2012 US Code
Title 28 - Judiciary and Judicial Procedure
Part II - DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (§§ 501 - 599B)
Chapter 33 - FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (§§ 531 - 540C)
Section 531 - Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is in the Department of Justice.

(Added Pub. L. 89–554, §4(c), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 616.)

The section is supplied for convenience and clarification. The Bureau of Investigation in the Department of Justice, the earliest predecessor agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, was created administratively in 1908. It appears that funds used for the Bureau of Investigation were first obtained through the Department of Justice Appropriation Act of May 22, 1908, ch. 186, §1 (par. beginning “From the appropriations for the prosecution of crimes”), 35 Stat. 236, although that statutory provision makes no express mention of the Bureau or of the investigative function.

Section 3 of Executive Order No. 6166 of June 10, 1933, specifically recognized the Bureau of Investigation in the Department of Justice and provided that all that Bureau's functions together with the investigative functions of the Bureau of Prohibition were “transferred to and consolidated in a Division of Investigation in the Department of Justice, at the head of which shall be a Director of Investigation.”

The Division of Investigation was first designated as the “Federal Bureau of Investigation” by the Act of Mar. 22, 1935, ch. 39, title II, 49 Stat. 77, and has been so designated in statutes since that date.

For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including the functions of the Attorney General relating thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see former section 313(3) and sections 121(g)(1), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.

Pub. L. 108–458, title VIII, §8402, Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3869, provided that:

“(a) Enterprise Architecture Defined.—In this section, the term ‘enterprise architecture’ means a detailed outline or blueprint of the information technology of the Federal Bureau of Investigation that will satisfy the ongoing mission and goals of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and that sets forth specific and identifiable benchmarks.

“(b) Enterprise Architecture.—The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall—

“(1) continually maintain and update an enterprise architecture; and

“(2) maintain a state of the art and up to date information technology infrastructure that is in compliance with the enterprise architecture of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“(c) Report.—Subject to subsection (d), the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall, on an annual basis, submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on whether the major information technology investments of the Federal Bureau of Investigation are in compliance with the enterprise architecture of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and identify any inability or expectation of inability to meet the terms set forth in the enterprise architecture.

“(d) Failure To Meet Terms.—If the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation identifies any inability or expectation of inability to meet the terms set forth in the enterprise architecture in a report under subsection (c), the report under subsection (c) shall—

“(1) be twice a year until the inability is corrected;

“(2) include a statement as to whether the inability or expectation of inability to meet the terms set forth in the enterprise architecture is substantially related to resources; and

“(3) if the inability or expectation of inability is substantially related to resources, include a request for additional funding that would resolve the problem or a request to reprogram funds that would resolve the problem.

“(e) Enterprise Architecture, Agency Plans and Reports.—This section shall be carried out in compliance with the requirements set forth in section 1016(e) and (h) [6 U.S.C. 485(e), (h)].”

Pub. L. 108–405, title II, §203(f), Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2271, provided that: “If the Department of Justice plans to modify or supplement the core genetic markers needed for compatibility with the CODIS system, it shall notify the Judiciary Committee of the Senate and the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives in writing not later than 180 days before any change is made and explain the reasons for such change.”

Pub. L. 105–314, title VII, §703(a)–(f), Oct. 30, 1998, 112 Stat. 2987–2989, provided that:

“(a) Establishment.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 30, 1998], the Attorney General shall establish within the Federal Bureau of Investigation a Child Abduction and Serial Murder Investigative Resources Center to be known as the ‘Morgan P. Hardiman Child Abduction and Serial Murder Investigative Resources Center’ (in this section referred to as the ‘CASMIRC’).

“(b) Purpose.—The CASMIRC shall be managed by the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime of the Critical Incident Response Group of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (in this section referred to as the ‘NCAVC’), and by multidisciplinary resource teams in Federal Bureau of Investigation field offices, in order to provide investigative support through the coordination and provision of Federal law enforcement resources, training, and application of other multidisciplinary expertise, to assist Federal, State, and local authorities in matters involving child abductions, mysterious disappearances of children, child homicide, and serial murder across the country. The CASMIRC shall be co-located with the NCAVC.

