[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 16, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1620-S1623]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. SPECTER (for himself and Mr. Durbin):
S. 3120. A bill to encourage the entry of felony warrants into the
National Crime Information Center database by States and provide
additional resources for extradition; to the Committee on the
Judiciary.
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I am now introducing the Fugitive
Information Networked Database Act of 2010.
On December 12 of last year, the Philadelphia Inquirer began a series
of articles that served as a blistering indictment of the Philadelphia
criminal justice system. The Inquirer described it as ``a system that
too often fails to punish violent criminals, fails to protect
witnesses, fails to catch thousands of fugitives, fails to decide cases
on their merits, and fails to provide justice.'' The Inquirer article 3
days later elaborated on the fugitive problem, noting that as of
November 2009, there were almost 47,000 long-term fugitives at large.
The warrant situation in Philadelphia is complicated by the fact that
the Philadelphia Police Department only enters into the national
database a few hundred bench warrants deemed by the district attorney's
office to concern extraditable offenses. Those who abscond from
criminal proceedings in Philadelphia and flee to other States likely
will not be captured because the information for their warrants is not
automatically entered into the NCIC database.
The legislation I am introducing today, along with Senator Durbin,
builds on legislation previously entered by then-Senator Biden and
Senator Durbin. The proposed legislation will provide substantial
Federal funding to assist the States in tracking and returning these
fugitives.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the full text of my
statement which I have just summarized and the
[[Page S1621]]
text of the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Senator Specter's Statement Upon Introducing the Fugitive Information
Networked Database Act of 2010, The Find Act
Mr. President, I have sought recognition to introduce the
Fugitive Information Networked Database Act of 2010, the FIND
Act. On December 12, 2009, the Philadelphia Inquirer began a
series of articles that served as a blistering indictment of
the Philadelphia criminal justice system. The Inquirer
described it as ``a system that all too often fails to punish
violent criminals, fails to protect witnesses, fails to catch
thousands of fugitives, fails to decide cases on their
merits--fails to provide justice.'' (Craig R. McCoy, Nancy
Phillips, and Dylan Purcell, Justice: Delayed, Dismissed,
Denied, Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 12, 2009). Three days
later, on December 15, 2009, the Philadelphia Inquirer
elaborated on the fugitive problem noting that as of November
2009, ``there were 46,801 long-term fugitives--suspects
generally on the run for at least a year. The bulk of these
fugitives date from this decade and the last.'' (Dylan
Purcell, Craig R. McCoy, and Nancy Phillips, Violent
Criminals Flout Broken Bail System, Tens of Thousands of
Philadelphia Fugitives are on the Streets, Abetted by the
City's Deeply Flawed Program, Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 15,
2009). The article reported that Philadelphia ``[f]ugitives
now owe taxpayers a whopping $1 billion in forfeited bail,
according to court officials who computed the figure . . .''
(Id.). Despite the obvious incentive to recapture those funds
in this era of budget shortfalls, the article noted, that the
``Clerk of Quarter Sessions Office . . . has never kept a
computerized list of the debtors.''
These problems warranted Senate hearings and in my capacity
as the Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and
Drugs, I held a field hearing in Philadelphia titled,
``Exploring Federal Solutions to the State and Local Fugitive
Crisis,'' on January 19, 2010. What we learned was that
Philadelphia's fugitive problem, though serious in scope, is
not just a local problem but is in fact a significant
national problem.
Nationwide, there are an estimated 2.7 million active
Federal, State, and local outstanding felony warrants. Many
of these fugitives commit additional crimes. Every day large
numbers of fugitives evade capture because state and local
law enforcement authorities have insufficient resources to
find and arrest them. And even if found, state and local law
enforcement authorities often do not have the funds to pay
for the fugitive's extradition to face trial. Shockingly,
many fugitives are released without prosecution.
The nationwide database operated by the FBI's National
Crime Information Center (``NCIC'') is missing over half of
the country's 2.7 million felony warrants, including warrants
for hundreds of thousands of violent crimes. Fugitives who
have fled to another state will not be caught--even if they
are stopped and questioned by the police on a routine traffic
stop--because their warrants have not been entered into the
NCIC database.
