II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4402 

To direct the Attorney General to establish a grant program to establish, 

implement, and administer the violent incident clearance and technology 

investigative method, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 14, 2022 

Mr. BOOKER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To direct the Attorney General to establish a grant program 

to establish, implement, and administer the violent incident clearance and technology investigative method, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Violent Incident Clear5 ance and Technological Investigative Methods Act of 

6 2022’’ or the ‘‘VICTIM Act of 2022’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Research indicates that law enforcement 

2 agencies can increase clearance rates by improving— 

3 (A) investigative processes; 

4 (B) detective capacities; and 

5 (C) organizational oversight and super6 vision of investigations. 

7 (2) When a law enforcement agency expends 

8 additional investigative effort, the law enforcement 

9 agency improves its success in gaining cooperation of 

10 key witnesses and increases the amount of forensic 

11 evidence collected. 

12 (3) Effective investigation of shootings can pre13 vent subsequent related violence by— 

14 (A) deterring retaliation; and 

15 (B) providing interventions to individuals 

16 who may continue to commit crimes or become 

17 victims of retaliatory violence. 

18 (4) Law enforcement agencies that demonstrate 

19 higher rates of clearance for homicides and non-fatal 

20 shootings— 

21 (A) have more structured oversight and 

22 formal interactions between investigative units 

23 and agency leadership; 

24 (B) are more likely to have investigative 

25 units that have collaborative relationships and 


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1 robust information sharing with other units of 

2 the law enforcement agency; 

3 (C) have investigative units that have spe4 cific goals and performance metrics for both the 

5 unit and for investigators within the unit; 

6 (D) have investigators who more frequently 

7 respond to the initial crime scene shortly after 

8 crimes have been reported to collect evidence 

9 and interview witnesses; 

10 (E) have investigators who either have spe11 cialized experience before joining investigative 

12 units or are trained in investigations once they 

13 join those units; 

14 (F) often have standard operating proce15 dures for investigations that establish policies 

16 and evidence-based best practices for con17 ducting and completing homicide investigations; 

18 and 

19 (G) have better relationships with the com20 munities they serve, even if no specific commu21 nity-oriented campaign or initiative exists be22 tween investigative units and community 

23 groups. 


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1 (5) Criminal justice agencies should collaborate 

2 with each other and share best practices for solving 

3 homicides and non-fatal shootings. 

4 (6) A comprehensive community engagement 

5 strategy concerning gun violence is essential to im6 proving clearance rates for homicides and non-fatal 

7 shootings. 

8 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM WITH RESPECT TO VIOLENT INCI9 DENT CLEARANCE AND TECHNOLOGICAL IN10 VESTIGATIVE METHODS. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) CLEARANCE BY ARREST.—The term ‘‘clear13 ance by arrest’’, with respect to an offense reported 

14 to a law enforcement agency, means the law enforce15 ment agency— 

16 (A) has— 

17 (i) arrested not less than 1 person for 

18 the offense; 

19 (ii) charged the person described in 

20 subparagraph (A) with the commission of 

21 the offense; and 

22 (iii) referred the person described in 

23 subparagraph (A) for prosecution for the 

24 offense; or 


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1 (B) has cited an individual under the age 

2 of 18 to appear in juvenile court or before an3 other juvenile authority with respect to the of4 fense, regardless of whether a physical arrest 

5 occurred. 

6 (2) CLEARANCE BY EXCEPTION.—The term 

7 ‘‘clearance by exception’’, with respect to an offense 

8 reported to a law enforcement agency, means the 

9 law enforcement agency— 

10 (A) has identified not less than 1 person 

11 suspected of the offense; and 

12 (B) with respect to the suspect described 

13 in subparagraph (A), has— 

14 (i) gathered enough evidence to— 

15 (I) support an arrest of the sus16 pect; 

17 (II) make a charge against the 

18 suspect; and 

19 (III) refer the suspect for pros20 ecution; 

21 (ii) identified the exact location of the 

22 suspect so that the suspect could be taken 

23 into custody immediately; and 

24 (iii) encountered a circumstance out25 side the control of the law enforcement 


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1 agency that prohibits the agency from ar2 resting the suspect, charging the suspect, 

3 or referring the suspect for prosecution, in4 cluding— 

5 (I) the death of the suspect; 

6 (II) the refusal of the victim to 

7 cooperate with the prosecution after 

8 the suspect has been identified; or 

9 (III) the denial of extradition be10 cause the suspect committed an of11 fense in another jurisdiction and is 

12 being prosecuted for that offense. 

