VICTIM Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.5768 | Sponsor: Rep. Demings, Val Butler (D-FL)
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Violent Incident Clearance and Technological Investigative Methods Act of 2022 or VICTIM Act of 2022
This bill directs the Department of Justice to establish a grant program for state, tribal, or local law enforcement agencies or prosecuting offices (or groups of tribal agencies or offices) to establish, implement, and administer violent incident clearance and technological investigative methods.

To direct the Attorney General to establish a grant program to 
 establish, create, and administer the violent incident clearance and 
        technology investigative method, 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 ``Violent Incident Clearance and 
Technological Investigative Methods Act of 2022'' or ``VICTIM Act of 
2022''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Research indicates that law enforcement agencies can 
        increase clearance rates by improving--
                    (A) investigative processes;
                    (B) detective capacities; and
                    (C) organizational oversight and supervision of 
                investigations.
            (2) When a law enforcement agency expends additional 
        investigative effort, the law enforcement agency improves its 
        success in gaining cooperation of key witnesses and increases 
        the amount of forensic evidence collected.
            (3) Effective investigation of shootings can prevent 
        subsequent related violence by--
                    (A) deterring retaliation; and
                    (B) providing interventions to individuals who may 
                continue to commit crimes or become victims of 
                retaliatory violence.
            (4) Law enforcement agencies that demonstrate higher rates 
        of clearance for violent crimes committed against a person--
                    (A) have more structured oversight and formal 
                interactions between investigative units and agency 
                leadership;
                    (B) are more likely to have investigative units 
                that have collaborative relationships and robust 
                information sharing with other units of the law 
                enforcement agency;
                    (C) have investigative units that have specific 
                goals and performance metrics for both the unit and for 
                investigators within the unit;
                    (D) have investigators who more frequently respond 
                to the initial crime scene shortly after crimes have 
                been reported to collect evidence and interview 
                witnesses;
                    (E) have investigators who either have specialized 
                experience before joining investigative units or are 
                trained in investigations once they join those units;
                    (F) often have standard operating procedures for 
                investigations that establish policies and evidence-
                based best practices for conducting and completing 
                homicide investigations; and
                    (G) have better relationships with the communities 
                they serve, even if no specific community-oriented 
                campaign or initiative exists between investigative 
                units and community groups.
            (5) Criminal justice agencies should collaborate with each 
        other and share best practices for solving violent crimes 
        committed against a person.
            (6) A comprehensive community engagement strategy 
        concerning gun violence is essential to improving clearance 
        rates for violent crimes committed against a person.

SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM WITH RESPECT TO VIOLENT INCIDENT CLEARANCE AND 
              TECHNOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIVE METHODS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Clearance by arrest.--The term ``clearance by arrest'', 
        with respect to an offense reported to a law enforcement 
        agency, means the law enforcement agency--
                    (A) has--
                            (i) arrested not less than 1 person for the 
                        offense;
                            (ii) charged the person described in 
                        subparagraph (A) with the commission of the 
                        offense; and
                            (iii) referred the person described in 
                        subparagraph (A) for prosecution for the 
                        offense; or
                    (B) has cited an individual under the age of 18 to 
                appear in juvenile court or before another juvenile 
                authority with respect to the offense, regardless of 
                whether a physical arrest occurred.
            (2) Clearance by exception.--The term ``clearance by 
        exception'', with respect to an offense reported to a law 
        enforcement agency, means the law enforcement agency--
                    (A) has identified not less than 1 person suspected 
                of the offense; and
                    (B) with respect to the suspect described in 
                subparagraph (A), has--
                            (i) gathered enough evidence to--
                                    (I) support an arrest of the 
                                suspect;
                                    (II) make a charge against the 
                                suspect; and
                                    (III) refer the suspect for 
                                prosecution;
                            (ii) identified the exact location of the 
                        suspect so that the suspect could be taken into 
                        custody immediately; and
                            (iii) encountered a circumstance outside 
                        the control of the law enforcement agency that 
                        prohibits the agency from arresting the 
                        suspect, charging the suspect, or referring the 
                        suspect for prosecution, including--
                                    (I) the death of the suspect;
                                    (II) the refusal of the victim to 
                                cooperate with the prosecution after 
                                the suspect has been identified; or
                                    (III) the denial of extradition 
                                because the suspect committed an 
                                offense in another jurisdiction and is 
                                being prosecuted for that offense.
            (3) Clearance rate.--The term ``clearance rate'', with 
        respect to a law enforcement agency, means--
                    (A) the number of offenses cleared by the law 
                enforcement agency, including through clearance by 
                arrest and clearance by exception, divided by
                    (B) the total number of offenses reported to the 
                law enforcement agency.
            (4) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a 
        State, Tribal, or local law enforcement agency or prosecuting 
        office, or a group of Tribal law enforcement agencies or Tribal 
        prosecuting offices.
            (5) Grant recipient.--The term ``grant recipient'' means a 
        recipient of a grant under the Program.
            (6) Law enforcement agency.--The term ``law enforcement 
        agency'' means a public agency charged with policing functions, 
        including any component bureau of the agency (such as a 
        governmental victim services program or village public safety 
        officer program), including an agency composed of officers or 
        persons referred to in subparagraph (B) or (C) of section 2(10) 
        of the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act (25 U.S.C. 2801(10)).
            (7) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the grant program 
        established under subsection (b)(1).
    (b) Grant Program.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish a 
        grant program within the Office of Justice Programs under which 
        the Attorney General awards grants to eligible entities to 
        establish, implement, and administer violent incident clearance 
        and technological investigative methods.
            (2) Applications.--An eligible entity seeking a grant under 
        the Program shall submit to the Attorney General an application 
        at such time, in such manner, and containing or accompanied 
        by--
                    (A) such information as the Attorney General may 
                reasonably require; and
                    (B) a description of each eligible project under 
                paragraph (4) that the grant will fund.
            (3) Selection of grant recipients.--The Attorney General, 
        in selecting a recipient of a grant under the Program, shall 
        consider the specific plan and activities proposed by the 
        applicant to improve clearance rates for homicides, rapes, 
        sexual assaults, kidnappings, and non-fatal shootings.
            (4) Eligible projects.--A grant recipient shall use the 
        grant for activities with the specific objective of improving 
        clearance rates for homicides, rapes, sexual assaults, 
        kidnappings, and non-fatal shootings, including--
                    (A) ensuring the retention of detectives who are 
                assigned to investigate homicides, rapes, sexual 
                assaults, kidnappings, and non-fatal shootings as of 
                the date of receipt of the grant;
                    (B) hiring and training additional detectives who 
                will be dedicated to investigating homicides, rapes, 
                sexual assaults, kidnappings, and non-fatal shootings;
                    (C) developing policies, procedures, and training 
                to improve the ability of detectives to effectively 
                investigate and solve homicides, rapes, sexual 
                assaults, kidnappings, and non-fatal shootings, 
                including implementing best practices relating to--
                            (i) improving internal agency cooperation, 
                        organizational oversight and accountability, 
                        and supervision of investigations;
                            (ii) developing specific goals and 
                        performance metrics for both investigators and 
                        investigative units;
                            (iii) establishing or improving 
                        relationships with the communities the agency 
                        serves; and
                            (iv) collaboration with and among other law 
                        enforcement agencies and criminal justice 
                        organizations;
                    (D) training personnel to address the needs of 
                victims and family members of victims of homicides, 
                rapes, sexual assaults, kidnappings, or non-fatal 
                shootings or collaborating with trained victim 
                advocates and specialists to better meet victims' 
                needs;
                    (E) acquiring, upgrading, or replacing 
