18 U.S.C. § 3631 — Duties of the Attorney General

Page 857 TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE § 3631 1 So in original. Probably should be followed by a period. PAYMENT OF DAMAGE AWARD IN SATISFACTION OF PENDING RESTITUTION ORDERS Pub. L. 104–134, title I, § 101[(a)] [title VIII, § 807], Apr. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 1321, 1321–75, provided that: ‘‘Any com- pensatory damages awarded to a prisoner in connection with a civil action brought against any Federal, State, or local jail, prison, or correctional facility or against any official or agent of such jail, prison, or correctional facility, shall be paid directly to satisfy any out- standing restitution orders pending against the pris- oner. The remainder of any such award after full pay- ment of all pending restitution orders shall be for- warded to the prisoner.’’ NOTICE TO CRIME VICTIMS OF PENDING DAMAGE AWARD Pub. L. 104–134, title I, § 101[(a)] [title VIII, § 808], Apr. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 1321, 1321–76, provided that: ‘‘Prior to payment of any compensatory damages awarded to a prisoner in connection with a civil action brought against any Federal, State, or local jail, prison, or cor- rectional facility or against any official or agent of such jail, prison, or correctional facility, reasonable ef- forts shall be made to notify the victims of the crime for which the prisoner was convicted and incarcerated concerning the pending payment of any such compen- satory damages.’’ SUBCHAPTER D—RISK AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT SYSTEM Sec. 3631. Duties of the Attorney General. 3632. Development of risk and needs assessment system. 3633. Evidence-based recidivism reduction program and recommendations. 3634. Report. 3635. Definitions. § 3631. Duties of the Attorney General (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall carry out this subchapter in consultation with— (1) the Director of the Bureau of Prisons; (2) the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts; (3) the Director of the Office of Probation and Pretrial Services; (4) the Director of the National Institute of Justice; (5) the Director of the National Institute of Corrections; and (6) the Independent Review Committee au- thorized by the First Step Act of 2018 1 (b) DUTIES.—The Attorney General shall— (1) conduct a review of the existing prisoner risk and needs assessment systems in oper- ation on the date of enactment of this sub- chapter; (2) develop recommendations regarding evi- dence-based recidivism reduction programs and productive activities in accordance with section 3633; (3) conduct ongoing research and data anal- ysis on— (A) evidence-based recidivism reduction programs relating to the use of prisoner risk and needs assessment tools; (B) the most effective and efficient uses of such programs; (C) which evidence-based recidivism reduc- tion programs are the most effective at re- ducing recidivism, and the type, amount, and intensity of programming that most ef- fectively reduces the risk of recidivism; and (D) products purchased by Federal agen- cies that are manufactured overseas and could be manufactured by prisoners partici- pating in a prison work program without re- ducing job opportunities for other workers in the United States; (4) on an annual basis, review, validate, and release publicly on the Department of Justice website the risk and needs assessment system, which review shall include— (A) any subsequent changes to the risk and needs assessment system made after the date of enactment of this subchapter; (B) the recommendations developed under paragraph (2), using the research conducted under paragraph (3); (C) an evaluation to ensure that the risk and needs assessment system bases the as- sessment of each prisoner’s risk of recidi- vism on indicators of progress and of regres- sion that are dynamic and that can reason- ably be expected to change while in prison; (D) statistical validation of any tools that the risk and needs assessment system uses; and (E) an evaluation of the rates of recidivism among similarly classified prisoners to iden- tify any unwarranted disparities, including disparities among similarly classified pris- oners of different demographic groups, in such rates; (5) make any revisions or updates to the risk and needs assessment system that the Attor- ney General determines appropriate pursuant to the review under paragraph (4), including updates to ensure that any disparities identi- fied in paragraph (4)(E) are reduced to the greatest extent possible; and (6) report to Congress in accordance with section 3634. (Added Pub. L. 115–391, title I, § 101(a), Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5195.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The First Step Act of 2018, referred to in subsec. (a)(6), is Pub. L. 115–391, Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5194. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 2018 Amendment note under section 1 of this title and Tables. The date of enactment of this subchapter, referred to in subsec. (b)(1), (4)(A), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 115–391, which was approved Dec. 21, 2018. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries INDEPENDENT REVIEW COMMITTEE Pub. L. 115–391, title I, § 107, Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5215, provided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall con- sult with an Independent Review Committee in car- rying out the Attorney General’s duties under sections 3631(b), 3632 and 3633 of title 18, United States Code, as added by section 101(a) of this Act. ‘‘(b) FORMATION OF INDEPENDENT REVIEW COM- MITTEE.—The National Institute of Justice shall select a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization with exper- tise in the study and development of risk and needs as- sessment tools to host the Independent Review Com- Page 858 TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE § 3632 1 So in original. mittee. The Independent Review Committee shall be es- tablished not later than 30 days after the date of enact- ment of this Act [Dec. 21, 2018]. ‘‘(c) APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REVIEW COM- MITTEE.