# Understanding the VICTIM Act of 2022

This bill creates a federal grant program to help local police departments solve more homicides and non-fatal shootings. The federal government would provide money to state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies so they can hire more detectives, buy better investigative equipment, and improve how they investigate violent crimes. The program would run from 2023 through 2032, with up to $100 million available each year.

The bill is based on research showing that police departments with better clearance rates—meaning they solve more cases—tend to have certain things in common: they keep their experienced detectives on the job, they have strong leadership overseeing investigations, they train their detectives well, and they work closely with their communities. The grant money can be used to hire additional homicide and shooting detectives, purchase or upgrade technology like DNA analysis equipment, train investigators in better investigative techniques, and hire more evidence processing staff to speed up lab work.

Beyond just solving crimes, the bill also focuses on helping victims and their families. Grant money can pay for mental health counseling, grief counseling, funeral expenses, emergency shelter, and other support services for people affected by homicides and shootings. Police departments would also use funds to train officers on how to better support victims and their families during investigations. The bill requires that 10 percent of the grant money go specifically to tribal law enforcement agencies, recognizing that Native American communities often have fewer resources for investigations.

To make sure the program actually works, police departments receiving grants must report back to the federal government within a year, detailing how many detectives they hired, what training they provided, what technology they purchased, and most importantly, whether their clearance rates for solving homicides and shootings actually improved. The federal government will evaluate the program every two years to identify which strategies are most effective at solving these violent crimes.

VICTIM Act of 2022

Demings, Val Butler

Violent Incident Clearance and Technological Investigative Methods Act of 2021 or the VICTIM Act of 2021 This bill directs the Department of Justice to establish a grant program for state, tribal, or local law enforcement agencies or prosecuting offices (or groups of agencies or offices) to establish, implement, and administer violent incident clearance and technological investigative methods.