In early 2008, the St. Louis Post Dispatch published a
series of articles--affirmed by the Department of Justice
documenting law enforcement's widespread failure to find and
arrest fugitives. For purposes of the series, ``fugitive''
included un-arrested suspects with pending warrants that law
enforcement cannot find, and those who cannot be found after
violating the rules of their pre-trial detention, probation,
or parole. The articles revealed that the reach of this
national problem is extensive and cited federal estimates
from two years ago that as many as an estimated 800,000 to
1.6 million outstanding state or local warrants are
inaccessible to law enforcement outside the state or locality
in which they were issued because the information about the
warrants had not been entered into the NCIC database.
In Philadelphia, while all warrants, including bench
warrants, are entered into a state database, only a small
fraction of these warrants is entered into the NCIC database.
The Philadelphia Police Department only enters into the NCIC
database a few hundred bench warrants deemed by the District
Attorney's Office to concern extraditable offenses and
surprisingly the Police Departments makes these entries
manually and not by automatic computer transfers. Thus, those
who abscond from criminal proceedings in Philadelphia and
flee to other states likely will not be captured because
information from their warrants is not automatically entered
into the NCIC database.
Last Congress, on June 16, 2008, then-Senator Biden
introduced the FIND Act (S. 3136), that sought to address
similar problems. At the time, Senator Biden said, ``Too
often, State and local law enforcement agencies enter
warrants into the State and local databases, but not into the
national database.'' His statement was prescient then and is
still true now. By September 2008, Senator Biden had been
joined by Senators Clinton and Durbin as cosponsors and the
bill had passed the Judiciary Committee.
Today I take up Vice President Biden's mantle and, along
with Senator Durbin, introduce the ``Fugitive Information
Networked Database Act of 2010,'' the FIND Act. This bill
directs the Attorney General to make a total of $10 million
in grants each fiscal year 2011 through 2015 to states and
Indian tribes for use in developing and implementing or
upgrading secure electronic warrant management systems for
the preparation, submission, and validation of state felony
warrants that are interoperable with the NCIC database. A
portion of these grant funds can be used to hire additional
personnel to validate warrants entered into the NCIC
database. The bill also directs the Attorney General to make
a total of $30 million in grants each fiscal year 2011 to
2015 to states and Indian tribes for extraditing fugitives
for prosecution and encourages their participation in the
U.S. Marshal's Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation
Service (``JPATS'') program. The bill directs the Comptroller
General to submit a statistical report to the House and
Senate Judiciary Committees on felony warrants issued by
state, local, and tribal governments and entered into the
NCIC database and on the apprehension and extradition of
persons with active felony warrants.
Finally, in an enhancement of the prior FIND Act, this new
bill requires any state seeking a grant renewal to file
public reports with the Attorney General and within its own
county clerk's offices indicating (i) the number of
defendants assessed or interviewed for pretrial release; (ii)
the number of indigent defendants included in (i); (iii) the
total number of failures to appear for all defendants
released; and (iv) the number and type of infractions
committed by defendants while on pretrial release.
I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation
which is designed to facilitate state and local data entry
into the NCIC database through grants, increase the
extradition of fugitives travelling in interstate commerce
and to ascertain whether our pretrial release programs are
operating effectively. The fugitive problem is national in
scope, involves individuals travelling in interstate
commerce, and requires federal solutions. By enacting this
bill, we take an important first step.
____
S. 3120
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fugitive Information
Networked Database Act of 2010'' or the ``FIND Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Nationwide, there are an estimated 2,700,000 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 are released without 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
Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies in support
of fugitive investigations, including through 82 District
Task Forces, and through the 7 Regional Fugitive Task Force
Programs that have partnered with Federal, State and local
law enforcement agencies to locate and apprehend fugitives.
(5) 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 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
[[Page S1622]]
that issued the warrant for the arrest of the fugitive.
Through JPATS, these agencies are able to reduce the cost of
extradition significantly.
(6) Expanding the availability of JPATS to State and local
law enforcement agencies would lower the cost of transporting
fugitives for extradition and lead to the prosecution of a
greater number of fugitives.
(7) Since 1967, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has
operated the National Crime Information Center, which
administers a nationwide database containing criminal history
information from the Federal Government and the States,
including outstanding arrest warrants. The National Crime
Information Center database allows a law enforcement officer
who stops a person in 1 State to obtain information about a
warrant for that person issued in another State. It contains
approximately 1,700,000 felony and misdemeanor warrants. It
is missing nearly half of the 2,800,000 to 3,200,000 of the
felony warrants issued across the Nation, including warrants
for hundreds of thousands of violent crimes.
