S. 390 — BADGES for Native Communities Act

This section directs the Attorney General to appoint one or more Tribal facilitators for the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)—a Department of Justice program that maintains a national database for missing persons and unidentified human remains—to coordinate reporting and resolution of related cases of interest to Indian Tribes. The facilitators must consult and build relationships with Tribes and Tribal organizations; provide technical assistance and training to Tribes, victim advocates, medical examiners, coroners, and Tribal justice officials on NamUs reporting and coordination with non-Tribal law enforcement; coordinate with the Office of Tribal Justice, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Attorneys, FBI, state law enforcement, and others; and conduct related outreach. Further, the Attorney General, through the Director of the National Institute of Justice, must submit annual reports on facilitators' activities to specified Senate and House committees for three years after enactment and publish annual summaries on a public website.

This section amends the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act (25 U.S.C. 2802) to revise reporting on law enforcement resources in Indian country, as follows: (1) revises the list of unmet needs reported by the Office of Justice Services (OJS) of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)—which provides law enforcement services in Indian country—to specify (A) staffing shortages for law enforcement, corrections, and court personnel (e.g., criminal investigators, medical examiners, coroners, forensic technicians, indigent defense staff, crime victim services staff, prosecutors), including OJS's Missing and Murdered Unit; (B) replacement and repair needs for tribal and BIA corrections facilities; (C) infrastructure and capital needs for tribal police and court facilities, including evidence storage and processing; and (D) public safety, emergency communications, and technology needs, including equipment and internet capacity; (2) defines "Department of Justice law enforcement agency" to mean the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Offices of the United States Attorneys; requires the Attorney General to submit annual reports to the Senate Committees on Indian Affairs, Judiciary, and Appropriations and House Committees on Natural Resources, Judiciary, and Appropriations detailing, for each such agency, the number of full-time employees assigned to Indian country criminal investigations and prosecutions, percentage of their time spent in Indian country, 5-year turnover rate, average Department of Justice experience, vacant positions, necessary expertise and skills, estimated staffing needs, and hiring, retention, and training measures; and (3) directs the Government Accountability Office, not later than 18 months after the first annual report, to study unmet Department of Justice staffing needs for Indian country criminal investigations and prosecutions—considering the most recent Attorney General report under 25 U.S.C. 2809(b)—and submit a report with results and proposals for better measuring such needs to the specified committees.

This section establishes a five-year demonstration program under which the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, may conduct or adjudicate background investigations and security clearance determinations for applicants to law enforcement positions in the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). It authorizes the Secretary to enter into memoranda of agreement with state or local governments, Indian tribes, or tribal organizations to expedite access to pertinent information and provides that a security clearance granted by the Secretary under the program satisfies applicable Office of Personnel Management or other federal agency requirements. Not later than three years after the program's establishment, the Secretary must report to specified Senate and House committees on the program's operations, including recommended changes or reauthorization, number of investigations conducted, costs and savings, processing times, and other relevant information.

This section establishes a grant program within the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs (OJP) to improve coordination on missing persons cases, sexual violence cases, and death investigations of interest to Indian Tribes (i.e., cases involving American Indians and Alaska Natives). Eligible grantees include Indian Tribes, relevant Tribal organizations, consortia thereof, and States or State consortia partnering with Tribes or Tribal organizations (subject to requirements that States report missing persons data to national crime databases or plan to do so and enter memoranda of understanding for data sharing). Grant funds may be used to (1) establish statewide or regional centers to document, track, and report relevant cases to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System and National Crime Information Center; (2) create State or regional commissions to enhance coordination among Federal, Tribal, State, and local law enforcement; or (3) develop and disseminate investigative resources, including rapid notification systems. The section authorizes $1 million annually for the program for FY2026 through FY2030.

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on evidence collection, handling, response times, and processing procedures and practices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for crimes involving Indians or committed in Indian country (i.e., federally recognized tribal lands). The study must also assess barriers identified by those agencies; views of agency and U.S. Attorney officials on any link between those barriers and declination rates due to insufficient evidence; and barriers faced by tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies exercising jurisdiction in Indian country. Not later than 18 months after enactment, the Comptroller General must submit a report on the study to the Senate Committees on Indian Affairs, the Judiciary, and Appropriations and the House Committees on Natural Resources, the Judiciary, and Appropriations.

This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to coordinate with the Director (1) to ensure federal training materials and culturally appropriate mental health and wellness programs are locally or regionally available to law enforcement officers working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services or an Indian tribe; and (2) to determine whether law enforcement agencies operated by that office and Indian tribes are eligible for services under (A) the Law Enforcement Assistance Program of Federal Occupational Health in the Department of Health and Human Services or (B) any other law enforcement assistance program targeted to federal or tribal law enforcement officers.