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U.S.-Mexican Security Cooperation: The Mérida Initiative and Beyond

Description: This report begins with a brief discussion of security challenges in Mexico and Mexico's security strategy. It then provides updated information on congressional funding and oversight of the Mérida Initiative before delving into its four pillars. The report concludes by raising policy issues that Congress may wish to consider as it continues to fund and oversee the Mérida Initiative and broader U.S.-Mexican security cooperation.
Date: May 7, 2015
Creator: Ribando Seelke, Clare & Finklea, Kristin M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Missing and Exploited Children: Background, Policies, and Issues

Description: This report covers only select aspects of the broader topic of missing and exploited children. It begins with an overview of the scope of the missing and exploited children issue, including definitions and approximate numbers of children known to be missing or exploited. The report also provides information about the Missing and Exploited Children's (MEC) program's funding, oversight, and major components. Finally, the report discusses issues that may be relevant to the MEC program.
Date: April 29, 2015
Creator: Fernandes-Alcantara, Adrienne L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Disaster Assistance

Description: This report briefly discusses the federal grand jury, which exists to investigate crimes against the United States and to secure the constitutional right of grand jury indictment.
Date: May 20, 2015
Creator: Shields, Dennis A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Grand Jury

Description: This report discusses the federal grand jury, which exists to investigate crimes against the United States and to secure the constitutional right of grand jury indictment.
Date: May 7, 2015
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Legislation to Facilitate Cybersecurity Information Sharing: Economic Analysis

Description: This report analyzes the sharing of cyberattack information by government with private companies, by private companies with the government, and among private companies. Sharing information with consumers is mentioned but is not the central focus of this report.
Date: June 3, 2015
Creator: Weiss, N. E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Risk and Needs Assessment in the Criminal Justice System

Description: This report provides information on the use of risk and needs assessment in the criminal justice system. It starts with an overview of risk and needs assessment and a discussion of some of the critiques of it. The report concludes with a discussion of the issues policymakers might consider if they debate legislation to expand the use of risk and needs assessment in the federal prison system.
Date: June 22, 2015
Creator: James, Nathan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Sex Trafficking: An Overview of Federal Criminal Law

Description: This report discusses federal laws on sex trafficking. Sex trafficking is a state crime. Federal law, however, makes it a federal crime to conduct the activities of a sex trafficking enterprise in a way that affects interstate or foreign commerce or that involves travel in interstate or foreign commerce.
Date: June 25, 2015
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Charleston, SC, Mass Shooter Might Have Been Denied a Handgun If Not for Possible Recordkeeping Oversights

Description: This report briefly discusses the announcement by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey that the alleged assailant in the Charleston, SC, mass murder/shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church might have been prevented from acquiring a handgun if not for possible recordkeeping oversights on the part of the FBI and Columbia, SC, city police and county sheriff's departments.
Date: July 13, 2015
Creator: Krouse, William J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Sifting Domestic Terrorism from Other Illegal Activity

Description: This report briefly discusses key differences between domestic terrorism and ordinary criminal activity. Unlike ordinary criminals--who are often driven by self-centered motives such as profit and tend to opportunistically seek easy prey--domestic terrorists are driven by a cause or ideology.
Date: June 24, 2015
Creator: Bjelopera, Jerome P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Armed Career Criminal Act (18 U.S.C. 924(e)): An Overview

Description: This report discusses the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. 924(e). The law requires a minimum 15-year term of imprisonment for recidivists convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. 922(g), who have three prior state or federal convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses.
Date: July 29, 2015
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Trafficking in Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean

Description: This report describes the nature and scope of the problem of human trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean, including U.S. efforts to deal with trafficking in persons in the region, as well as the successes and failures of some recent country and regional antitrafficking efforts. The report concludes by raising issues that may be helpful for the 113th Congress to consider as it continues to address human trafficking as part of its authorization, appropriations, and oversight activities.
Date: July 29, 2015
Creator: Ribando Seelke, Clare
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Risk and Needs Assessment in the Criminal Justice System

Description: This report provides information on the use of risk and needs assessment in the criminal justice system. It starts with an overview of risk and needs assessment and a discussion of some critiques. The report concludes with a discussion of the issues policymakers might consider if they debate legislation to expand the use of risk and needs assessment in the federal prison system.
Date: July 24, 2015
Creator: James, Nathan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Mass Murder with Firearms: Incidents and Victims, 1999-2013

Description: This report analyzes mass shootings for a 15-year period (1999-2013). CRS analysis of the FBI SHR dataset and other research indicates that offenders committed at least 317 mass shootings, murdered 1,554 victims, and nonfatally wounded another 441 victims entirely with firearms during that 15-year period. The prevalence of mass shooting incidents and victim counts fluctuated sporadically from year to year.
Date: July 30, 2015
Creator: Krouse, William J. & Richardson, Daniel J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Police Use of Force: Rules, Remedies, and Reforms

Description: This report addresses three overarching questions to provide legal context for the debate concerning the appropriate level of force police officers should wield: (1) what are the constitutional rules governing an officer's use of force; (2) what role has Congress played in providing a remedy for a violation of these rules; and (3) what are the potential reforms to these rules and remedies?
Date: October 30, 2015
Creator: Thompson, Richard M., II
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Tactical Teams

Description: This report provides a brief overview of the development of tactical teams at the state and local level and the concerns raised by their expansion. It then discusses the composition of these teams in the federal government. It concludes with a discussion of potential issues for policymakers to consider if they take up legislation or conduct oversight related to how the federal government uses tactical teams.
Date: September 3, 2015
Creator: James, Nathan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Crime Victims Fund: Federal Support for Victims of Crime

Description: This report provides background and funding information for Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) programs and the Crime Victims Fund (CVF). It describes the process through which CVF funds are allocated and explains how the CVF impacts the annual budget for DOJ. It then provides an analysis of selected issues that Congress may consider regarding the CVF and the federal budget.
Date: October 27, 2015
Creator: Sacco, Lisa N.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Sentencing Reform: Comparison of Selected Proposals

Description: This report is a comparison of selected criminal sentencing reform bills as introduced: H.R. 3713, H.R. 2944, S. 502, and H.R. 920; and S. 2123 as passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee with a manager's amendment).
Date: October 26, 2015
Creator: Cole, Jared P. & Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Risk and Needs Assessment in the Criminal Justice System

Description: This report provides information on the use of risk and needs assessment in the criminal justice system. It starts with an overview of risk and needs assessment and a discussion of some of the critiques of it. The report concludes with a discussion of the issues policymakers might consider if they debate legislation to expand the use of risk and needs assessment in the federal prison system.
Date: October 13, 2015
Creator: James, Nathan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Is Violent Crime in the United States Increasing?

Description: Overall, homicide and violent crime rates have been trending downward for more than two decades, and both rates are at historic lows. An analysis comparing 2014 and 2015 homicide data from the nation's 60 most populous cities suggests that violent crime is not increasing. This report discusses several short-term factors that might help explain some of the reported upticks in violent crime across the country.
Date: October 29, 2015
Creator: James, Nathan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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