Senate Panel Votes To Expand U.S. Marshals Aid In Sex Offender Investigations

By Adrianna McGinley

The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved two bills Thursday expanding U.S. Marshals Service authority to investigate cases concerning sex offenders and missing children.

The “Strengthening Investigations of Sex Offenders and Missing Children Act of 2011” introduced by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) gives U.S. Marshals immediate authority to aid local law enforcement with such investigations.

“When a child is abducted and later killed, three out of four times it’s in the first three hours,” Whitehouse said. “Time is of the essence when there is a child abduction…this bill would simply clarify that the U.S. Marshals has the capability … to cooperate with local law enforcement and to help in those investigations.”

Whitehouse said the U.S. Marshals’ access to national resources will add invaluable information to these cases.

The “Finding Fugitive Sex Offenders Act of 2011” introduced by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) would allow U.S Marshals to issue subpoenas to obtain third party records that would help track unregistered sex offenders and missing children.

“Marshals need to respond rapidly to child abduction type cases,” Sessions said. “This would allow the Marshal Service to have that simple administrative subpoena power that other agencies have for this horrendous type crime.”