Part B—Improving Federal Criminal Law Enforcement To Ensure Sex Offender Compliance With Registration and Notification Requirements and Protection of Children From Violent Predators

§20941. Federal assistance with respect to violations of registration requirements

(a) In general

The Attorney General shall use the resources of Federal law enforcement, including the United States Marshals Service, to assist jurisdictions in locating and apprehending sex offenders who violate sex offender registration requirements. For the purposes of section 566(e)(1)(B) of title 28, a sex offender who violates a sex offender registration requirement shall be deemed a fugitive.

(b) Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2007 through 2009 to implement this section.

(Pub. L. 109–248, title I, §142, July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 604.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

Section was formerly classified to section 16941 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

§20942. Project Safe Childhood

(a) Establishment of program

Not later than 6 months after July 27, 2006, the Attorney General shall create and maintain a Project Safe Childhood program in accordance with this section.

(b) Initial implementation

Except as authorized under subsection (c), funds authorized under this section may only be used for the following 5 purposes:

(1) Integrated Federal, State, and local efforts to investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases, including—

(A) the partnership by each United States Attorney with each Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force that is a part of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program authorized and funded under title IV of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5771 et seq.) ¹ (referred to in this section as the "ICAC Task Force Program") that exists within the district of such attorney;

(B) the partnership by each United States Attorney with other Federal, State, and local law enforcement partners working in the district of such attorney to implement the program described in subsection (a);

(C) the development by each United States Attorney of a district-specific strategic plan to coordinate the investigation and prosecution of child exploitation crimes;

(D) efforts to identify and rescue victims of child exploitation crimes; and

(E) local training, educational, and awareness programs of such crimes.

(2) Major case coordination by the Department of Justice (or other Federal agencies as appropriate), including specific integration or cooperation, as appropriate, of—

(A) the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section within the Department of Justice;

(B) the Innocent Images Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation;

(C) any task forces established in connection with the Project Safe Childhood program set forth under subsection (a); and

(D) the High Tech Investigative Unit within the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice.

(3) Increased Federal involvement in child pornography and enticement cases by providing additional investigative tools and increased penalties under Federal law.

(4) Training of Federal, State, and local law enforcement through programs facilitated by—

(A) the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children;

(B) the ICAC Task Force Program; and

(C) any other ongoing program regarding the investigation and prosecution of computer-facilitated crimes against children, including training and coordination regarding leads from—

(i) Federal law enforcement operations; and

(ii) the CyberTipline and Child Victim-Identification programs managed and maintained by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

(5) Community awareness and educational programs through partnerships to provide national public awareness and educational programs through—

(A) the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children;

(B) the ICAC Task Force Program; and

(C) any other ongoing programs that—

(i) raises ² national awareness about the threat of online sexual predators; or

(ii) provides ² information to parents and children seeking to report possible violations of computer-facilitated crimes against children.

(c) Expansion of project safe childhood

Notwithstanding subsection (b), funds authorized under this section may be also be ² used for the following purposes:

(1) The addition of not less than 8 Assistant United States Attorneys at the Department of Justice dedicated to the prosecution of cases in connection with the Project Safe Childhood program set forth under subsection (a).

(2) The creation, development, training, and deployment of not less than 10 new Internet Crimes Against Children task forces within the ICAC Task Force Program consisting of Federal, State, and local law enforcement personnel dedicated to the Project Safe Childhood program set forth under subsection (a), and the enhancement of the forensic capacities of existing Internet Crimes Against Children task forces.

(3) The development and enhancement by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the Innocent Images task forces.

(4) Such other additional and related purposes as the Attorney General determines appropriate.

(d) Authorization of appropriations

For the purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated—

(1) for the activities described under subsection (b)—

(A) $18,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; and

(B) such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years; and

(2) for the activities described under subsection (c)—

(A) for fiscal year 2007—

(i) $15,000,000 for the activities under paragraph (1);

(ii) $10,000,000 for activities under paragraph (2); and

(iii) $4,000,000 for activities under paragraph (3); and

(B) such sums as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal years.

(Pub. L. 109–248, title I, §143, July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 604.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, referred to in subsec. (b)(1)(A), is Pub. L. 93–415, Sept. 7, 1974, 88 Stat. 1109. Title IV of the Act was classified generally to subchapter IV (§5771 et seq.) of chapter 72 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification as subchapter IV (§11291 et seq.) of chapter 111 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1974 Act note set out under section 10101 of this title and Tables.

Codification

Section was formerly classified to section 16942 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

¹ See References in Text note below.

² So in original.

§20943. Federal assistance in identification and location of sex offenders relocated as a result of a major disaster

The Attorney General shall provide assistance to jurisdictions in the identification and location of a sex offender relocated as a result of a major disaster.

(Pub. L. 109–248, title I, §144, July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 606.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

Section was formerly classified to section 16943 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

§20944. Expansion of training and technology efforts

(a) Training

The Attorney General shall—

(1) expand training efforts with Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers and prosecutors to effectively respond to the threat to children and the public posed by sex offenders who use the Internet and technology to solicit or otherwise exploit children;

(2) facilitate meetings involving corporations that sell computer hardware and software or provide services to the general public related to use of the Internet, to identify problems associated with the use of technology for the purpose of exploiting children;

(3) host national conferences to train Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers, probation and parole officers, and prosecutors regarding pro-active approaches to monitoring sex offender activity on the Internet;

(4) develop and distribute, for personnel listed in paragraph (3), information regarding multidisciplinary approaches to holding offenders accountable to the terms of their probation, parole, and sex offender registration laws; and

(5) partner with other agencies to improve the coordination of joint investigations among agencies to effectively combat online solicitation of children by sex offenders.

(b) Technology

The Attorney General shall—

(1) deploy, to all Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces and their partner agencies, technology modeled after the Canadian Child Exploitation Tracking System; and

(2) conduct training in the use of that technology.

(c) Report

Not later than July 1, 2007, the Attorney General,¹ shall submit to Congress a report on the activities carried out under this section. The report shall include any recommendations that the Attorney General considers appropriate.

(d) Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General, for fiscal year 2007—

(1) $1,000,000 to carry out subsection (a); and

(2) $2,000,000 to carry out subsection (b).

(Pub. L. 109–248, title I, §145, July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 606.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

Section was formerly classified to section 16944 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

¹ So in original. The comma probably should not appear.

§20945. Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking

(a) Establishment

There is established within the Department of Justice, under the general authority of the Attorney General, an Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (hereinafter in this section referred to as the "SMART Office").

(b) Director

The SMART Office shall be headed by a Director who shall be appointed by the President. The Director shall report to the Attorney General through the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs and shall have final authority for all grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts awarded by the SMART Office. The Director shall not engage in any employment other than that of serving as the Director, nor shall the Director hold any office in, or act in any capacity for, any organization, agency, or institution with which the Office makes any contract or other arrangement.

(c) Duties and functions

The SMART Office is authorized to—

(1) administer the standards for the sex offender registration and notification program set forth in this chapter;

(2) administer grant programs relating to sex offender registration and notification authorized by this chapter and other grant programs authorized by this chapter as directed by the Attorney General;

(3) cooperate with and provide technical assistance to States, units of local government, tribal governments, and other public and private entities involved in activities related to sex offender registration or notification or to other measures for the protection of children or other members of the public from sexual abuse or exploitation; and

(4) perform such other functions as the Attorney General may delegate.

(Pub. L. 109–248, title I, §146, July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 607.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), (2), was in the original "this Act", meaning Pub. L. 109–248, July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 587, known as the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 2006 Act note set out under section 10101 of this title and Tables.

Codification

Section was formerly classified to section 16945 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.