Congresses passes NAPO-endorsed Rapid DNA Act
In a victory for NAPO, Congress passed the Rapid
DNA, Act sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)
and Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin), on
August 1. This bill gives law enforcement agencies great-
er ability to use technology to process DNA evidence in
the field.
Science and technology have allowed state and local law enforce-
ment to use DNA evidence to convict guilty offenders and exoner-
ate the innocent. However, the processing of DNA evidence under
current law can take weeks — or even months — due to backlogs at
crime labs. This significantly delays bringing a perpetrator to jus-
tice or ensuring that an innocent victim is safeguarded from fur-
ther harm. Rapid DNA technologies allow an officer to know within
hours whether an individual is wanted for an outstanding crime or
has a connection to evidence from a crime scene.
The Rapid DNA Act will ensure that law enforcement agencies
that use rapid DNA technology can upload profiles generated by
those instruments into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System in
the field, following standards and procedures to be issued by the
FBI, rather than having to go through an accredited crime lab. With
science and technology evolving, this legislation allows law en-
forcement to keep pace, strengthening law enforcement’s ability to
safeguard communities.
Attorney general announces immigration compliance require-
ments for Byrne JAG recipients
On July 25, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced immigra-
tion compliance requirements for the Department of Justice’s (DOJ)
Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) Program that affects
Fiscal 2017 and future grant recipients. This announcement follows
the President’s Executive Order on “Enhancing Public Safety in the
Interior of the United States” and the attorney general’s subsequent
memorandum of how the DOJ will implement the Executive Order.
The attorney general’s memorandum stated that one of the goals
of the DOJ is to increase information shared between
federal, state and local law enforcement — particularly
with regard to illegal aliens in our criminal justice sys-
tem. Byrne JAG recipients for Fiscal 2017 have been sent
notifications that require the following actions:
•
Certify compliance with section 1373, a federal
statute applicable to state and local governments that general-
ly bars restrictions on communications between state and local
agencies and officials at the Department of Homeland Security
with respect to information regarding the citizenship or immi-
gration status of any individual.
• Permit personnel of the U.S. Department of Homeland Securi-
ty (DHS) to access any detention facility in order to meet with
an alien and inquire as to his or her right to be or remain in the
United States.
• Provide at least 48 hours’ notice to DHS regarding the scheduled
release date and time of an alien in the jurisdiction’s custody,
when DHS requests such notice in order to take custody of the
alien.
The Department will now only grant Byrne JAG funds to cities
and states that comply with these three requirements.
NAPO has long supported efforts to clamp down on sanctuary
policies in cities, which make it difficult for law enforcement to
effectively protect communities from violent criminal aliens. The
country’s immigration system relies on local law enforcement com-
plying with immigration detainers — requests from DHS for local
law enforcement to hold an illegal immigrant temporarily — to give
federal law enforcement an opportunity to take the individual into
custody. Sanctuary cities forbid their local law enforcement from
cooperating with federal immigration officials, which has led to the
release of violent criminals back into our communities. d
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