Savanna's Act
This bill directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to review, revise, and develop law enforcement and justice protocols to address missing and murdered Indians.
Among other things, DOJ must:
Federal law enforcement agencies must modify their guidelines to incorporate the guidelines developed by DOJ.
The FBI must include gender in its annual statistics on missing and unidentified persons published on its website.
[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1942 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1942
To direct the Attorney General to review, revise, and develop law
enforcement and justice protocols appropriate to address missing and
murdered Indians, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 5, 2017
Ms. Heitkamp (for herself, Mr. Tester, Mr. Franken, Mr. Heinrich, Mr.
Merkley, and Ms. Warren) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Attorney General to review, revise, and develop law
enforcement and justice protocols appropriate to address missing and
murdered Indians, 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 ``Savanna's Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) On some reservations, Indian women are murdered at more
than 10 times the national average.
(2) American Indians and Alaska Natives are 2.5 times as
likely to experience violent crimes--and at least 2 times more
likely to experience rape or sexual assault crimes--compared to
all other races.
(3) More than 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaska Native
women, or 84.3 percent, have experienced violence in their
lifetime.
(4) According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, homicide is the third leading cause of death among
American Indian and Alaska Native women between 10 and 24 years
of age and the fifth leading cause of death for American Indian
and Alaska Native women between 25 and 34 years of age.
(5) According to a 2010 Government Accountability Office
report, United States Attorneys declined to prosecute nearly 52
percent of violent crimes that occur in Indian country.
(6) Investigation into cases of missing and murdered Indian
women is made difficult for Tribal law enforcement agencies due
to a lack of resources, such as--
(A) necessary training, equipment, or funding;
(B) a lack of interagency cooperation; and
(C) a lack of appropriate laws in place.
(7) The complicated jurisdictional scheme that exists in
Indian country--
(A) has a significant negative impact on the
ability to provide public safety to Indian communities;
(B) has been increasingly exploited by criminals;
and
(C) requires a high degree of commitment and
cooperation among Tribal, Federal, and State law
enforcement officials.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to clarify the responsibilities of Federal, State,
Tribal, and local governments with respect to responding to
cases of missing and murdered Indians;
(2) to increase coordination and communication among
Federal, State, Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies;
(3) to empower Tribal governments with the resources and
information necessary to effectively respond to cases of
missing and murdered Indians; and
(4) to increase the collection of data related to missing
and murdered Indian women and the sharing of information among
Federal, State, and Tribal officials responsible for responding
to and investigating cases of missing and murdered Indians.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Federal databases.--The term ``Federal databases''
means--
(A) the National Crime Information Center database;
(B) the Combined DNA Index System;
(C) the Integrated Automated Fingerprint
Identification System;
(D) the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program;
(E) the National Missing and Unidentified Persons
System; and
(F) other Federal databases relevant to responding
to cases of missing and murdered Indians.
(2) Indian.--The term ``Indian'' means a member of an
Indian Tribe.
(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 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
(5) Law enforcement agency.--The term ``law enforcement
agency'' means a Tribal, Federal, State, or local law
enforcement agency.
SEC. 4. IMPROVING TRIBAL ACCESS TO FEDERAL CRIME INFORMATION DATABASES.
(a) Tribal Enrollment Information.--Not later than 30 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall update
the online data entry format for Federal databases to include a new
data field for users to input the victim's Tribal enrollment
information or affiliation, as appropriate.
(b) Consultation.--
(1) Initial consultation.--Not later than 120 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in
cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall complete
a formal consultation with Indian Tribes on how to further
improve Tribal data relevance and access to Federal databases,
which shall also inform the development of law enforcement and
justice protocols under section 5(a).
(2) Annual consultation.--Section 903(b) of the Violence
Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of
2005 (34 U.S.C. 20126) is amended--
(A) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the
following:
``(2) enhancing the safety of Indian women from domestic
violence, dating violence, sexual assault, homicide, stalking,
and sex trafficking;'';
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) improving access to local, regional, State, and
Federal crime information databases and criminal justice
information systems.''.
