§5704 Guidelines for Responding to Cases of Missing or Murdered Indians

Summary

The Attorney General must have the U.S. Attorneys create regionally fitting rules for handling cases of missing or murdered Indians within 60 days after the consultation in section 5703(b)(1) ends. The rules must cover cooperation among Tribal, Federal, State, and local law enforcement (who does what, including enforcing protection orders); how to search for missing people on and off Indian land; how to collect, report, analyze, and timely enter data about missing people and unidentified remains and how to handle remains in a culturally respectful way; which agency should enter data if a Tribal agency lacks access; how to improve response and follow-up; and how to make sure victims and families can get culturally appropriate services. U.S. Attorneys must develop these rules with Tribes and partners like the DOJ, FBI, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Tribal/state/local law enforcement, medical examiners, coroners, victim service groups, and Indian organizations. Within 1 year after October 10, 2020, U.S. Attorneys must put the rules into their office policies. Federal agencies must change their own policies to include the rules. Each fiscal year, if a Tribal, State, or local agency asks, the Attorney General will decide whether that agency has adopted the rules. Within 30 days after those yearly decisions, the Attorney General must publish on the Department of Justice website the names of agencies found to be in compliance and the names of pending requests, and must collect example guidelines and best practices as a resource. The Attorney General will use the National Indian Country Training Initiative to give training and help about the rules and about using the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Tribes may also send their own guidelines to the Attorney General, who must post them in one central place on the DOJ website.