Sec. 4. Guidelines for responding to cases of missing and murdered Indians
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/bill/116/hr/2733/ih/section-4A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Not later than 60 days after the date on which the consultation described in section 902(c)(1) is completed, the Attorney General shall direct United States attorneys to develop regionally appropriate guidelines to respond to cases of missing and murdered Indians that shall include— guidelines on inter-jurisdictional cooperation among law enforcement agencies at the Tribal, Federal, State, and local levels, including inter-jurisdictional enforcement of protection orders and detailing specific responsibilities of each law enforcement agency; best practices in conducting searches for missing persons on Indian lands; standards on the collection, reporting, and analysis of data and information on missing persons and unidentified human remains, and information on culturally appropriate identification and handling of human remains identified as Indian, including guidance stating that all appropriate information related to missing and murdered Indians be entered in a timely manner into applicable databases; guidance on which law enforcement agency is responsible for inputting information into appropriate databases under paragraph
(3)if the Tribal law enforcement agency does not have access to those appropriate databases; guidelines on improving law enforcement agency response rates and follow-up responses to cases of missing and murdered Indians on and off Indian lands; guidelines on ensuring access to culturally appropriate victim services for victims and their families; and guidelines on improving law enforcement agency communication with families of victims to ensure timely notification and dissemination of appropriate information in the cases of missing and murdered Indians on and off Tribal lands. United States attorney shall develop the guidelines required under subsection
(a)in consultation with Indian Tribes and other partners, including— the Department of Justice; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Department of the Interior; the Bureau of Indian Affairs; Tribal, State, and local law enforcement agencies; medical examiners; coroners; Tribal, State, and local organizations that provide victim services; and national or regional tribal organizations with relevant expertise. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the United States attorneys shall incorporate the guidelines developed under subsection
(a)into existing policies and procedures, and implement such guidelines. Each Federal law enforcement agency shall modify the guidelines, policies, and protocols of the agency to incorporate the guidelines developed under subsection (a). Not later than the end of each fiscal year beginning after the date the guidelines are established under this section and incorporated under this subsection, the Attorney General shall determine whether each Tribal, State, and local law enforcement agency has incorporated guidelines into their respective guidelines, policies, and protocols, and any barriers the agency reported in collecting and providing the information. Not later than 30 days after compliance determinations are made each fiscal year in accordance with paragraph (3), the Attorney General shall— disclose and publish, including on the website of the Department of Justice, the name of each Tribal, State, or local law enforcement agency that the Attorney General has determined has incorporated guidelines in accordance with paragraph (3); if a law enforcement agency described in subparagraph
(A)subsequently receives a determination of compliance in accordance with paragraph (3), the Attorney General shall— immediately correct the applicable record; and not later than 3 days after the determination, add the record to the website of the Department of Justice and any other location where the record was published; and collect guidelines of each agency into a resource of examples and best practices that can be used by other law enforcement agencies seeking to create and implement such guidelines. The Attorney General shall use the National Indian Country Training Initiative to provide training and technical assistance to Indian Tribes and law enforcement agencies on— implementing the guidelines developed under subsection
(a)or developing and implementing locally specific guidelines or protocols for responding to cases of missing and murdered Indians; and using the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System and accessing program services that will assist Indian Tribes with responding to cases of missing and murdered Indians. the Attorney General may provide the training described in paragraph
(1)through local state law enforcement academies if— the Attorney General determines that the such academies will provide trainings that meet the same standards and utilize the curriculum as trainings provided by the National Indian Country Training Initiative; and that relevant state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies have consented to the training being provided by such academies, rather than the National Indian Country Training Initiative.