[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 45 (Thursday, March 28, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S3159]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. McCONNELL:
  S. 1652. A bill to amend the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention Act of 1974 to establish a national resource center and 
clearinghouse to carry out training of State and local law enforcement 
personnel to more effectively respond to cases involving missing or 
exploited children, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.


  the jimmy ryce law enforcement training center establishment act of 
                                  1996

 Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce a bill 
to establish the Jimmy Ryce Law Enforcement Training Center for the 
Recovery of Missing and Exploited Children.

  Each year tens of thousands of children are reported missing from 
their homes. The Department of Justice estimates that 3,000 to 4,000 
children are taken coercively by nonfamily members. And the National 
Center for Missing and Exploited Children gets involved with almost 300 
cases a year which involve children abducted by strangers intending 
harm. Many of these children are never seen again.
  This is the most critical factor in a missing child investigation. 
And too, often, local law enforcement officials lack the experience and 
the resources to conduct a swift and effective investigation which will 
maximize the chances for a safe recovery.
  The Jimmy Ryce Center, which will be established by this bill, will 
combine the resources of the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
Children with those the F.B.I.'s National Crime Information Center and 
Child Abduction and Serial Killer Unit, as well as the Office of 
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The Jimmy Ryce Center will 
be a national training center for law enforcement officials from all 
over the United States and its programs will address: identifying the 
elements of a missing and exploited child case investigations; applying 
research regarding missing and exploited child case investigations and 
analyzing successful and unsuccessful investigative techniques; and 
educating about the national resources available to assist local 
efforts in a missing and exploited child case investigation.
  The Jimmy Ryce Center will also make it a priority to provide 
comprehensive nationwide training for law enforcement regarding report 
taking and NCIC entry of missing child information. And, the training 
center will expand current training done by the Office of Juvenile 
Justice and Delinquency Prevention and coordinate programs in all 50 
States and the District of Columbia.
  I am confident the bill will have the support of the Department of 
Justice. It already has the support of the Fraternal Order of Police, 
and I ask unanimous consent that the FOP's letter, as well a copy of 
the bill, be included in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1652

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds that--
       (1) an investigation to find a missing child presents 
     unique circumstances for law enforcement agencies, including 
     the need for specialized training and the capability of swift 
     response to maximize the chances for the safe recovery of the 
     child;
       (2) local law enforcement officials often lack experience 
     and are unaware of the Federal resources available to assist 
     in the investigation of cases involving a missing child; and
       (3) a national training facility should be established to 
     assist State and local law enforcement agencies in--
       (A) providing comprehensive training in investigations of 
     cases involving missing or exploited children;
       (B) ensuring uniform, consistent, and meaningful use of 
     reporting systems and processes; and
       (C) promoting the use of vital national resources.

     SEC. 2. AMENDMENT.

       Section 404(b)(2)(D) of the Juvenile Justice and 
     Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 is amended by striking 
     ``children; and'' and inserting ``children, including--
       ``(i) the establishment of an onsite training center at the 
     national clearinghouse to be known as the Jimmy Ryce Law 
     Enforcement Training Center for the Recovery of Missing 
     Children, designed to--
       ``(I) assist high-level law enforcement leaders from across 
     the country, selected by State officials, to develop 
     effective protocols and policies for the investigation and 
     prosecution of cases involving a missing or exploited child; 
     and
       ``(II) introduce those officials to resources available 
     from the clearinghouse and Federal agencies to assist in 
     cases involving a missing or exploited child;
       ``(ii) nationwide training in report-taking and data entry 
     in cases involving missing or exploited children for 
     information specialists, conducted at State and local law 
     enforcement facilities by employees of the national 
     clearinghouse and the National Crime Information Center of 
     the Federal Bureau of Investigation, designed to ensure that 
     necessary information regarding cases involving missing or 
     exploited children is gathered and entered at the local level 
     in a timely and effective manner; and
       ``(iii) State-based basic investigation training in cases 
     involving missing or exploited children for State and local 
     police investigators selected by State officials, conducted 
     by employees of the national clearinghouse and the Office of 
     Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department 
     of Justice, designed to provide practical instruction in the 
     investigation of cases involving missing or exploited 
     children; and''.
                                                                    ____

                                        Fraternal Order of Police,


                                 National Legislative Program,

                                   Washington, DC, March 27, 1996.
     Hon. Mitch McConnell,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.

     Hon. Peter Deutsch,
     U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Gentlemen: On behalf of the 270,000 members of the 
     Fraternal Order of Police, this is to express our strong 
     support for your legislation to provide funding and 
     facilities to train state and local law enforcement officers 
     in investigative techniques for utilization in missing and 
     exploited children case.
       As a member of the Board of the National Center for Missing 
     and Exploited Children (NCMEC), I am thoroughly familiar with 
     the wonderful work of the Center, and with the strong bond 
     which the NCMEC has forged with state and local officers. The 
     proposed Jimmy Ryce Law Enforcement Training Center for the 
     Recovery of Missing Children, which would operate within the 
     framework of the NCMEC, can only enhance that relationship, 
     and will make it even more productive.
       We thank both of you for your leadership on this issue, and 
     in the many other areas where both of you have weighed in on 
     the side of tough yet progressive law enforcement.
           Sincerely,
                                              Gilbert G. Gallegos,
                                       National President.
                                 ______