13 (3) CLEARANCE RATE.—The term ‘‘clearance 

14 rate’’, with respect to a law enforcement agency, 

15 means— 

16 (A) the number of offenses cleared by the 

17 law enforcement agency, including through 

18 clearance by arrest and clearance by exception, 

19 divided by 

20 (B) the total number of offenses reported 

21 to the law enforcement agency. 

22 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti23 ty’’ means a State, Tribal, or local law enforcement 

24 agency or prosecuting office, or a group of Tribal 


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1 law enforcement agencies or Tribal prosecuting of2 fices. 

3 (5) GRANT RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘grant re4 cipient’’ means a recipient of a grant under the Pro5 gram. 

6 (6) LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.—The term 

7 ‘‘law enforcement agency’’ means a public agency 

8 charged with policing functions, including any com9 ponent bureau of the agency (such as a govern10 mental victim services program or village public 

11 safety officer program), including an agency com12 posed of officers or persons referred to in subpara13 graph (B) or (C) of section 2(10) of the Indian Law 

14 Enforcement Reform Act (25 U.S.C. 2801(10)). 

15 (7) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

16 the grant program established under subsection 

17 (b)(1). 

18 (b) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

21 General shall establish a grant program within the 

22 Office of Justice Programs under which the Attor23 ney General awards grants to eligible entities to es24 tablish, implement, and administer violent incident 

25 clearance and technological investigative methods. 


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1 (2) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity seeking 

2 a grant under the Program shall submit to the At3 torney General an application at such time, in such 

4 manner, and containing or accompanied by— 

5 (A) such information as the Attorney Gen6 eral may reasonably require; and 

7 (B) a description of each eligible project 

8 under paragraph (4) that the grant will fund. 

9 (3) SELECTION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS.—The 

10 Attorney General, in selecting a recipient of a grant 

11 under the Program, shall consider the specific plan 

12 and activities proposed by the applicant to improve 

13 clearance rates for homicides and non-fatal shoot14 ings. 

15 (4) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—A grant recipient 

16 shall use the grant for activities with the specific ob17 jective of improving clearance rates for homicides 

18 and non-fatal shootings, including— 

19 (A) ensuring the retention of detectives 

20 who are assigned to investigate homicides and 

21 non-fatal shootings as of the date of receipt of 

22 the grant; 

23 (B) hiring and training additional detec24 tives who will be dedicated to investigating 

25 homicides and non-fatal shootings; 


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1 (C) developing policies, procedures, and 

2 training to improve the ability of detectives to 

3 effectively investigate and solve homicides and 

4 non-fatal shootings, including implementing 

5 best practices relating to— 

6 (i) improving internal agency coopera7 tion, organizational oversight and account8 ability, and supervision of investigations; 

9 (ii) developing specific goals and per10 formance metrics for both investigators 

11 and investigative units; 

12 (iii) establishing or improving rela13 tionships with the communities the agency 

14 serves; and 

15 (iv) collaboration with and among 

16 other law enforcement agencies and crimi17 nal justice organizations; 

18 (D) training personnel to address the 

19 needs of victims and family members of victims 

20 of homicides and non-fatal shootings or collabo21 rating with trained victim advocates and spe22 cialists to better meet the needs of victims; 

23 (E) acquiring, upgrading, or replacing in24 vestigative, evidence processing, or forensic test25 ing technology or equipment; 


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1 (F) development and implementation of 

2 policies that safeguard civil rights and civil lib3 erties during the collection, processing, and fo4 rensic testing of evidence; 

5 (G) hiring or training personnel for collec6 tion, processing, and forensic testing of evi7 dence; 

8 (H) hiring and training of personnel to 

9 analyze violent crime and the temporal and geo10 graphic trends among homicides and shootings; 

11 (I) retaining experts to conduct a detailed 

12 analysis of homicides and shootings using Gun 

13 Violence Problem Analysis (commonly known as 

14 ‘‘GVPA’’) or a similar research methodology; 

15 (J) ensuring victims have appropriate ac16 cess to emergency food, housing, clothing, trav17 el, and transportation; 

18 (K) developing competitive and evidence19 based programs to improve homicide and non20 fatal shooting clearance rates; 

21 (L) developing best practices for improving 

22 access to and acceptance of victim services, in23 cluding victim services that promote medical 

24 and psychological wellness, ongoing counseling, 

25 legal advice, and financial compensation; 


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1 (M) training investigators and detectives in 

2 trauma-informed interview techniques; 

3 (N) establishing programs to support offi4 cers who experience stress or trauma as a result 

5 of responding to or investigating shootings or 

6 other violent crime incidents; or 

7 (O) ensuring language and disability access 

8 supports are provided to victims and their fami9 lies so that victims can exercise their rights and 

10 participate in the criminal justice process. 

