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Crime and Forfeiture: In Short

Description: This report provides a brief background information on property and trigger crimes and discusses civil forfeiture, criminal forfeiture, disposition of forfeited assets and constitutional considerations.
Date: January 22, 2015
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Asset Forfeiture: Selected Legal Issues and Reforms

Description: This report discusses the asset forfeiture, which refers (in this report) to the process of confiscating either property or money from a person because it is illegal to possess (contraband), constitutes the proceeds of a crime, or was used to facilitate a crime. The report provides an overview of both types -- civil asset forfeiture and criminal forfeitures -- as well as select legal issues and structural reforms.
Date: February 2, 2015
Creator: Thompson, Richard M., II
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Is This the First Step in Undoing Mass Incarceration? 6,000 Federal Drug Offenders Set to be Released

Description: In early November, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is scheduled to release approximately 6,000 federal inmates convicted of drug trafficking offenses. This report briefly examines the background of this release and its potential effects.
Date: October 22, 2015
Creator: James, Nathan & Yeh, Brian T.
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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Missing Adults: Background, Federal Programs, and Issues for Congress

Description: The first section of this report discusses demographics and record keeping of missing adults and unidentified remains, as well as some of the factors that may contribute to the disappearance of adults. This section also discusses federally-funded databases that are used to track data on missing adults and unidentified individuals. The second section of the report describes the federal programs and initiatives to assist in locating missing adults, including funding data where applicable. Finally… more
Date: February 11, 2015
Creator: Fernandes-Alcantara, Adrienne L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Crime and Forfeiture

Description: This report provides an overview of federal forfeiture law. It sketches the origins and general attributes of forfeiture, describes the distribution of the hundreds of millions of dollars it generates, and identifies some of the related constitutional issues.
Date: January 22, 2015
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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In Re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001: Claims Against Saudi Defendants Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA)

Description: This report summarizes the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) and jurisdiction in cases against foreign defendants and analyzes the court of appeals decision. It also discusses legislative efforts to address these issues(S. 1535 and H.R. 3143).
Date: January 22, 2015
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Body Armor for Law Enforcement Officers: In Brief

Description: This report contains an overview of the Matching Grant Program for Law Enforcement Armor Vests (BPV program). It also provides a discussion of data on law enforcement agencies that require their officers to wear armor vests while on duty, research on why officers may choose to wear armor vests, research on the life cycle for armor vests, data on the use of body armor by law enforcement officers who were killed with a firearm, and research on the effectiveness of armor vests.
Date: January 13, 2015
Creator: James, Nathan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cybercrime: Conceptual Issues for Congress and U.S. Law Enforcement

Description: This report discusses the concept of cybercrime and related cyber threats such as cyber espionage and cyber warfare, and questions whether--and under what circumstances--clear distinctions between the various threats should be delineated. It also outlines how current federal strategies may address cybercrime, including issues surrounding the measurement and tracking of cybercrime.
Date: January 15, 2015
Creator: Finklea, Kristin & Theohary, Catherine A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Overview of FY2016 Appropriations for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS)

Description: This report tracks and describes actions taken by the Administration and Congress to provide FY2016 appropriations for the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) accounts. It also provides an overview of FY2015 appropriations for agencies and bureaus funded as part of the annual appropriation for CJS.
Date: February 23, 2015
Creator: James, Nathan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Sex Trafficking: Proposals in the 114th Congress to Amend Federal Criminal Law

Description: This report discusses proposed legislation that would amend federal substantive law in three areas: commercial sex trafficking (18 U.S.C. 1591); the Mann Act, which outlaws transportation and travel for unlawful sexual purposes; and federal tax crimes.
Date: April 29, 2015
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

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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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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Federal Involvement in Sex Offender Registration and Notification: Overview and Issues for Congress, In Brief

Description: This report begins with a brief background on sex offender crime and policy in the United States, followed by a description of the role of the federal government in sex offender registration and notification. It concludes with a discussion of select issues on which Congress may exercise additional oversight or address through legislation.
Date: March 25, 2015
Creator: Sacco, Lisa N.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tying Up Loose Ends... Supreme Court To Evaluate Federal Firearm Provision Again

Description: This legal sidebar discusses certiorari to hear Voisine v. United States, a decision examining the federal provision that makes it unlawful for an individual to possess a firearm or ammunition if he or she has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (MCDV).
Date: December 3, 2015
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Backlog of Sexual Assault Evidence: In Brief

Description: This report provides background on the sexual assault kit (SAKs, also referred to as "rape kits") backlog and information on federal efforts to reduce it. The backlog of SAKs has raised concerns over justice for assault victims and that additional victimizations could have been prevented had the evidence from any given kit been tested and the perpetrator apprehended in a timely manner.
Date: October 19, 2015
Creator: Sacco, Lisa N. & James, Nathan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

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
open access

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
open access

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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