(8) The failure of a State to enter a warrant into the
National Crime Information Center database enables a fugitive
to escape arrest even when the fugitive is stopped by a law
enforcement officer in another State, because the officer is
not aware there was a warrant issued for the fugitive. Many
of such fugitives go on to commit additional crimes. In
addition, such fugitives pose a danger to law enforcement
officers who encounter them without knowledge of the pending
charges against the fugitives or their record of fleeing law
enforcement authorities.
(9) All warrants entered into the National Crime
Information Center database must be validated on a regular
basis to ensure that the information in the warrant is still
accurate and that the warrant is still active.
(10) Improving the entry and validation of warrants in the
National Crime Information Center database would enable law
enforcement officers to identify and arrest a larger number
of fugitives, improve the safety of these officers, and
better protect communities from crime.
(11) Federal funds for State and local law enforcement are
most effective when they do not supplant, but rather
supplement State and local funds.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Active warrant.--The term ``active warrant'' means a
warrant that has not been cleared. A warrant may be cleared
by arrest or by the determination of a law enforcement agency
that a warrant has already been executed or that the subject
is deceased.
(2) Felony warrant.--The term ``felony warrant'' means any
warrant for a crime that is punishable by a term of
imprisonment exceeding 1 year.
(3) Indian country.--The term ``Indian country'' has the
meaning given the term in section 1151 of title 18, United
States Code.
(4) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the
meaning given the term in section 102 of the Federally
Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a).
(5) National crime information center database.--The term
``National Crime Information Center database'' means the
computerized index of criminal justice information operated
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation under section 534 of
title 28, United States Code, and available to Federal,
State, and local law enforcement and other criminal justice
agencies.
(6) State.--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, and
the Northern Mariana Islands.
(7) Unit of local government.--The term ``unit of local
government''--
(A) means--
(i) any city, county, township, borough, parish, village,
or other general purpose political subdivision of a State; or
(ii) 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;
(B) includes law enforcement agencies, courts, and any
other government agencies involved in the issuance of
warrants; and
(C) in the case of Indian tribes, includes tribal law
enforcement agencies, tribal courts and any other tribal
agencies involved in the issuance of warrants.
SEC. 4. GRANTS TO ENCOURAGE STATES TO ENTER FELONY WARRANTS.
(a) Authorization of Grants.--
(1) In general.--The Attorney General shall make grants to
States or Indian tribes in a manner consistent with the
National Criminal History Improvement Program, which shall be
used by States or Indian tribes, in conjunction with units of
local government, to--
(A)(i) develop and implement secure, electronic State,
local or tribal warrant management systems that permit the
prompt preparation, submission, and validation of warrants
and are compatible and interoperable with the National Crime
Information Center database to facilitate information sharing
and to ensure that felony warrants entered into warrant
databases by State, local and tribal government agencies can
be automatically entered into the National Crime Information
Center database; or
(ii) upgrade existing State, local or tribal electronic
warrant management systems to ensure compatibility and
interoperability with the National Crime Information Center
database to facilitate information sharing and to ensure that
felony warrants entered into warrant databases by State,
local and tribal government agencies can be automatically
entered into the National Crime Information Center database;
and
(B) ensure that all State, local, and tribal government
agencies that need access to the National Crime Information
Center database for criminal justice purposes can access the
database.
(2) Duration.--A grant awarded under this section shall
be--
(A) for a period of 1 year; and
(B) renewable at the discretion of the Attorney General if
the State seeking renewal submits an application to the
Attorney General that demonstrates compliance with subsection
(b)(2).
(3) Hiring of personnel.--Not more than 5 percent of the
grant funds awarded under this section to each State and
Indian tribe may also be used to hire additional personnel,
as needed, to validate warrants entered into the National
Crime Information Center database.
(4) Set-aside.--Not more than 5 percent of the total funds
available to be awarded under this section may be reserved
for Indian tribes.
(b) Eligibility.--
(1) In general.--In order to be eligible for a grant
authorized under subsection (a), a State or Indian tribe
shall submit to the Attorney General--
(A) a plan to develop and implement, or upgrade, systems
described in subsection (a)(1);
(B) a report that--
(i) details the number of active felony warrants issued by
the State or Indian tribe, including felony warrants issued
by units of local government within the State or Indian
tribe;
(ii) describes the number and type of active felony
warrants that have not been entered into a State, local, or
tribal warrant database or into the National Crime
Information Center database;
(iii) explains the reasons State, local, and tribal
government agencies have not entered active felony warrants
into the National Crime Information Center database; and
(iv) demonstrates that State, local, and tribal government
agencies have made good faith efforts to eliminate any such
backlog; and
(C) guidelines for warrant entry by the State or Indian
tribe, including units of local government within the State
or Indian tribe, that--
(i) ensure that felony warrants issued by the State or
Indian tribe, including units of local government within the
State or Indian tribe, will be entered into the National
Crime Information Center database; and
(ii) include a description of the circumstances, if any, in
which, as a matter of policy, certain such warrants will not
be entered into the National Crime Information Center
database.