11 (c) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the 

13 cost of a project assisted with a grant under the 

14 Program shall not exceed— 

15 (A) 100 percent if the grant is awarded on 

16 or before December 31, 2032; or 

17 (B) subject to paragraph (2), 50 percent if 

18 the grant is awarded after December 31, 2032. 

19 (2) WAIVER.—With respect to a grant awarded 

20 under the Program after December 31, 2032, the 

21 Attorney General may determine that the Federal 

22 share of the cost of a project assisted with the grant 

23 shall not exceed 100 percent. 

24 (d) REPORT BY GRANT RECIPIENT.—Not later than 

25 1 year after receiving a grant under the Program, and 


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1 each year thereafter, a grant recipient shall submit to the 

2 Attorney General a report on the activities carried out 

3 using the grant, including, if applicable— 

4 (1) the number of homicide and non-fatal 

5 shooting detectives hired by the grant recipient; 

6 (2) the number of evidence processing personnel 

7 hired by the grant recipient; 

8 (3) a description of any training that is— 

9 (A) provided to existing (as of the date on 

10 which the grant was awarded) or newly hired 

11 homicide and non-fatal shooting detectives; and 

12 (B) designed to assist in the solving of 

13 crimes and improve clearance rates; 

14 (4) any new evidence processing technology or 

15 equipment purchased or any upgrades made to exist16 ing (as of the date on which the grant was awarded) 

17 evidence technology or equipment, and the associ18 ated cost; 

19 (5) any assessments of evidence processing 

20 technology or equipment purchased with the grant to 

21 determine whether the technology or equipment sat22 isfies the objectives of the use of the technology or 

23 equipment in increasing clearance rates, and any 

24 policies in place to govern the use of the technology 

25 or equipment; 


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1 (6) the internal policies and oversight used to 

2 ensure that any technology purchased through the 

3 grant for the purposes of improving clearance rates 

4 does not violate the civil rights and civil liberties of 

5 individuals; 

6 (7) data regarding clearance rates for homicides 

7 and non-fatal shootings, including the rate of clear8 ances by arrest and clearances by exception, and 

9 crime trends from within each jurisdiction in which 

10 the grant recipient carried out activities supported 

11 by the grant; 

12 (8) whether the grant recipient has provided 

13 grant funds to any victim services organizations, and 

14 if so, which organizations; 

15 (9) the demographic information for victims of 

16 homicides and non-fatal shootings, and the length 

17 and outcomes of each investigation, including wheth18 er the investigation was cleared by arrest or excep19 tion; 

20 (10) the demographic information for each vic21 tim or family member of a victim who received vic22 tim-related services provided by the grant recipient; 

23 and 


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1 (11) identification of the services most used by 

2 victims and their families and identification of addi3 tional services needed. 

4 (e) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE EVALUATION

5 AND REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

6 (1) EVALUATION.—Not later than 2 years after 

7 the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years 

8 thereafter, the Director of the National Institute of 

9 Justice shall conduct an evaluation of— 

10 (A) the practices deployed by grant recipi11 ents to identify policies and procedures that 

12 have successfully improved clearance rates for 

13 homicides and non-fatal shootings; and 

14 (B) the efficacy of any services provided to 

15 victims and family members of victims of homi16 cides and non-fatal shootings. 

17 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 

18 days after completion of an evaluation by the Na19 tional Institute of Justice under paragraph (1), the 

20 Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report 

21 including— 

22 (A) the results of the evaluation; and 

23 (B) information reported by each grant re24 cipient under subsection (d). 

25 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

2 appropriated to carry out this section $100,000,000 

3 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2032. 

4 (2) PERCENT FOR CERTAIN ELIGIBLE ENTI5 TIES.—The Attorney General shall use 10 percent of 

6 the amount made available under paragraph (1) for 

7 a fiscal year to award grants under the Program to 

8 Tribal law enforcement agencies or prosecuting of9 fices, or groups of such agencies or offices. 

Æ 


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