the Attorney
General a report on a date specified by the Attorney General—
(1)regarding the effectiveness of activities
carried out using that grant; and
(2)including an evaluation in such form and
containing such information as the Attorney General may reasonably
require.
(b)The Attorney General shall submit a yearly report on the
effectiveness on the activities carried out under this Act to the Committees on
the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
6.In this Act:
(1)The term
texting tip program means a program that—
(A)allows citizens
to text tips anonymously to the police to aid in criminal justice;
(B)strips texts of
identifying information; and
(C)is used by the
police to prevent and solve crimes.
(2)The term
texting means sending written messages from a mobile phone. Texts
is the plural form of text messages.
7.Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General to carry out this Act
$5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2017.