[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 98 (Friday, May 21, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27808-27810]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-12821]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of Justice Programs
[OJP(BJA)-1220]
RIN 1121-ZB53


Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Act Program

AGENCY: Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, 
Justice.

ACTION: Fiscal Year 1999 Request for Proposals (RFP).

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is soliciting grant 
applications from State governments interested in participating in the 
national voluntary motor vehicle theft prevention program, Watch Your 
Car, as authorized under the Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Act of 1994 
(MVTPA).

DATES: All applications must be returned with a postmark, or dated 
receipt by a private carrier, no later than June 15, 1999.

ADDRESSES: All proposals must be mailed or sent to: Bureau of Justice 
Assistance; Attention: Watch Your Car Program Office; Bureau of Justice 
Assistance; 810 Seventh Street NW, Room 4411, Washington, D.C. 20531.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Bureau of Justice Assistance has 
already mailed program guides and application kits to each eligible 
State. The State's automobile theft prevention authority, where one 
exists, is designated as the recipient. For those States without an 
authority, the agency that administers the Byrne Formula Grant Program 
will be the recipient. However, any State agency involved in preventing 
motor vehicle theft may apply. Only one initial award will be made per 
State. However, those States that received initial awards during fiscal 
years 1996 and 1997 and eligible to apply for supplements. Copies of a 
fact sheet describing the Program are available by calling the U.S. 
Department of Justice Response Center at 1-800-421-6770. The 
metropolitan Washington, D.C., area number is 202-307-1480. Interested 
parties may download and print a copy of this announcement by accessing 
BJA's National Auto Theft Prevention Program Web page at ``http://
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/html/wyc.htm''. Adobe Acrobat software, an on-
line fact sheet on the Watch Your Car Program, samples of the decals, 
the recipient of the program guide and application kit for each State, 
and other graphical images and statistics pertaining to auto theft are 
also available at this site.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 27809]]

Authority

    Section 220001 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act 
of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-322, 108 Stat. 2074, codified at 42 U.S.C. 
14171, contains the Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Act (MVTPA). The 
MVTPA requires the Attorney General to establish a national voluntary 
motor vehicle theft prevention program. A proposed rule was published 
in the Federal Register on October 24, 1995. The final rule was 
published on August 6, 1996, and awards were made to the States of 
Arizona and New Mexico in September, 1996. An FY 1997 RFP was published 
in the Federal Register on April 14, 1997, and on September 30, 1997, 
grant awards were made to the States of Florida, Maryland, North 
Carolina, New Jersey, New York, and Tennessee. The FY 1998 RFP appeared 
in the February 13, 1998 Federal Register, and awards were subsequently 
made in August, 1998 to Alabama, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, 
South Carolina, and the United States Virgin Islands. The purpose of 
this announcement is to notify States that have not received no 
funding, or received funding during Fiscal Years 1996 and 1997 of the 
availability of grant funds appropriated under the authority of Public 
Law 105-277, the Omnibus Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1999.

Grant Offering

    BJA will be offering implementation grants for States that have no 
statewide motor vehicle theft prevention decal program in place and for 
States with existing programs that wish to make the transition to the 
Watch Your Car Program. Implementation grants will be awarded up to 
$200,000.
    For the past three years, the maximum award amount was $150,000. 
For those States that received awards during fiscal years 1996 and 
1997, BJA will consider applications for supplemental awards, on a 
case-by-case basis, in order for those States to attain parity with the 
increased base level.
    BJA encourages innovative approaches to implementing comprehensive, 
unique anti-car-theft initiatives and will evaluate applications based 
on the size and scope of the proposed project and its compatibility 
with other theft prevention measures. Other factors for consideration 
include the amount of public and private resources leveraged in the 
proposal.

