PRINTER'S NO. 1869
No. 1565 Session of 1987
INTRODUCED BY SWEET, HAGARTY, DORR, ITKIN, MOEHLMANN, DAWIDA,
LASHINGER, PRESSMANN, HECKLER, McHALE, WOGAN, MORRIS,
BORTNER, RYBAK, COY, HALUSKA, LaGROTTA, NAHILL, SIRIANNI,
SAURMAN, CLYMER, CORRIGAN, MRKONIC, STABACK, ANGSTADT, TIGUE,
MERRY, S. H. SMITH, NOYE, SEMMEL, MELIO, BUNT, RAYMOND,
HAYDEN, TRELLO, CHADWICK, D. R. WRIGHT, E. Z. TAYLOR,
GODSHALL, CORNELL, FOX, PERZEL, D. W. SNYDER, HERMAN, VEON,
GRUPPO, DeLUCA, CIVERA AND ARTY, JUNE 17, 1987
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JUNE 17, 1987
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of July 18, 1935 (P.L.1314, No.411 1/2),
2 entitled, as amended, "An act authorizing the utilization of
3 the Pennsylvania State Police Academy for training persons to
4 act as policemen in the political subdivisions of the
5 Commonwealth; prescribing the qualifications for admission of
6 such persons to such school; providing for the payment of
7 certain costs by such students; conferring certain powers
8 upon the Pennsylvania State Police; and making an
9 appropriation," requiring the Pennsylvania State Police to
10 establish a missing persons unit.
11 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
12 hereby enacts as follows:
13 Section 1. The act of July 18, 1935 (P.L.1314, No.411 1/2),
14 entitled, as amended "An act authorizing the utilization of the
15 Pennsylvania State Police Academy for training persons to act as
16 policemen in the political subdivisions of the Commonwealth;
17 prescribing the qualifications for admission of such persons to
18 such school; providing for the payment of certain costs by such
19 students; conferring certain powers upon the Pennsylvania State
1 Police; and making an appropriation," is amended by adding a
2 section to read:
3 Section 3.1. The Pennsylvania State Police shall operate a
4 missing persons unit, which shall have the duty to:
5 (a) Coordinate or otherwise assist in an investigation of a
6 missing child report in which the Pennsylvania State Police are
7 involved or in which their assistance is requested by any other
8 law enforcement agency.
9 (b) Collect and maintain descriptive, investigative,
10 intelligence or other information that may facilitate the
11 location of missing children and to disseminate this information
12 upon request to any law enforcement agency.
13 (c) Maintain an historic data file regarding missing
14 children and to publish annually a report of missing children
15 statistics sufficient to describe the scope and nature of the
16 problem as reflected in reports entered in the Commonwealth Law
17 Enforcement Assistance Network.
18 (d) Assist in the development and provision to State and
19 local police of basic and specialized in-service training
20 programs on the investigation of missing children reports.
21 (e) Publicize photographs, descriptions, circumstances of
22 disappearance and other information that may serve to enlist the
23 public's assistance in locating missing children.
24 (f) Develop and distribute other public awareness materials
25 designed to inform children, parents and communities of the
26 risks to children, of prevention techniques and of procedure for
27 reporting a missing child or information regarding a missing
28 child.
29 (g) Establish procedures to submit to the Pennsylvania State
30 Police names and dates of birth of children entering schools or
19870H1565B1869 - 2 -
1 other facilities as is required by law, to check the names and
2 dates of birth submitted against the missing persons file
3 through the Commonwealth Law Enforcement Assistance Network and
4 to immediately discard all names for which there is no match in
5 the file.
6 (h) Perform such other functions with respect to missing
7 children and adults as the Commissioner of the Pennsylvania
8 State Police may direct.
9 (i) Notwithstanding 18 Pa.C.S. § 9106 (relating to
10 prohibited information), collect and maintain in a central
11 repository, which may be computerized or otherwise automated,
12 descriptive, investigative and intelligence information
13 regarding missing, sexually abused or sexually exploited
14 children. Law enforcement agencies shall be required to submit
15 information in a manner prescribed by the missing persons unit.
16 Law enforcement agencies shall not submit, and the missing
17 persons unit shall not collect nor maintain in the central
18 repository, information that has been obtained directly and
19 exclusively from child abuse records obtained under section
20 15(a)(9) or (10) of the act of November 26, 1975 (P.L.438,
21 No.124), known as the "Child Protective Services Law."
22 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
F4L71VDL/19870H1565B1869 - 3 -