II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3120 

To encourage the entry of felony warrants into the National Crime Information Center database by States and provide additional resources for 

extradition. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 16, 2010 

Mr. SPECTER (for himself and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To encourage the entry of felony warrants into the National 

Crime Information Center database by States and provide additional resources for extradition. 

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 ‘‘Fugitive Information 

5 Networked Database Act of 2010’’ or the ‘‘FIND Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Nationwide, there are an estimated 

2 2,700,000 active Federal, State, and local warrants 

3 for the arrest of persons charged with felony crimes. 

4 (2) State and local law enforcement authorities 

5 have insufficient resources to devote to searching for 

6 and apprehending fugitives. As a result, large num7 bers of fugitives evade arrest. State and local law 

8 enforcement authorities also lack resources for ex9 traditing fugitives who have been arrested in other 

10 States. As a result, such fugitives frequently are re11 leased without prosecution. 

12 (3) Increasing the resources available for con13 ducting fugitive investigations and transporting fugi14 tives between States would increase the number of 

15 fugitives who are arrested and prosecuted. 

16 (4) The United States Marshals Service (re17 ferred to in this Act as the ‘‘USMS’’) plays an inte18 gral role in the apprehension of fugitives in the 

19 United States, and has a long history of providing 

20 assistance and expertise to Federal, State, and local 

21 law enforcement agencies in support of fugitive in22 vestigations, including through 82 District Task 

23 Forces, and through the 7 Regional Fugitive Task 

24 Force Programs that have partnered with Federal, 


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1 State and local law enforcement agencies to locate 

2 and apprehend fugitives. 

3 (5) The USMS utilizes the Justice Prisoner and 

4 Alien Transportation Service (referred to in this Act 

5 as the ‘‘JPATS’’) to transport Federal detainees 

6 and prisoners. It also makes JPATS available to 

7 State and local law enforcement agencies on a reim8 bursable, space-available basis for the purpose of 

9 transporting a fugitive from the place where the fu10 gitive was arrested to the jurisdiction that issued the 

11 warrant for the arrest of the fugitive. Through 

12 JPATS, these agencies are able to reduce the cost 

13 of extradition significantly. 

14 (6) Expanding the availability of JPATS to 

15 State and local law enforcement agencies would 

16 lower the cost of transporting fugitives for extra17 dition and lead to the prosecution of a greater num18 ber of fugitives. 

19 (7) Since 1967, the Federal Bureau of Inves20 tigation has operated the National Crime Informa21 tion Center, which administers a nationwide data22 base containing criminal history information from 

23 the Federal Government and the States, including 

24 outstanding arrest warrants. The National Crime 

25 Information Center database allows a law enforceVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:08 Mar 17, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3120.IS S3120

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1 ment officer who stops a person in 1 State to obtain 

2 information about a warrant for that person issued 

3 in another State. It contains approximately 

4 1,700,000 felony and misdemeanor warrants. It is 

5 missing nearly half of the 2,800,000 to 3,200,000 of 

6 the felony warrants issued across the Nation, includ7 ing warrants for hundreds of thousands of violent 

8 crimes. 

9 (8) The failure of a State to enter a warrant 

10 into the National Crime Information Center data11 base enables a fugitive to escape arrest even when 

12 the fugitive is stopped by a law enforcement officer 

13 in another State, because the officer is not aware 

14 there was a warrant issued for the fugitive. Many of 

15 such fugitives go on to commit additional crimes. In 

16 addition, such fugitives pose a danger to law en17 forcement officers who encounter them without 

18 knowledge of the pending charges against the fugi19 tives or their record of fleeing law enforcement au20 thorities. 

21 (9) All warrants entered into the National 

22 Crime Information Center database must be vali23 dated on a regular basis to ensure that the informa24 tion in the warrant is still accurate and that the 

25 warrant is still active. 


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1 (10) Improving the entry and validation of war2 rants in the National Crime Information Center 

3 database would enable law enforcement officers to 

4 identify and arrest a larger number of fugitives, im5 prove the safety of these officers, and better protect 

6 communities from crime. 

