Savanna's Act

Savanna's Act

This bill directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to review, revise, and develop law enforcement and justice protocols to address missing or murdered Native Americans.

The bill requires DOJ to

• provide training to law enforcement agencies on how to record tribal enrollment for victims in federal databases;
• develop and implement a strategy to educate the public on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System;
• conduct specific outreach to tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations regarding the ability to publicly enter information through the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System or other non-law enforcement sensitive portal;
• develop regionally appropriate guidelines for response to cases of missing or murdered Native Americans;
• provide training and technical assistance to tribes and law enforcement agencies for implementation of the developed guidelines; and
• report statistics on missing or murdered Native Americans.

Tribes may submit their own guidelines to DOJ that respond to cases of missing or murdered Native Americans.

Additionally, the bill authorizes DOJ to provide grants for the purposes of (1) developing and implementing policies and protocols for law enforcement regarding cases of missing or murdered Native Americans, and (2) compiling and annually reporting data relating to missing or murdered Native Americans.

Federal law enforcement agencies must modify their guidelines to incorporate the guidelines developed by DOJ.

Finally, the Federal Bureau of Investigation must include gender in its annual statistics on missing and unidentified persons published on its website.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov