6 U.S.C. § 161 — Establishment of Office; Director

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.