7 (11) Federal funds for State and local law en8 forcement are most effective when they do not sup9 plant, but rather supplement State and local funds. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) ACTIVE WARRANT.—The term ‘‘active war13 rant’’ means a warrant that has not been cleared. A 

14 warrant may be cleared by arrest or by the deter15 mination of a law enforcement agency that a war16 rant has already been executed or that the subject 

17 is deceased. 

18 (2) FELONY WARRANT.—The term ‘‘felony war19 rant’’ means any warrant for a crime that is punish20 able by a term of imprisonment exceeding 1 year. 

21 (3) INDIAN COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Indian coun22 try’’ has the meaning given the term in section 1151 

23 of title 18, United States Code. 

24 (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

25 has the meaning given the term in section 102 of the 


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1 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 

2 (25 U.S.C. 479a). 

3 (5) NATIONAL CRIME INFORMATION CENTER

4 DATABASE.—The term ‘‘National Crime Information 

5 Center database’’ means the computerized index of 

6 criminal justice information operated by the Federal 

7 Bureau of Investigation under section 534 of title 

8 28, United States Code, and available to Federal, 

9 State, and local law enforcement and other criminal 

10 justice agencies. 

11 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any 

12 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

13 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is14 lands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern 

15 Mariana Islands. 

16 (7) UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 

17 ‘‘unit of local government’’— 

18 (A) means— 

19 (i) any city, county, township, bor20 ough, parish, village, or other general pur21 pose political subdivision of a State; or 

22 (ii) any law enforcement district or ju23 dicial enforcement district that is estab24 lished under applicable State law and has 

25 the authority to, in a manner independent 


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1 of other State entities, establish a budget 

2 and impose taxes; 

3 (B) includes law enforcement agencies, 

4 courts, and any other government agencies in5 volved in the issuance of warrants; and 

6 (C) in the case of Indian tribes, includes 

7 tribal law enforcement agencies, tribal courts 

8 and any other tribal agencies involved in the 

9 issuance of warrants. 

10 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO ENCOURAGE STATES TO ENTER FEL11 ONY WARRANTS. 

12 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 

14 make grants to States or Indian tribes in a manner 

15 consistent with the National Criminal History Im16 provement Program, which shall be used by States 

17 or Indian tribes, in conjunction with units of local 

18 government, to— 

19 (A)(i) develop and implement secure, elec20 tronic State, local or tribal warrant manage21 ment systems that permit the prompt prepara22 tion, submission, and validation of warrants 

23 and are compatible and interoperable with the 

24 National Crime Information Center database to 

25 facilitate information sharing and to ensure 


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1 that felony warrants entered into warrant data2 bases by State, local and tribal government 

3 agencies can be automatically entered into the 

4 National Crime Information Center database; 

5 or 

6 (ii) upgrade existing State, local or tribal 

7 electronic warrant management systems to en8 sure compatibility and interoperability with the 

9 National Crime Information Center database to 

10 facilitate information sharing and to ensure 

11 that felony warrants entered into warrant data12 bases by State, local and tribal government 

13 agencies can be automatically entered into the 

14 National Crime Information Center database; 

15 and 

16 (B) ensure that all State, local, and tribal 

17 government agencies that need access to the 

18 National Crime Information Center database 

19 for criminal justice purposes can access the 

20 database. 

21 (2) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 

22 section shall be— 

23 (A) for a period of 1 year; and 

24 (B) renewable at the discretion of the At25 torney General if the State seeking renewal subVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:08 Mar 17, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3120.IS S3120

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1 mits an application to the Attorney General 

2 that demonstrates compliance with subsection 

3 (b)(2). 

4 (3) HIRING OF PERSONNEL.—Not more than 5 

5 percent of the grant funds awarded under this sec6 tion to each State and Indian tribe may also be used 

7 to hire additional personnel, as needed, to validate 

8 warrants entered into the National Crime Informa9 tion Center database. 

10 (4) SET-ASIDE.—Not more than 5 percent of 

11 the total funds available to be awarded under this 

12 section may be reserved for Indian tribes. 