(2) Deposit bail and citizens right to know.--A State that
submits a grant renewal application under subsection
(a)(3)(B) shall require that each unit of local government or
State pretrial services agency in such State that has
recieved grant funds under this section file with the
Attorney General and the appropriate county clerk's office of
jurisdiction the following public reports on defendants
released at the recommendation or under the supervision of
the unit of local government or State pretrial services
agency:
(A) An annual report specifying--
(i) the number of defendants assessed or interviewed for
pretrial release;
(ii) the number of indigent defendants included in clause
(i);
(iii) the number of failures to appear for a scheduled
court appearance; and
(iv) the number and type of program noncompliance
infractions committed by a defendant released to a pretrial
release program.
(B) An annual report at the end of each year, setting forth
the budget of the unit of local government or State pretrial
services agency for the reporting year.
(c) Report to the Attorney General.--A State or Indian
tribe that receives a grant under this section shall, 1 year
after receiving the grant, submit a report to the Attorney
General that includes--
(1) the number of active felony warrants issued by that
State or Indian tribe, including units of local government
within that State or Indian tribe;
(2) the number of the active felony warrants entered into
the National Crime Information Center database; and
(3) with respect to felony warrants not entered into the
National Crime Information Center database, the reasons for
not entering such warrants.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Attorney General $10,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 2011 through 2015 for grants to
carry out the requirements of this section.
SEC. 5. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION COORDINATION.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall provide to State,
local, and tribal government agencies the technological
standard to ensure the compatibility and interoperability of
all State, local, and tribal warrant
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databases with the National Crime Information Center
database, as well as other technical assistance to facilitate
the implementation of automated State, local, and tribal
warrant management systems that are compatible and
interoperable with the National Crime Information Center
database.
SEC. 6. REPORT REGARDING FELONY WARRANT ENTRY.
(a) In General.--Not later than 270 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit to the House and Senate Committees
on the Judiciary a report regarding--
(1) the number of active felony warrants issued by each
State and Indian tribe, including felony warrants issued by
units of local government within the State or Indian tribe;
(2) the number of the active felony warrants that State,
local, and tribal government agencies have entered into the
National Crime Information Center database; and
(3) for the preceding 3 years, the number of persons in
each State with an active felony warrant who were--
(A) apprehended in other States or in Indian Country but
not extradited; and
(B) apprehended in other States or in Indian Country and
extradited.
(b) Assistance.--To assist in the preparation of the report
required by subsection (a), the Attorney General shall
provide the Comptroller General of the United States access
to any information collected and reviewed in connection with
the grant application process described in section 4.
(c) Report by Attorney General.--On an annual basis, the
Attorney General shall submit to the Committees on the
Judiciary of the Senate and the House of Representatives a
report containing the information received from the States
and Indian tribes under this section.
SEC. 7. EXTRADITION ASSISTANCE.
(a) Grant Assistance.--
(1) Authorization of grant assistance.--
(A) In general.--The Attorney General shall, subject to
paragraph (4), make grants to States and Indian tribes for
periods of 1 year which shall be used by States and Indian
tribes, including units of local government within the State
or Indian tribe, to extradite fugitives from another State or
Indian country for prosecution.
(B) Set aside.--Not more than 5 percent of the grant
funding available under this section may be reserved for
Indian tribal governments, including tribal judicial systems.
(2) Matching funds.--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 section unless the
Attorney General waives, wholly or in part, the requirements
of this paragraph in the event of extraordinary
circumstances.
(3) Grant applications.--A State or Indian tribe seeking a
grant under this subsection shall submit an application to
the Attorney General that--
(A) describes the process and any impediments to
extraditing fugitives apprehended in other States or in
Indian Country after being notified of such fugitives'
apprehension;
(B) specifies the way in which grant amounts will be used,
including the means of transportation the State or Indian
tribe, or unit of local government within the State or Indian
tribe, intends to use for extradition and whether the State
or Indian tribe or unit of local government will participate
in the JPATS program, as well as whether it has participated
in that program in the past;
(C) specifies the number of fugitives extradited by all
jurisdictions within that State or Indian tribe for each of
the 3 years preceding the date of the grant application; and
(D) specifies the total amount spent by all jurisdictions
within that State or Indian tribe on fugitive extraditions
for each of the 3 years preceding the date of the grant
application.