(c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Attorney General shall prepare and submit a report to the
Committee on Indian Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary of the
Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on the
Judiciary of the House of Representatives that includes--
(1) the results of the formal consultation described in
subsection (b)(1);
(2) a description of the outstanding barriers Indian Tribes
face in acquiring full access to Federal databases and related
national crime information systems; and
(3) the plan of action of the Department of Justice to--
(A) implement suggestions received from Indian
Tribes through the consultation process; and
(B) resolve the outstanding barriers described
under paragraph (2).
SEC. 5. STANDARDIZED PROTOCOLS FOR RESPONDING TO CASES OF MISSING AND
MURDERED INDIANS.
(a) Standardized Protocols for Missing and Murdered Indians.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the
consultation process described in section 4(b)(1), the Attorney
General, in cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior and
in consultation with Indian Tribes, shall--
(A) review existing (as of the date of the review)
law enforcement and justice protocols appropriate to
missing and murdered Indians; and
(B) recommend such existing protocols, revise such
existing protocols, or develop new protocols, as
necessary, to establish protocols to serve as
guidelines for law enforcement agencies with respect to
missing and murdered Indians.
(2) Public availability.--The Attorney General shall make
the protocols under paragraph (1) publicly available and shall
distribute them to law enforcement agencies.
(b) Requirements.--The standardized protocols under subsection (a)
shall include the following:
(1) Guidance on inter-jurisdictional cooperation among law
enforcement agencies at the Tribal, Federal, State, and local
levels.
(2) Standards on the collection, reporting, and analysis of
data and information on missing persons and unidentified human
remains appropriate to Indians, including standards on entering
information to Federal databases on missing persons within a
certain timeframe after receiving the missing persons report.
(3) Guidance on improving law enforcement response rates
and follow-up to cases of missing and murdered Indians.
(4) Methods to ensure access to victim services for Indian
victims and their families.
(c) Directions to United States Attorneys.--
(1) Directions.--Not later than 240 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall direct United
States attorneys with jurisdiction to prosecute crimes in
Indian country under sections 1152 and 1153 of title 18, United
States Code, to develop written standard protocols to
investigate cases of missing and murdered Indians that--
(A) are guided by the standardized protocols under
subsection (a);
(B) are developed in consultation with Indian
Tribes and other Federal partners, including--
(i) the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
(ii) the Department of the Interior;
(iii) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and
(iv) the Indian Health Service;
(C) detail specific responsibilities of each
Federal partner; and
(D) shall be implemented not later than 60 days
after the direction is issued.
(2) Additional directions.--Not later than 240 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall
direct United States attorneys with jurisdiction to prosecute
crimes in Indian Country from an authority other than section
1152 or 1153 of title 18, United States Code, to discuss the
Federal response to cases of missing and murdered Indians with
their Tribal partners and Federal partners as appropriate
during annual consultations.
(d) Training and Technical Assistance.--The Attorney General shall
provide Indian Tribes and law enforcement agencies with training and
technical assistance relating to the development and implementation of
the law enforcement and justice protocols of the Indian Tribes and
agencies, respectively, in accordance with the standardized protocols
under subsection (a).
(e) Compliance.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, Federal law enforcement agencies with
jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes relating to missing
and murdered Indians shall modify the law enforcement and justice
protocols of the agency to satisfactorily comply with the standardized
protocols under subsection (a).
SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Beginning in the first fiscal year after the date of enactment
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General and the
Secretary of the Interior shall jointly prepare and submit a report, to
the Committee on Indian Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary of
the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on
the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, that--
(1) includes known statistics on missing and murdered
Indian women in the United States;
(2) provides recommendations regarding how to improve data
collection on missing and murdered Indian women; and
(3) includes information relevant to the implementation of
the standardized protocols developed under section 5(a).
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S6363-6365)
Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 115-329.
Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Committee on Indian Affairs. Reported by Senator Hoeven with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 115-411.
Committee on Indian Affairs. Reported by Senator Hoeven with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 115-411.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 715.
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote.(consideration: CR S7365-7366; text: CR S7365-7366)
Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote. (consideration: CR S7365-7366; text: CR S7365-7366)
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Received in the House.
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