13 (b) ELIGIBILITY.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to be eligible for a 

15 grant authorized under subsection (a), a State or In16 dian tribe shall submit to the Attorney General— 

17 (A) a plan to develop and implement, or 

18 upgrade, systems described in subsection (a)(1); 

19 (B) a report that— 

20 (i) details the number of active felony 

21 warrants issued by the State or Indian 

22 tribe, including felony warrants issued by 

23 units of local government within the State 

24 or Indian tribe; 


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1 (ii) describes the number and type of 

2 active felony warrants that have not been 

3 entered into a State, local, or tribal war4 rant database or into the National Crime 

5 Information Center database; 

6 (iii) explains the reasons State, local, 

7 and tribal government agencies have not 

8 entered active felony warrants into the Na9 tional Crime Information Center database; 

10 and 

11 (iv) demonstrates that State, local, 

12 and tribal government agencies have made 

13 good faith efforts to eliminate any such 

14 backlog; and 

15 (C) guidelines for warrant entry by the 

16 State or Indian tribe, including units of local 

17 government within the State or Indian tribe, 

18 that— 

19 (i) ensure that felony warrants issued 

20 by the State or Indian tribe, including 

21 units of local government within the State 

22 or Indian tribe, will be entered into the 

23 National Crime Information Center data24 base; and 


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1 (ii) include a description of the cir2 cumstances, if any, in which, as a matter 

3 of policy, certain such warrants will not be 

4 entered into the National Crime Informa5 tion Center database. 

6 (2) DEPOSIT BAIL AND CITIZENS RIGHT TO

7 KNOW.—A State that submits a grant renewal appli8 cation under subsection (a)(3)(B) shall require that 

9 each unit of local government or State pretrial serv10 ices agency in such State that has recieved grant 

11 funds under this section file with the Attorney Gen12 eral and the appropriate county clerk’s office of ju13 risdiction the following public reports on defendants 

14 released at the recommendation or under the super15 vision of the unit of local government or State pre16 trial services agency: 

17 (A) An annual report specifying— 

18 (i) the number of defendants assessed 

19 or interviewed for pretrial release; 

20 (ii) the number of indigent defendants 

21 included in clause (i); 

22 (iii) the number of failures to appear 

23 for a scheduled court appearance; and 

24 (iv) the number and type of program 

25 noncompliance infractions committed by a 


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1 defendant released to a pretrial release 

2 program. 

3 (B) An annual report at the end of each 

4 year, setting forth the budget of the unit of 

5 local government or State pretrial services 

6 agency for the reporting year. 

7 (c) REPORT TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.—A State 

8 or Indian tribe that receives a grant under this section 

9 shall, 1 year after receiving the grant, submit a report to 

10 the Attorney General that includes— 

11 (1) the number of active felony warrants issued 

12 by that State or Indian tribe, including units of local 

13 government within that State or Indian tribe; 

14 (2) the number of the active felony warrants 

15 entered into the National Crime Information Center 

16 database; and 

17 (3) with respect to felony warrants not entered 

18 into the National Crime Information Center data19 base, the reasons for not entering such warrants. 

20 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General 

22 $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2011 through 

23 2015 for grants to carry out the requirements of this sec24 tion. 


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1 SEC. 5. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION COORDINA2 TION. 

3 The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall provide to 

4 State, local, and tribal government agencies the techno5 logical standard to ensure the compatibility and interoper6 ability of all State, local, and tribal warrant databases 

7 with the National Crime Information Center database, as 

8 well as other technical assistance to facilitate the imple9 mentation of automated State, local, and tribal warrant 

10 management systems that are compatible and interoper11 able with the National Crime Information Center data12 base. 

13 SEC. 6. REPORT REGARDING FELONY WARRANT ENTRY. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

16 of the United States shall submit to the House and Senate 

17 Committees on the Judiciary a report regarding— 

18 (1) the number of active felony warrants issued 

19 by each State and Indian tribe, including felony war20 rants issued by units of local government within the 

21 State or Indian tribe; 

22 (2) the number of the active felony warrants 

23 that State, local, and tribal government agencies 

24 have entered into the National Crime Information 

25 Center database; and 


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1 (3) for the preceding 3 years, the number of 

2 persons in each State with an active felony warrant 

3 who were— 

4 (A) apprehended in other States or in In5 dian country but not extradited; and 

6 (B) apprehended in other States or in In7 dian country and extradited. 

