6 U.S.C. § 162 — Mission of Office; duties

Page 65 TITLE 6—DOMESTIC SECURITY § 162 PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior subtitle C of title II of Pub. L. 107–296, which was classified to this part, was redesignated subtitle B of title II of Pub. L. 107–296 by Pub. L. 115–278, § 2(g)(2)(K), Nov. 16, 2018, 132 Stat. 4178, and transferred to part B (§ 141 et seq.) of this subchapter. § 161. Establishment of Office; Director (a) Establishment (1) In general There is hereby established within the De- partment of Justice an Office of Science and Technology (hereinafter in this subchapter re- ferred to as the ‘‘Office’’). (2) Authority The Office shall be under the general author- ity of the Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs, and shall be established within the National Institute of Justice. (b) Director The Office shall be headed by a Director, who shall be an individual appointed based on ap- proval by the Office of Personnel Management of the executive qualifications of the individual. (Pub. L. 107–296, title II, § 231, Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2159.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This subchapter, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), was in the original ‘‘this title’’, meaning title II of Pub. L. 107–296, Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2145, which enacted this subchapter, amended sections 1030, 2511, 2512, 2520, 2701 to 2703, and 3125 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Proce- dure, sections 10102 and 10122 of Title 34, Crime Control and Law Enforcement, and section 401a of Title 50, War and National Defense, and enacted provisions set out as a note under section 101 of this title and listed in a Pro- visions for Review, Promulgation, or Amendment of Federal Sentencing Guidelines Relating to Specific Of- fenses table set out under section 994 of Title 28, Judici- ary and Judicial Procedure. For complete classification of title II to the Code, see Tables. § 162. Mission of Office; duties (a) Mission The mission of the Office shall be— (1) to serve as the national focal point for work on law enforcement technology; and (2) to carry out programs that, through the provision of equipment, training, and tech- nical assistance, improve the safety and effec- tiveness of law enforcement technology and improve access to such technology by Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies. (b) Duties In carrying out its mission, the Office shall have the following duties: (1) To provide recommendations and advice to the Attorney General. (2) To establish and maintain advisory groups (which shall be exempt from the provi- sions of chapter 10 of title 5) to assess the law enforcement technology needs of Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies. (3) To establish and maintain performance standards in accordance with the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (Public Law 104–113) for, and test and evaluate law enforcement technologies that may be used by, Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies. (4) To establish and maintain a program to certify, validate, and mark or otherwise recog- nize law enforcement technology products that conform to standards established and maintained by the Office in accordance with the National Technology Transfer and Ad- vancement Act of 1995 (Public Law 104–113). The program may, at the discretion of the Of- fice, allow for supplier’s declaration of con- formity with such standards. (5) To work with other entities within the Department of Justice, other Federal agen- cies, and the executive office of the President to establish a coordinated Federal approach on issues related to law enforcement technology. (6) To carry out research, development, test- ing, evaluation, and cost-benefit analyses in fields that would improve the safety, effective- ness, and efficiency of law enforcement tech- nologies used by Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies, including, but not lim- ited to— (A) weapons capable of preventing use by unauthorized persons, including personalized guns; (B) protective apparel; (C) bullet-resistant and explosion-resistant glass; (D) monitoring systems and alarm systems capable of providing precise location infor- mation; (E) wire and wireless interoperable com- munication technologies; (F) tools and techniques that facilitate in- vestigative and forensic work, including computer forensics; (G) equipment for particular use in counterterrorism, including devices and technologies to disable terrorist devices; (H) guides to assist State and local law en- forcement agencies; (I) DNA identification technologies; and (J) tools and techniques that facilitate in- vestigations of computer crime. (7) To administer a program of research, de- velopment, testing, and demonstration to im- prove the interoperability of voice and data public safety communications. (8) To serve on the Technical Support Work- ing Group of the Department of Defense, and on other relevant interagency panels, as re- quested. (9) To develop, and disseminate to State and local law enforcement agencies, technical as- sistance and training materials for law en- forcement personnel, including prosecutors. (10) To operate the regional National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Cen- ters and, to the extent necessary, establish ad- ditional centers through a competitive proc- ess. (11) To administer a program of acquisition, research, development, and dissemination of advanced investigative analysis and forensic tools to assist State and local law enforce- ment agencies in combating cybercrime. (12) To support research fellowships in sup- port of its mission. Page 66 TITLE 6—DOMESTIC SECURITY § 163 (13) To serve as a clearinghouse for informa- tion on law enforcement technologies. (14) To