“(c) Duties of the CASMIRC.—The CASMIRC shall perform such duties as the Attorney General determines appropriate to carry out the purposes of the CASMIRC, including—

“(1) identifying, developing, researching, acquiring, and refining multidisciplinary information and specialities to provide for the most current expertise available to advance investigative knowledge and practices used in child abduction, mysterious disappearances of children, child homicide, and serial murder investigations;

“(2) providing advice and coordinating the application of current and emerging technical, forensic, and other Federal assistance to Federal, State, and local authorities in child abduction, mysterious disappearances of children, child homicide, and serial murder investigations;

“(3) providing investigative support, research findings, and violent crime analysis to Federal, State, and local authorities in child abduction, mysterious disappearances of children, child homicide, and serial murder investigations;

“(4) providing, if requested by a Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency, on site consultation and advice in child abduction, mysterious disappearances of children, child homicide and serial murder investigations;

“(5) coordinating the application of resources of pertinent Federal law enforcement agencies, and other Federal entities including, but not limited to, the United States Customs Service, the Secret Service, the Postal Inspection Service, and the United States Marshals Service, as appropriate, and with the concurrence of the agency head to support Federal, State, and local law enforcement involved in child abduction, mysterious disappearance of a child, child homicide, and serial murder investigations;

“(6) conducting ongoing research related to child abductions, mysterious disappearances of children, child homicides, and serial murder, including identification and investigative application of current and emerging technologies, identification of investigative searching technologies and methods for physically locating abducted children, investigative use of offender behavioral assessment and analysis concepts, gathering statistics and information necessary for case identification, trend analysis, and case linkages to advance the investigative effectiveness of outstanding abducted children cases, develop investigative systems to identify and track serious serial offenders that repeatedly victimize children for comparison to unsolved cases, and other investigative research pertinent to child abduction, mysterious disappearance of a child, child homicide, and serial murder covered in this section;

“(7) working under the NCAVC in coordination with the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice to provide appropriate training to Federal, State, and local law enforcement in matters regarding child abductions, mysterious disappearances of children, child homicides; and

“(8) establishing a centralized repository based upon case data reflecting child abductions, mysterious disappearances of children, child homicides and serial murder submitted by State and local agencies, and an automated system for the efficient collection, retrieval, analysis, and reporting of information regarding CASMIRC investigative resources, research, and requests for and provision of investigative support services.

“(d) Appointment of Personnel to the CASMIRC.—

“(1) Selection of members of the casmirc and participating state and local law enforcement personnel.—The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall appoint the members of the CASMIRC. The CASMIRC shall be staffed with Federal Bureau of Investigation personnel and other necessary personnel selected for their expertise that would enable them to assist in the research, data collection, and analysis, and provision of investigative support in child abduction, mysterious disappearances of children, child homicide and serial murder investigations. The Director may, with concurrence of the appropriate State or local agency, also appoint State and local law enforcement personnel to work with the CASMIRC.

“(2) Status.—Each member of the CASMIRC (and each individual from any State or local law enforcement agency appointed to work with the CASMIRC) shall remain as an employee of that member's or individual's respective agency for all purposes (including the purpose of performance review), and service with the CASMIRC shall be without interruption or loss of civil service privilege or status and shall be on a nonreimbursable basis, except if appropriate to reimburse State and local law enforcement for overtime costs for an individual appointed to work with the resource team. Additionally, reimbursement of travel and per diem expenses will occur for State and local law enforcement participation in resident fellowship programs at the NCAVC when offered.

“(3) Training.—CASMIRC personnel, under the guidance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime and in consultation with the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children, shall develop a specialized course of instruction devoted to training members of the CASMIRC consistent with the purpose of this section. The CASMIRC shall also work with the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice to develop a course of instruction for State and local law enforcement personnel to facilitate the dissemination of the most current multidisciplinary expertise in the investigation of child abductions, mysterious disappearances of children, child homicides, and serial murder of children.

