§5704 Guidelines for responding to cases of missing or murdered Indians

Summary

Within 60 days after a related consultation ends, the Attorney General must tell U.S. attorneys to make regional guidelines for responding to cases of missing or murdered Indians. The guidelines must cover cooperation between Tribal, Federal, State, and local law enforcement (including who is responsible and how protection orders are enforced); best ways to search for missing people on and off Indian land; standards for collecting, reporting, analyzing, and entering data on missing people and unidentified remains, and how to handle and identify remains in a culturally respectful way; which agency should enter data if a Tribal agency cannot access databases; ways to improve response and follow-up by police; and how to make sure victims and families get culturally appropriate services. U.S. attorneys must create the guidelines with Tribes and other partners (for example, the Department of Justice, FBI, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Tribal/State/local law enforcement, medical examiners, coroners, victim service groups, and Indian organizations). Not later than 1 year after October 10, 2020, U.S. attorneys must put the guidelines into their office policies, and all Federal law enforcement agencies must update their own policies. Each year, when a Tribal, State, or local agency asks, the Attorney General will check if that agency has adopted the guidelines. Within 30 days after those yearly checks, the Attorney General must publish on the Department of Justice website which agencies have adopted the guidelines and which requests are pending, and collect example guidelines as a resource. The Attorney General must use the National Indian Country Training Initiative to train and help Tribes and law enforcement on the guidelines and on using the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Tribes may also send in their own guidelines, and the Attorney General will post them in one central place on the Department of Justice website.