represent the United States and State and local law enforcement agencies, as requested, in international activities con- cerning law enforcement technology. (15) To enter into contracts and cooperative agreements and provide grants, which may re- quire in-kind or cash matches from the recipi- ent, as necessary to carry out its mission. (16) To carry out other duties assigned by the Attorney General to accomplish the mis- sion of the Office. (c) Competition required Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, all research and development carried out by or through the Office shall be carried out on a com- petitive basis. (d) Information from Federal agencies Federal agencies shall, upon request from the Office and in accordance with Federal law, pro- vide the Office with any data, reports, or other information requested, unless compliance with such request is otherwise prohibited by law. (e) Publications Decisions concerning publications issued by the Office shall rest solely with the Director of the Office. (f) Transfer of funds The Office may transfer funds to other Federal agencies or provide funding to non-Federal enti- ties through grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts to carry out its duties under this sec- tion: Provided, That any such transfer or provi- sion of funding shall be carried out in accord- ance with section 605 of Public Law 107–77. (g) Annual report The Director of the Office shall include with the budget justification materials submitted to Congress in support of the Department of Jus- tice budget for each fiscal year (as submitted with the budget of the President under section 1105(a) of title 31) a report on the activities of the Office. Each such report shall include the following: (1) For the period of 5 fiscal years beginning with the fiscal year for which the budget is submitted— (A) the Director’s assessment of the needs of Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies for assistance with respect to law enforcement technology and other matters consistent with the mission of the Office; and (B) a strategic plan for meeting such needs of such law enforcement agencies. (2) For the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which such budget is submitted, a de- scription of the activities carried out by the Office and an evaluation of the extent to which those activities successfully meet the needs assessed under paragraph (1)(A) in pre- vious reports. (Pub. L. 107–296, title II, § 232, Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2159; Pub. L. 108–7, div. L, § 103(1), Feb. 20, 2003, 117 Stat. 529; Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(a)(13), Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4306.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995, referred to in subsec. (b)(3), (4), is Pub. L. 104–113, Mar. 7, 1996, 110 Stat. 775, as amended. For com- plete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1996 Amendment note set out under section 3701 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade, and Tables. Section 605 of Public Law 107–77, referred to in sub- sec. (f), is section 605 of Pub. L. 107–77, title VI, Nov. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 798, which is not classified to the Code. AMENDMENTS 2022—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 117–286 substituted ‘‘chap- ter 10 of title 5)’’ for ‘‘the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.))’’. 2003—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 108–7 inserted before period at end ‘‘: Provided, That any such transfer or provision of funding shall be carried out in accordance with sec- tion 605 of Public Law 107–77’’. § 163. Definition of law enforcement technology For the purposes of this subchapter, the term ‘‘law enforcement technology’’ includes inves- tigative and forensic technologies, corrections technologies, and technologies that support the judicial process. (Pub. L. 107–296, title II, § 233, Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2161.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This subchapter, referred to in text, was in the origi- nal ‘‘this title’’, meaning title II of Pub. L. 107–296, Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2145, which enacted this subchapter, amended sections 1030, 2511, 2512, 2520, 2701 to 2703, and 3125 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, sec- tions 10102 and 10122 of Title 34, Crime Control and Law Enforcement, and section 401a of Title 50, War and Na- tional Defense, and enacted provisions set out as a note under section 101 of this title and listed in a Provisions for Review, Promulgation, or Amendment of Federal Sentencing Guidelines Relating to Specific Offenses table set out under section 994 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. For complete classification of title II to the Code, see Tables. § 164. Abolishment of Office of Science and Tech- nology of National Institute of Justice; trans- fer of functions (a) Authority to transfer functions The Attorney General may transfer to the Of- fice any other program or activity of the De- partment of Justice that the Attorney General, in consultation with the Committee on the Judi- ciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, de- termines to be consistent with the mission of the Office. (b) Transfer of personnel and assets With respect to any function, power, or duty, or any program or activity, that is established in the Office, those employees and assets of the element of the Department of Justice from which the transfer is made that the Attorney General determines are needed to perform that function, power, or duty, or for that program or activity, as the case may be, shall be transferred to the Office: Provided, That any such transfer shall be carried out in accordance with section 605 of Public Law 107–77.