Reports of missing persons: Violent Crime Information Center.

Existing law requires the Attorney General to establish and maintain a Violent Crime Information Center to assist in the identification and apprehension of persons responsible for specific violent crimes and for the disappearance and exploitation of persons, particularly children and dependent adults. Existing law also requires the Attorney General to provide information on reports of missing persons to law enforcement agencies, as provided. This bill would require the Violent Crime Information Center to make accessible to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System specific information authorized for dissemination and as determined appropriate by the center that is contained in law enforcement reports regarding missing or unidentified persons to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System to assist in the search for the missing person or persons. Existing law imposes certain requirements on law enforcement agencies with respect to the reporting of missing persons. Under existing law, if the person reported missing is under 16 years of age, or there is evidence that the person is at risk, as defined, the local police, sheriff's department, or the California Highway Patrol is required to submit the report to the Attorney General's office within 4 hours after accepting the report. Existing law authorizes the governing body of a local agency to adopt a resolution to make these provisions inoperative as to the local police or sheriff's department under its jurisdiction, as specified. This bill would, subject to the authority of the local governing body to adopt a resolution to make the provisions inoperative as to its police or sheriff's department, provide that if the person reported missing is under 21 years of age, or if there is evidence that the person is at risk, the law enforcement agency receiving the report shall, within 2 hours after the receipt of the report, transmit the report to the Department of Justice for inclusion in the Violent Crime Information Center and the National Crime Information Center databases. The bill would provide that its provisions shall become operative on January 1, 2012.