—The organization selected by the National In- stitute of Justice shall appoint not fewer than 6 mem- bers to the Independent Review Committee. ‘‘(d) COMPOSITION OF THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW COM- MITTEE.—The members of the Independent Review Com- mittee shall all have expertise in risk and needs assess- ment systems and shall include— ‘‘(1) 2 individuals who have published peer-reviewed scholarship about risk and needs assessments in both corrections and community settings; ‘‘(2) 2 corrections practitioners who have developed and implemented a risk assessment tool in a correc- tions system or in a community supervision setting, including 1 with prior experience working within the Bureau of Prisons; and ‘‘(3) 1 individual with expertise in assessing risk as- sessment implementation. ‘‘(e) DUTIES OF THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW COM- MITTEE.—The Independent Review Committee shall as- sist the Attorney General in carrying out the Attorney General’s duties under sections 3631(b), 3632 and 3633 of title 18, United States Code, as added by section 101(a) of this Act, including by assisting in— ‘‘(1) conducting a review of the existing prisoner risk and needs assessment systems in operation on the date of enactment of this Act; ‘‘(2) developing recommendations regarding evi- dence-based recidivism reduction programs and pro- ductive activities; ‘‘(3) conducting research and data analysis on— ‘‘(A) evidence-based recidivism reduction pro- grams relating to the use of prisoner risk and needs assessment tools; ‘‘(B) the most effective and efficient uses of such programs; and ‘‘(C) which evidence-based recidivism reduction programs are the most effective at reducing recidi- vism, and the type, amount, and intensity of pro- gramming that most effectively reduces the risk of recidivism; and ‘‘(4) reviewing and validating the risk and needs as- sessment system. ‘‘(f) BUREAU OF PRISONS COOPERATION.—The Director of the Bureau of Prisons shall assist the Independent Review Committee in performing the Committee’s du- ties and promptly respond to requests from the Com- mittee for access to Bureau of Prisons facilities, per- sonnel, and information. ‘‘(g) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Independent Review Com- mittee shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary and the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropria- tions of the Senate and the Committee on the Judici- ary and the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies of the Committee on Ap- propriations of the House of Representatives a report that includes— ‘‘(1) a list of all offenses of conviction for which prisoners were ineligible to receive time credits under section 3632(d)(4)(D) of title 18, United States Code, as added by section 101(a) of this Act, and for each offense the number of prisoners excluded, in- cluding demographic percentages by age, race, and sex; ‘‘(2) the criminal history categories of prisoners in- eligible to receive time credits under section 3632(d)(4)(D) of title 18, United States Code, as added by section 101(a) of this Act, and for each category the number of prisoners excluded, including demo- graphic percentages by age, race, and sex; ‘‘(3) the number of prisoners ineligible to apply time credits under section 3632(d)(4)(D) of title 18, United States Code, as added by section 101(a) of this Act, who do not participate in recidivism reduction programming or productive activities, including the demographic percentages by age, race, and sex; ‘‘(4) any recommendations for modifications to sec- tion 3632(d)(4)(D) of title 18, United States Code, as added by section 101(a) of this Act, and any other rec- ommendations regarding recidivism reduction. ‘‘(h) TERMINATION.—The Independent Review Com- mittee shall terminate on the date that is 2 years after the date on which the risk and needs assessment sys- tem authorized by sections 3632 and 3633 of title 18, United States Code, as added by section 101(a) of this Act, is released.’’ § 3632. Development of risk and needs assess- ment system (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 210 days after the date of enactment of this subchapter, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Inde- pendent Review Committee authorized by the First Step Act of 2018, shall develop and release publicly on the Department of Justice website a risk and needs assessment system (referred to in this subchapter as the ‘‘System’’), which shall be used to— (1) determine the recidivism risk of each prisoner as part of the intake process, and classify each prisoner as having minimum, low, medium, or high risk for recidivism; (2) assess and determine, to the extent prac- ticable, the risk of violent or serious mis- conduct of each prisoner; (3) determine the type and amount of evi- dence-based recidivism reduction program- ming that is appropriate for each prisoner and assign each prisoner to such programming ac- cordingly, and based on the prisoner’s specific criminogenic needs, and in accordance with subsection (b); (4) reassess the recidivism risk of each pris- oner periodically, based on factors including indicators of progress, and of regression, that are dynamic and that can reasonably be ex- pected to change while in prison; (5) reassign the prisoner to appropriate evi- dence-based recidivism reduction programs or productive activities based on the revised de- termination to ensure that— (A) all prisoners at each risk level have a meaningful opportunity to reduce their clas- sification during the period of incarceration; (B) to address 1 the specific criminogenic needs of the prisoner; and (C) all prisoners are able to successfully participate in such programs; (6) determine when to provide incentives and rewards for successful participation in evi- dence-based recidivism reduction programs or productive activities in accordance with sub- section (e); (7) determine when a prisoner is ready to transfer into prerelease custody or supervised release in accordance with section 3624; and (8) determine the appropriate use of audio technology for program course materials with an understanding of dyslexia. In carrying out this subsection, the Attorney General may use existing risk and needs assess- ment tools, as appropriate. (b) ASSIGNMENT OF EVIDENCE-BASED RECIDIVISM REDUCTION PROGRAMS.—The System shall pro- vide guidance on the type, amount, and inten-