                investigative, evidence processing, or forensic testing 
                technology or equipment;
                    (F) development and implementation of policies that 
                safeguard civil rights and civil liberties during the 
                collection, processing, and forensic testing of 
                evidence;
                    (G) hiring or training personnel for collection, 
                processing, and forensic testing of evidence;
                    (H) hiring and training of personnel to analyze 
                violent crime and the temporal and geographic trends 
                among homicides, rapes, sexual assaults, kidnappings, 
                and nonfatal shootings;
                    (I) retaining experts to conduct a detailed 
                analysis of homicides and shootings using Gun Violence 
                Problem Analysis (commonly known as ``GVPA'') or a 
                similar research methodology;
                    (J) ensuring victims have appropriate access to 
                emergency food, housing, clothing, travel, and 
                transportation;
                    (K) developing competitive and evidence-based 
                programs to improve homicide and non-fatal shooting 
                clearance rates;
                    (L) developing best practices for improving access 
                to and acceptance of victim services, including victim 
                services that promote medical and psychological 
                wellness, ongoing counseling, legal advice, and 
                financial compensation;
                    (M) training investigators and detectives in 
                trauma-informed interview techniques;
                    (N) establishing programs to support officers who 
                experience stress or trauma as a result of responding 
                to or investigating shootings or other violent crime 
                incidents; or
                    (O) ensuring language and disability access 
                supports are provided to victims, survivors, and their 
                families so that victims can exercise their rights and 
                participate in the criminal justice process.
    (c) Federal Share.--
            (1) In general.--The Federal share of the cost of a project 
        assisted with a grant under the Program shall not exceed--
                    (A) 100 percent if the grant is awarded on or 
                before December 31, 2032; or
                    (B) subject to paragraph (2), 50 percent if the 
                grant is awarded after December 31, 2032.
            (2) Waiver.--With respect to a grant awarded under the 
        Program after December 31, 2032, the Attorney General may 
        determine that the Federal share of the cost of a project 
        assisted with the grant shall not exceed 100 percent.
    (d) Report by Grant Recipient.--Not later than 1 year after 
receiving a grant under the Program, and each year thereafter, a grant 
recipient shall submit to the Attorney General a report on the 
activities carried out using the grant, including, if applicable--
            (1) the number of homicide and non-fatal shooting 
        detectives hired by the grant recipient;
            (2) the number of evidence processing personnel hired by 
        the grant recipient;
            (3) a description of any training that is--
                    (A) provided to existing (as of the date on which 
                the grant was awarded) or newly hired homicide and non-
                fatal shooting detectives; and
                    (B) designed to assist in the solving of crimes and 
                improve clearance rates;
            (4) any new evidence processing technology or equipment 
        purchased or any upgrades made to existing (as of the date on 
        which the grant was awarded) evidence technology or equipment, 
        and the associated cost;
            (5) any assessments of evidence processing technology or 
        equipment purchased with grant funds to determine whether such 
        technology or equipment satisfies the objectives of the use of 
        the technology or equipment in increasing clearance rates, and 
        any policies in place to govern the use of the technology or 
        equipment;
            (6) the internal policies and oversight used to ensure that 
        any technology purchased through the grant for the purposes of 
        improving clearance rates does not violate the civil rights and 
        civil liberties of individuals;
            (7) data regarding clearance rates for homicides, rapes, 
        other aggravated felonies, and non-fatal shootings, including 
        the rate of clearances by arrest and clearances by exception, 
        and crime trends from within each jurisdiction in which the 
        grant recipient carried out activities supported by the grant;
            (8) whether the grant recipient has provided grant funds to 
        any victim services organizations, and if so, which 
        organizations;
            (9) the demographic information for victims of homicides, 
        rapes, other aggravated felonies, and non-fatal shootings, and 
        the length and outcomes of each investigation, including 
        whether the investigation was cleared by arrest or exception;
            (10) the demographic information for each victim or family 
        member of a victim who received victim-related services 
        provided by the grant recipient; and
            (11) identification of the services most used by victims 
        and their families and identification of additional services 
        needed.
    (e) National Institute of Justice Evaluation and Report to 
Congress.--
            (1) Evaluation.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the 
        Director of the National Institute of Justice shall conduct an 
        evaluation of--
                    (A) the practices deployed by grant recipients to 
                identify policies and procedures that have successfully 
                improved clearance rates for homicides, rapes, sexual 
                assaults, kidnappings, and non-fatal shootings; and
                    (B) the efficacy of any services provided to 
                victims and family members of victims of homicides, 
                rapes, sexual assaults, kidnappings, and non-fatal 
                shootings.
            (2) Report to congress.--Not later than 30 days after 
        completion of an evaluation by the National Institute of 
        Justice under paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall submit 
        to Congress a report including--
                    (A) the results of the evaluation; and
                    (B) information reported by each grant recipient 
                under subsection (d).
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        carry out this section $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
        2023 through 2032.
            (2) Percent for certain eligible entities.--The Attorney 
        General shall use 10 percent of the amount made available under 
        paragraph (1) for a fiscal year to award grants under the 
        Program to Tribal law enforcement agencies or prosecuting 
        offices, or groups of such agencies or offices.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 22, 2022.

            Attest:

                                             CHERYL L. JOHNSON,

                                                                 Clerk.

                               By Kevin F. McCumber,

                                                          Deputy Clerk.