8 (b) ASSISTANCE.—To assist in the preparation of the 

9 report required by subsection (a), the Attorney General 

10 shall provide the Comptroller General of the United States 

11 access to any information collected and reviewed in con12 nection with the grant application process described in sec13 tion 4. 

14 (c) REPORT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—On an an15 nual basis, the Attorney General shall submit to the Com16 mittees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of 

17 Representatives a report containing the information re18 ceived from the States and Indian tribes under this sec19 tion. 

20 SEC. 7. EXTRADITION ASSISTANCE. 

21 (a) GRANT ASSISTANCE.— 

22 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANT ASSISTANCE.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

24 shall, subject to paragraph (4), make grants to 

25 States and Indian tribes for periods of 1 year 


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1 which shall be used by States and Indian tribes, 

2 including units of local government within the 

3 State or Indian tribe, to extradite fugitives 

4 from another State or Indian country for pros5 ecution. 

6 (B) SET ASIDE.—Not more than 5 percent 

7 of the grant funding available under this sec8 tion may be reserved for Indian tribal govern9 ments, including tribal judicial systems. 

10 (2) MATCHING FUNDS.—The Federal share of a 

11 grant received under this section may not exceed 80 

12 percent of the costs of a program or proposal funded 

13 under this section unless the Attorney General 

14 waives, wholly or in part, the requirements of this 

15 paragraph in the event of extraordinary cir16 cumstances. 

17 (3) GRANT APPLICATIONS.—A State or Indian 

18 tribe seeking a grant under this subsection shall 

19 submit an application to the Attorney General 

20 that— 

21 (A) describes the process and any impedi22 ments to extraditing fugitives apprehended in 

23 other States or in Indian country after being 

24 notified of such fugitives’ apprehension; 


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1 (B) specifies the way in which grant 

2 amounts will be used, including the means of 

3 transportation the State or Indian tribe, or unit 

4 of local government within the State or Indian 

5 tribe, intends to use for extradition and whether 

6 the State or Indian tribe or unit of local gov7 ernment will participate in the JPATS pro8 gram, as well as whether it has participated in 

9 that program in the past; 

10 (C) specifies the number of fugitives extra11 dited by all jurisdictions within that State or 

12 Indian tribe for each of the 3 years preceding 

13 the date of the grant application; and 

14 (D) specifies the total amount spent by all 

15 jurisdictions within that State or Indian tribe 

16 on fugitive extraditions for each of the 3 years 

17 preceding the date of the grant application. 

18 (4) ELIGIBILITY.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—In determining whether 

20 to award a grant under this section to a State 

21 or Indian tribe, the Attorney General shall con22 sider the following: 

23 (i) The information in the application 

24 submitted under paragraph (3). 


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1 (ii) The percentage of felony warrants 

2 issued by the State or Indian tribe, includ3 ing units of local government within the 

4 State or Indian tribe, that were entered 

5 into the National Crime Information Cen6 ter database, as calculated with the infor7 mation provided under subsection (b) and, 

8 beginning 1 year after the date of enact9 ment of this Act, whether the State or In10 dian tribe has made substantial progress in 

11 improving the entry of felony warrants into 

12 the National Crime Information Center 

13 database. 

14 (iii) For grants issued after an initial 

15 1 year grant, whether the State or Indian 

16 tribe, including units of local government 

17 within the State or Indian tribe, has in18 creased substantially the number of fugi19 tives extradited for prosecution. 

