BJS Authorizing Legislation

DERIVATION
Title I
THE OMNIBUS CRIME CONTROL AND SAFE STREETS ACT OF 1968
(Public Law 90-351)
42 U.S.C. § 3711, et seq.
AN ACT to assist State and local governments in reducing the incidence of crime, to increase the effectiveness,
fairness, and coordination of law enforcement and criminal justice systems at all levels of government, and for other
purposes.
As Amended By
THE OMNIBUS CRIME CONTROL ACT OF 1970
(Public Law 91-644)
THE CRIME CONTROL ACT OF 1973
(Public Law 93-83)
THE JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION ACT OF 1974
(Public Law 93-415)
THE PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS’ BENEFITS ACT OF 1976
(Public Law 94-430)
THE CRIME CONTROL ACT OF 1976
(Public Law 94-503)
THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1979
(Public Law 96-157)
THE JUSTICE ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1984
(Public Law 98-473)
STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1986
(Public Law 99-570-Subtitle K)
THE ANTI-DRUG ABUSE ACT OF 1988
TITLE VI, SUBTITLE C - STATE AND LOCAL NARCOTICS CONTROL
AND JUSTICE ASSISTANCE IMPROVEMENTS
(Public Law 100-690)
THE CRIME CONTROL ACT OF 1990
(Public Law 101-647)
BRADY HANDGUN VIOLENCE PROTECTION ACT
(Public Law 103-159)
VIOLENT CRIME CONTROL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 1994
(Public Law 103-322)
NATIONAL CHILD PROTECTION ACT OF 1993, AS AMENDED
(Public Law 103-209)
and
CRIME IDENTIFICATION TECHNOLOGY ACT OF 1998
(Public Law 105-251)

BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS
CHAPTER 46 - SUBCHAPTER III
[TITLE I - PART C]
42 USC § 3731

[Sec. 301.] Statement of purpose

It is the purpose of this subchapter [part] to provide for and encourage the collection and analysis of
statistical information concerning crime, juvenile delinquency, and the operation of the criminal justice
system and related aspects of the civil justice system and to support the development of information and
statistical systems at the Federal, State, and local levels to improve the efforts of these levels of government
to measure and understand the levels of crime, juvenile delinquency, and the operation of the criminal
justice system and related aspects of the civil justice system. The Bureau shall utilize to the maximum
extent feasible State governmental organizations and facilities responsible for the collection and analysis of
criminal justice data and statistics. In carrying out the provisions of this subchapter [part], the Bureau shall
give primary emphasis to the problems of State and local justice systems.
42 USC § 3732

[Sec. 302.] Bureau of Justice Statistics

(a) Establishment. There is established within the Department of Justice, under the general authority of the
Attorney General, a Bureau of Justice Statistics (hereinafter referred to in this subchapter [part] as
“Bureau”).
(b) Appointment of Director; experience; authority; restrictions. The Bureau shall be headed by a Director
appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Director shall have had
experience in statistical programs. The Director shall have final authority for all grants, cooperative
agreements, and contracts awarded by the Bureau. The Director shall report to the Attorney General
through the Assistant Attorney General. The Director shall not engage in any other employment than that
of serving as Director; nor shall the Director hold any office in, or act in any capacity for, any organization,
agency, or institution with which the Bureau makes any contract or other arrangement under this Act.
(c) Duties and functions of Bureau. The Bureau is authorized to–
(1) make grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements or contracts with public agencies,
institutions of higher education, private organizations, or private individuals for purposes related
to this subchapter [part]; grants shall be made subject to continuing compliance with standards for
gathering justice statistics set forth in rules and regulations promulgated by the Director;
(2) collect and analyze information concerning criminal victimization, including crimes against the
elderly, and civil disputes;
(3) collect and analyze data that will serve as a continuous and comparable national social
indication of the prevalence, incidence, rates, extent, distribution, and attributes of crime, juvenile
delinquency, civil disputes, and other statistical factors related to crime, civil disputes, and
juvenile delinquency, in support of national, State, and local justice policy and decision making;
(4) collect and analyze statistical information, concerning the operations of the criminal justice
system at the Federal, State, and local levels;
(5) collect and analyze statistical information concerning the prevalence, incidence, rates, extent,
distribution, and attributes of crime, and juvenile delinquency, at the Federal, State, and local
levels;
(6) analyze the correlates of crime, civil disputes and juvenile delinquency, by the use of statistical
information, about criminal and civil justice systems at the Federal, State, and local levels, and
about the extent, distribution and attributes of crime, and juvenile delinquency, in the Nation and
at the Federal, State, and local levels;
(7) compile, collate, analyze, publish, and disseminate uniform national statistics concerning all
aspects of criminal justice and related aspects of civil justice, crime, including crimes against the
elderly, juvenile delinquency, criminal offenders, juvenile delinquents, and civil disputes in the
various States;