“(e) Report to Congress.—One year after the establishment of the CASMIRC, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report, which shall include—

“(1) a description of the goals and activities of the CASMIRC; and

“(2) information regarding—

“(A) the number and qualifications of the members appointed to the CASMIRC;

“(B) the provision of equipment, administrative support, and office space for the CASMIRC; and

“(C) the projected resource needs for the CASMIRC.

“(f) Authorization of Appropriations.—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 1999, 2000, and 2001.”

[For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the United States Customs Service of the Department of the Treasury, including functions of the Secretary of the Treasury relating thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 203(1), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.]

[For transfer of the functions, personnel, assets, and obligations of the United States Secret Service, including the functions of the Secretary of the Treasury relating thereto, to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 381, 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.]

Pub. L. 104–132, title VIII, §811, Apr. 24, 1996, 110 Stat. 1312, as amended by Pub. L. 106–546, §6(a), Dec. 19, 2000, 114 Stat. 2733, provided that:

“(a) In General.—With funds made available pursuant to subsection (c)—

“(1) the Attorney General shall—

“(A) provide support and enhance the technical support center and tactical operations of the Federal Bureau of Investigation;

“(B) create a Federal Bureau of Investigation counterterrorism and counterintelligence fund for costs associated with the investigation of cases involving cases of terrorism;

“(C) expand and improve the instructional, operational support, and construction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Academy;

“(D) construct a Federal Bureau of Investigation laboratory, provide laboratory examination support, and provide for a command center;

“(E) make grants to States to carry out the activities described in subsection (b); and

“(F) increase personnel to support counterterrorism activities; and

“(2) the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall expand the combined DNA Identification System (CODIS) to include analyses of DNA samples collected from—

“(A) individuals convicted of a qualifying Federal offense, as determined under section 3(d) of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 [42 U.S.C. 14135a(d)];

“(B) individuals convicted of a qualifying District of Columbia offense, as determined under section 4(d) of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 [42 U.S.C. 14135b(d)]; and

“(C) members of the Armed Forces convicted of a qualifying military offense, as determined under section 1565(d) of title 10, United States Code.

“(b) State Grants.—

“(1) Authorization.—The Attorney General, in consultation with the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, may make grants to each State eligible under paragraph (2) to be used by the chief executive officer of the State, in conjunction with units of local government, other States, or any combination thereof, to carry out all or part of a program to establish, develop, update, or upgrade—

“(A) computerized identification systems that are compatible and integrated with the databases of the National Crime Information Center of the Federal Bureau of Investigation;

“(B) the capability to analyze deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in a forensic laboratory in ways that are compatible and integrated with the combined DNA Identification System (CODIS) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and

“(C) automated fingerprint identification systems that are compatible and integrated with the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“(2) Eligibility.—To be eligible to receive a grant under this subsection, a State shall require that each person convicted of a felony of a sexual nature shall provide to appropriate State law enforcement officials, as designated by the chief executive officer of the State, a sample of blood, saliva, or other specimen necessary to conduct a DNA analysis consistent with the standards established for DNA testing by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“(3) Interstate compacts.—A State may enter into a compact or compacts with another State or States to carry out this subsection.

“(c) Authorization of Appropriations.—

“(1) In general.—There are authorized to be appropriated for the activities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to help meet the increased demands for activities to combat terrorism—

“(A) $114,000,000 for fiscal year 1997;

“(B) $166,000,000 for fiscal year 1998;

“(C) $96,000,000 for fiscal year 1999; and

“(D) $92,000,000 for fiscal year 2000.

“(2) Availability of funds.—Funds made available pursuant to paragraph (1), in any fiscal year, shall remain available until expended.

“(3) Allocation.—

“(A) In general.—Of the total amount appropriated to carry out subsection (b) in a fiscal year—

“(i) the greater of 0.25 percent of such amount or $500,000 shall be allocated to each eligible State; and

“(ii) of the total funds remaining after the allocation under clause (i), there shall be allocated to each State an amount which bears the same ratio to the amount of remaining funds described in this subparagraph as the population of such State bears to the population of all States.

“(B) Definition.—For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘State’ means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, except that for purposes of the allocation under this subparagraph, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall be considered as one State and that for these purposes, 67 percent of the amounts allocated shall be allocated to American Samoa, and 33 percent to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.”