Background

    The purpose of the Watch Your Car Program is to focus the attention 
of law enforcement on vehicles that are not routinely operated during 
the early morning hours or are operated near international land borders 
or ports. The program enables proactive investigation of potential auto 
theft before a stolen vehicle report is filed.
    Under this program, a motor vehicle owner must sign a consent form 
and obtain decals authorizing law enforcement officers to stop the 
motor vehicle if it is being driven under certain specified conditions 
and to take reasonable steps to determine whether the vehicle is being 
operated with the owner's consent. There are two conditions. Under the 
first condition, the owner may consent to have the car stopped if it is 
operated between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. Under the second 
condition, the owner may consent to have the car stopped if it crosses 
or is about to cross a United States land border or if it enters a 
port.
    States elect to participate in the program solely at their option.
    BJA is aware of similar types of theft prevention programs already 
in existence. The most common program is Combat Auto Theft (CAT), which 
is used on a statewide basis and by individual local jurisdictions in 
California, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. Illinois has the 
Beat Auto Theft (BAT) Program, and Texas originated the Help End Auto 
Theft (HEAT) Program.
    Programs such as CAT, BAT, and HEAT function on a statewide basis 
to insure a level of uniformity among participating municipalities and 
counties. These programs have worked successfully in their States of 
origin because police throughout the State could easily recognize their 
own decal. If a thief drove a stolen vehicle across state lines 
however, the police in the adjoining jurisdiction may not have 
recognized the decal or if they did recognize it, may lack the 
authorization to stop the vehicle and check the identity of the driver. 
The dissimilarity of statewide programs has been further complicated by 
the proliferation of local anti-theft programs in States without a 
statewide program. Numerous municipalities and counties have adopted a 
variety of programs using differing emblems, icons, and symbols.
    The main advantage of the national Watch Your Car Program is its 
use of a decal that will eventually become an recognizable icon by 
police nationwide. It features the capability of intra/interstate 
enforcement through the checking of vehicles with differing county and/
or out-of-State license plates.
    BJA's specifications call for the manufacture of tamper-resistant 
decals made from retro reflective sheeting to make them easily 
discernible at night. The windshield decal(s) are to be applied on the 
outside of the glass directly above the inside rear-view mirror. The 
rear window decal is affixed on the exterior face along the lower left 
side.
    The MVTPA Program compels a thief to remove tamper-resistant decals 
while alongside the vehicle, acting suspiciously and drawing attention 
to himself/herself. These impediments, in addition to other theft 
prevention devices such as steering wheel locks, increase the number of 
hurdles a thief must overcome and raise the level of theft deterrence.
    The MVTPA requires, as a condition of participation, that each 
State agree to take reasonable steps to ensure that law enforcement 
officials throughout its jurisdiction are familiar with the program and 
with the conditions under which motor vehicles may be stopped.
    This program is a Federal program that operates separately from any 
existing State or local motor vehicle theft prevention program. It is 
not intended to preempt existing State or local laws or programs.

Application Requirements

Problem Statement

    States wishing to apply shall provide an assessment of the auto 
theft problem in their State and what efforts have been undertaken to 
address it. Applicants should contrast the severity of their auto theft 
problem with those in other States and discern the patterns and trends 
of auto theft. States should also identify what steps have been taken 
to decrease auto theft. For instance, does the State have an automobile 
theft prevention authority and what types of initiatives it supports to 
combat auto theft?

Goals and Objectives

    The applicant must provide goals, objectives, and methods of 
implementation for the project that are consistent with the program 
announcement. Objectives should be clear, measurable, attainable, and 
focused on the methods used to conduct the project. Favorable 
consideration will be given to those applicants that merge their auto 
theft enforcement efforts and their prevention initiatives into a 
coherent strategy and establish goals and objectives based on the 
anticipated collective outcome of both approaches.

Project Strategy or Design

    The project strategy or design should describe the Watch Your Car 
Program

[[Page 27810]]

the State wishes to implement including its size and scope; outreach 
efforts to educate the public; statewide training programs to inform 
municipal, county, and State law enforcement officers of the program; a 
description of the database if the State wishes to maintain a 
centralized computer registry; the production and dissemination of 
universal consent forms authorizing traffic stops by any local, State, 
or Federal law enforcement officer pursuant to the stipulated program 
condition(s); and efforts to be undertaken to enlist both public and 
private organizations such as auto dealers, auto insurance companies, 
and other major retail businesses willing to host registration programs 
and encourage employee participation.

Implementation Plan

    The applicant should provide an implementation plan for the program 
outlined above. It should include a schedule with milestones for 
significant tasks in a chart form.

Additional Resource Commitments

    The applicant is encouraged to leverage other resources--State, 
local, or private--in support of this project.

Project Management Structure

    The applicant should describe how the project will be structured, 
organized, and managed. It should identify and describe the 
qualifications and experience of the project director and project 
staff, the basis for their selection, and their roles and 
responsibilities.

Organizational Capability

    The applicant should describe the organizational experience, both 
programmatic and financial, that qualifies it to manage the project.

Program Evaluation

    The program evaluation should indicate how the applicant will 
assess the success of project implementation and the extent to which 
the strategy achieved the project's goals and objectives.

Nancy E. Gist,
Director, Bureau of Justice Assistance.
[FR Doc. 99-12821 Filed 5-20-99; 8:45 am]
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