(8) recommend national standards for justice statistics and for insuring the reliability and validity
of justice statistics supplied pursuant to this chapter [title];
(9) maintain liaison with the judicial branches of the Federal and State Governments in matters
relating to justice statistics, and cooperate with the judicial branch in assuring as much uniformity
as feasible in statistical systems of the executive and judicial branches;
(10) provide information to the President, the Congress, the judiciary, State and local
governments, and the general public on justice statistics;
(11) establish or assist in the establishment of a system to provide State and local governments
with access to Federal informational resources useful in the planning, implementation, and
evaluation of programs under this Act;
(12) conduct or support research relating to methods of gathering or analyzing justice statistics;
(13) provide for the development of justice information systems programs and assistance to the
States and units of local government relating to collection, analysis, or dissemination of justice
statistics;
(14) develop and maintain a data processing capability to support the collection, aggregation,
analysis and dissemination of information on the incidence of crime and the operation of the
criminal justice system;
(15) collect, analyze and disseminate comprehensive Federal justice transaction statistics
(including statistics on issues of Federal justice interest such as public fraud and high technology
crime) and to provide technical assistance to and work jointly with other Federal agencies to
improve the availability and quality of Federal justice data;
(16) provide for the collection, compilation, analysis, publication and dissemination of
information and statistics about the prevalence, incidence, rates, extent, distribution and attributes
of drug offenses, drug related offenses and drug dependent offenders and further provide for the
establishment of a national clearinghouse to maintain and update a comprehensive and timely data
base on all criminal justice aspects of the drug crisis and to disseminate such information;
(17) provide for the collection, analysis, dissemination and publication of statistics on the
condition and progress of drug control activities at the Federal, State and local levels with
particular attention to programs and intervention efforts demonstrated to be of value in the overall
national anti- drug strategy and to provide for the establishment of a national clearinghouse for the
gathering of data generated by Federal, State, and local criminal justice agencies on their drug
enforcement activities;
(18) provide for the development and enhancement of State and local criminal justice information
systems, and the standardization of data reporting relating to the collection, analysis or
dissemination of data and statistics about drug offenses, drug related offenses, or drug dependent
offenders;
(19) provide for research and improvements in the accuracy, completeness, and inclusiveness of
criminal history record information, information systems, arrest warrant, and stolen vehicle record
information and information systems and support research concerning the accuracy, completeness,
and inclusiveness of other criminal justice record information;
(20) maintain liaison with State and local governments and governments of other nations
concerning justice statistics;
(21) cooperate in and participate with national and international organizations in the development
of uniform justice statistics;
(22) ensure conformance with security and privacy requirement of section 3789g of this title and
identify, analyze, and participate in the development and implementation of privacy, security and
information policies which impact on Federal and State criminal justice operations and related
statistical activities; and

(23) exercise the powers and functions set out in subchapter VIII [part H] of this chapter [title].
(d) Justice statistical collection, analysis, and dissemination. To insure that all justice statistical collection,
analysis, and dissemination is carried out in a coordinated manner, the Director is authorized to–
(1) utilize, with their consent, the services, equipment, records, personnel, information, and
facilities of other Federal, State, local, and private agencies and instrumentalities with or without
reimbursement therefore, and to enter into agreements with such agencies and instrumentalities for
purposes of data collection and analysis;
(2) confer and cooperate with State, municipal, and other local agencies;
(3) request such information, data, and reports from any Federal agency as may be required to
carry out the purposes of this chapter [title];
(4) seek the cooperation of the judicial branch of the Federal Government in gathering data from
criminal justice records; and
(5) encourage replication, coordination and sharing among justice agencies regarding information
systems, information policy, and data.
(e) Furnishing of information, data, or reports by Federal agencies. Federal agencies requested to furnish
information, data, or reports pursuant to subsection (d)(3) of this section shall provide such information to
the Bureau as is required to carry out the purposes of this section.
(f) Consultation with representatives of State and local government and judiciary. In recommending
standards for gathering justice statistics under this section, the Director shall consult with representatives of
State and local government, including, where appropriate, representatives of the judiciary.
42 USC § 3733

[Sec. 303.] Authority for 100 per centum grants

A grant authorized under this subchapter [part] may be up to 100 per centum of the total cost of each
project for which such grant is made. The Bureau shall require, whenever feasible as a condition of
approval of a grant under this subchapter [part], that the recipient contribute money, facilities, or services to
carry out the purposes for which the grant is sought.
42 USC § 3735

[Sec. 304.] Use of data

Data collected by the Bureau shall be used only for statistical or research purposes, and shall be gathered in
a manner that precludes their use for law enforcement or any purpose relating to a particular individual
other than statistical or research purposes.