NCJ Number
95687
Date Published
1982
Length
15 pages
Annotation
In prepared testimony, John Walsh recounts the abduction and murder of his young son and argues for the passage of S. 1701 to help counter crimes against children.
Abstract
Walsh addresses the Justice Department's three arguments against S.1701. First, the Justice Department recommends that the Colorado Pilot Project be studied for 2 years. Walsh emphasizes that the California system for identifying unidentified dead is superior to the Colorado system. California State law makes it mandatory for information on missing persons and unidentified dead to be placed in a centralized computer bank. This has assisted the State in identifying all but 55 previously unidentified bodies. Second, the codification of any missing person is language taken from existing statutes and in no way limits the FBI. The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) cannot cross-reference information for unidentified deceased and missing persons; yet the FBI testifies that the NCIC holds information on missing persons, but it cannot be accessed by police officials. The third argument against the bill regards the portion which seems to require the FBI to accept information directly from a parent, legal guardian, next of kin of the missing child, or unemancipated person for entry into the NCIC. Walsh cites cases where parents have reported information about their missing child to police officials who then failed to put the information into the NCIC. Walsh urges the Senate to pass the bill. For the full hearing transcript, see NCJ 95686.