National Stalker Reduction Act of 1992

National Stalker Reduction Act of 1992 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make grants to States which include programs that increase awareness, reporting, and prevention of stalking.

Directs each State which receives drug control and system improvement formula grants under the Act in a fiscal year to allocate not less than five percent of such funds for the development of records regarding stalking and other forms of domestic violence, including: (1) the development or expansion of maintaining records regarding the dispositions of all complaints and arrests for stalking and other forms of domestic violence; (2) the full automation of such records; and (3) the frequency and quality of reports sent to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Authorizes the Director to waive compliance with such allocation requirement by a State, or to authorize a State to reduce the minimum amount such State is required to allocate, if the Director finds that the quality of the States' records regarding stalking and domestic violence complaints and arrests does not warrant expending the amount allocated.

Requires the Bureau of Justice Statistics to: (1) define terms that relate to stalking and make such definitions available to individuals and groups that request such information; and (2) compile a national database regarding stalking and other forms of domestic violence.

 
HR 6198 IH
102d CONGRESS
2d Session
 H. R. 6198
To reduce the incidence of stalking and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 6 (legislative day, OCTOBER 5), 1992
Mr. KENNEDY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary
A BILL
To reduce the incidence of stalking and for other purposes.
  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 `National Stalker Reduction Act of 1992'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  The Congress finds that--
  (1) stalking, which is the willful, malicious, and repeated following or
  harassing by an individual who makes a threat with the intent to place
  another individual in imminent fear of death or serious bodily injury,
  often is part of a pattern of behavior within the scope of domestic violence;
  (2) there is insufficient data available to determine the extent and number
  of incidents of stalking;
  (3) nearly 30 percent of all female murders are attributed to domestic
  violence;
  (4) State criminal statutes often do not apply to stalking, and more than
  50 percent of the States have failed to enact legislation that includes
  stalking; and
  (5) the prolonged suffering of victims from stalking has been frequently
  reported by the media, and victims, their families, and friends.
SEC. 3. ENACTMENT OF STATE ANTI-STALKING LEGISLATION.
  (a) PROGRAMS REGARDING STALKING- Section 501(b) of title I of the Omnibus
  Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended--
  (1) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (21) and adding `;
  and'; and
  (2) by adding at the end the following:
  `(22) programs that increase awareness, reporting, and prevention of
  stalking.'.
SEC. 4. NATIONAL DATA BASE.
  (a) ALLOCATION RESERVATION- Subject to subsection (d), each State which
  receives funds under section 506 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
  Streets Act of 1968 in a fiscal year shall allocate not less than 5 percent
  of such funds for the development of records regarding stalking and other
  forms of domestic violence.
  (b) DEVELOPMENT OF RECORDS- The development referred to in subsection (a)
  shall include--
  (1) the development or expansion of maintaining records regarding the
  dispositions of all complaints and arrests for stalking and other forms
  of domestic violence;
  (2) the full automation of such records; and
  (3) the frequency and quality of reports sent to the Bureau of Justice
  Statistics.
  (c) The Director, in consultation with the Director of the Bureau of
  Justice Statistics, shall establish guidelines for the fulfillment of the
  requirements specified in subsections (a) and (b) of this section.
  (d) In accordance with such guidelines as the Director shall issue and at
  the request of a State, the Director may--
  (1) waive compliance with subsection (a) by such State; or
  (2) authorize such State to reduce the minimum amount such State is required
  to allocate under subsection (a);
if the Director finds that the quality of the States's records regarding
stalking and domestic violence complaints and arrests does not warrant
expending the amount allocated under subsection (a).
SEC. 5. NATIONAL INFORMATION.
  (a) DEFINITIONS- Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of
  this Act, the Bureau of Justice Statistics shall define terms that relate
  to stalking and make such definitions available to individuals and groups
  that request such information.
  (b) COLLECTION OF DATA- Not later than 2 years after the date of the
  enactment of this Act, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in coordination
  with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the States, shall compile a
  national data base regarding stalking and other forms of domestic violence.