20 (B) PREFERENCES.—In allocating extra21 dition grants under this section, the Attorney 

22 General should give preference to States or In23 dian tribes that— 

24 (i) 3 years after the date of enactment 

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1 cent of active felony warrants into the Na2 tional Crime Information Center database; 

3 (ii) 5 years after the date of enact4 ment of this Act, have entered at least 70 

5 percent of active felony warrants into the 

6 National Crime Information Center data7 base; and 

8 (iii) 7 years after the date of enact9 ment of this Act, have entered at least 90 

10 percent of active felony warrants into the 

11 National Crime Information Center data12 base. 

13 (5) USE OF FUNDS.—States and Indian tribes, 

14 including units of local government within the State 

15 or Indian tribe, receiving a grant under this section 

16 may use grant monies to credit the costs of trans17 porting State and local detainees on behalf of such 

18 State to the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transpor19 tation System. 

20 (6) RECORDKEEPING.—States and Indian 

21 tribes, including units of local government within the 

22 State or Indian tribe, that receive a grant under this 

23 section shall maintain and report such data, records, 

24 and information (programmatic and financial) as the 

25 Attorney General may require. 


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1 (7) AUDIT.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

3 shall conduct an audit of the use of funds by 

4 States and Indian tribes receiving grants under 

5 this section 18 months after the date of the en6 actment of this Act and biennially thereafter. 

7 (B) INELIGIBILITY.—A State or Indian 

8 tribe, or unit of local government within a State 

9 or Indian tribe, that fails to increase substan10 tially the number of fugitives extradited after 

11 receiving a grant under this section will be in12 eligible for future funds. 

13 (8) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

14 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

15 this section $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

16 2011 through 2015. 

17 (b) ACTIVE FELONY WARRANTS ISSUED BY STATES

18 AND INDIAN TRIBES.— 

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

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an21 nually thereafter on a date designated by the Attor22 ney General, to assist the Attorney General in mak23 ing a determination under subsection (a)(4) con24 cerning eligibility to receive a grant, each State and 


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1 Indian tribe applying for a grant under this section 

2 shall submit to the Attorney General— 

3 (A) the total number of active felony war4 rants issued by the State or Indian tribe, in5 cluding units of local government within the 

6 State or Indian tribe, regardless of the age of 

7 the warrants; and 

8 (B) a description of the categories of fel9 ony warrants not entered into the National 

10 Crime Information Center database and the 

11 reasons for not entering such warrants. 

12 (2) FAILURE TO PROVIDE.—A State or Indian 

13 tribe that fails to provide the information described 

14 in paragraph (1) by the date required under such 

15 paragraph shall be ineligible to receive any funds 

16 under subsection (a), until such date as it provides 

17 the information described in paragraph (1) to the 

18 Attorney General. 

19 (c) ATTORNEY GENERAL REPORT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 31 

21 of each year, the Attorney General shall submit to 

22 the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 

23 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

24 Representatives a report— 


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1 (A) containing the information submitted 

2 by the States and Indian tribes under sub3 section (b); 

4 (B) containing the percentage of active fel5 ony warrants issued by those States and Indian 

6 tribes that has been entered into the National 

7 Crime Information Center database, as deter8 mined under subsection (a)(4)(A)(ii); 

9 (C) containing a description of the cat10 egories of felony warrants that have not been 

11 entered into the National Crime Information 

12 Center database and the reasons such warrants 

13 were not entered, as provided to the Attorney 

14 General under subsection (b)(1); 

15 (D) comparing the warrant entry informa16 tion to data from previous years and describing 

17 the progress of States and Indian tribes in en18 tering active felony warrants into the National 

19 Crime Information Center database; 

20 (E) containing the number of persons that 

21 each State or Indian tribe, including units of 

22 local government within the State or Indian 

23 tribe, has extradited from other States or in In24 dian country for prosecution and describing any 

25 progress the State or Indian tribe has made in 


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1 improving the number of fugitives extradited 

2 for prosecution; and 

3 (F) describing the practices of the States 

4 and Indian tribes regarding the collection, 

5 maintenance, automation, and transmittal of 

6 felony warrants to the National Crime Informa7 tion Center, that the Attorney General con8 siders to be best practices. 

9 (2) BEST PRACTICES.—Not later than January 

10 31 of each year, the Attorney General shall provide 

11 the information regarding best practices, referred to 

12 in paragraph (1)(F), to each State and Indian tribe 

13 submitting information to the National Crime Infor14 mation Center. 

Æ 


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