(4) Eligibility.--
(A) In general.--In determining whether to award a grant
under this section to a State or Indian tribe, the Attorney
General shall consider the following:
(i) The information in the application submitted under
paragraph (3).
(ii) The percentage of felony warrants issued by the State
or Indian tribe, including units of local government within
the State or Indian tribe, that were entered into the
National Crime Information Center database, as calculated
with the information provided under subsection (b) and,
beginning 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act,
whether the State or Indian tribe has made substantial
progress in improving the entry of felony warrants into the
National Crime Information Center database.
(iii) For grants issued after an initial 1 year grant,
whether the State or Indian tribe, including units of local
government within the State or Indian tribe, has increased
substantially the number of fugitives extradited for
prosecution.
(B) Preferences.--In allocating extradition grants under
this section, the Attorney General should give preference to
States or Indian tribes that--
(i) 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, have
entered at least 50 percent of active felony warrants into
the National Crime Information Center database;
(ii) 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, have
entered at least 70 percent of active felony warrants into
the National Crime Information Center database; and
(iii) 7 years after the date of enactment of this Act, have
entered at least 90 percent of active felony warrants into
the National Crime Information Center database.
(5) Use of funds.--States and Indian tribes, including
units of local government within the State or Indian tribe,
receiving a grant under this section may use grant monies to
credit the costs of transporting State and local detainees on
behalf of such State to the Justice Prisoner and Alien
Transportation System.
(6) Record keeping.--States and Indian tribes, including
units of local government within the State or Indian tribe,
that receive a grant under this section shall maintain and
report such data, records, and information (programmatic and
financial) as the Attorney General may require.
(7) Audit.--
(A) In general.--The Attorney General shall conduct an
audit of the use of funds by States and Indian tribes
receiving grants under this section 18 months after the date
of the enactment of this Act and biennially thereafter.
(B) Ineligibility.--A State or Indian tribe, or unit of
local government within a State or Indian tribe, that fails
to increase substantially the number of fugitives extradited
after receiving a grant under this section will be ineligible
for future funds.
(8) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section $30,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015.
(b) Active Felony Warrants Issued by States and Indian
Tribes.--
(1) In general.--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, to assist the Attorney
General in making a determination under subsection (a)(4)
concerning eligibility to receive a grant, each State and
Indian tribe applying for a grant under this section shall
submit to the Attorney General--
(A) the total number of active felony warrants issued by
the State or Indian tribe, including units of local
government within the State or Indian tribe, regardless of
the age of the warrants; and
(B) a description of the categories of felony warrants not
entered into the National Crime Information Center database
and the reasons for not entering such warrants.
(2) Failure to provide.--A State or Indian tribe that fails
to provide the information 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 the information described in paragraph (1) to the
Attorney General.
(c) Attorney General Report.--
(1) In general.--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--
(A) containing the information submitted by the States and
Indian tribes under subsection (b);
(B) containing the percentage of active felony warrants
issued by those States and Indian tribes that has been
entered into the National Crime Information Center database,
as determined under subsection (a)(4)(A)(ii);
(C) containing a description of the categories of felony
warrants that have not been entered into the National Crime
Information Center database and the reasons such warrants
were not entered, as provided to the Attorney General under
subsection (b)(1);
(D) comparing the warrant entry information to data from
previous years and describing the progress of States and
Indian tribes in entering active felony warrants into the
National Crime Information Center database;
(E) containing the number of persons that each State or
Indian tribe, including units of local government within the
State or Indian tribe, has extradited from other States or in
Indian country for prosecution and describing any progress
the State or Indian tribe has made in improving the number of
fugitives extradited for prosecution; and
(F) describing the practices of the States and Indian
tribes regarding the collection, maintenance, automation, and
transmittal of felony warrants to the National Crime
Information Center, that the Attorney General considers to be
best practices.
(2) Best practices.--Not later than January 31 of each
year, the Attorney General shall provide the information
regarding best practices, referred to in paragraph (1)(F), to
each State and Indian tribe submitting information to the
National Crime Information Center.
______