03-19449. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comments Requested

ACTION:

60-Day notice of information collection under review: Semi-annual progress report for grants to encourage arrest policies and enforcement of protection orders program.

The Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), has submitted the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The proposed information collection is published to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies. Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for “sixty days” until September 29, 2003. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.10.

If you have comments especially on the estimated public burden or associated response time, suggestions, or need a copy of the proposed information collection instrument with instructions or additional information, please contact Cathy Poston, Attorney/Advisor, Office of Violence Against Women, Office of Justice Programs, 810 7th Street NW., Washington, DC 20531; or facsimile at [phone].

Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of information are encouraged. Your comments should address one or more of the following four points:

(1) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and

(4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

Overview of this information collection:

(1) Type of information collection: New collection.

(2) Title of the form/collection: Semi-Annual Progress Report for Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program.

(3) Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the Department of Justice sponsoring the collection: Form Number: none. Office on Violence Against Women, Office of Justice Programs, United States Department of Justice.

(4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as well as a brief abstract: Primary: The affected public includes approximately 200 grantees of the Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program (Arrest Program) whose eligibility is determined by statute. The Arrest Program was authorized through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and reauthorized and amended by the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 (VAWA 2000). The Arrest Program promotes mandatory or pro-arrest policies and encourages jurisdictions to treat domestic violence as a serious crime, establish coordinated community responses and facilitate the enforcement of protection orders. By statute, eligible grantees for the Arrest Program are States, Indian tribal governments, State and local courts including juvenile courts, tribal courts, and units of local government. For the purpose of the Program, a unit of local government is any city, county, township, town, borough, parish, village, or other general-purpose political subdivision of a State; an Indian tribe that performs law enforcement functions as determined by the Secretary of the Interior; or, for the purpose of assistance eligibility, any agency of the District of Columbia government or the United States Government performing law enforcement functions in and for the District of Columbia, and any Trust Territory of the U.S.

(5) An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount of time estimated for an average respondent to respond: It is estimated that it will take the 200 respondents (Arrest Program grantees) approximately one hour to complete a semiannual progress report. The semiannual progress report is divided into sections that pertain to the different types of activities that grantees may engage in, i.e., law enforcement agencies, prosecutors' offices, courts, victim services agencies, etc. An Arrest Program grantee will be required to complete those sections of the form that pertain to their own specific activities.

(6) An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated with the collection: The total estimated annual hour burden to complete the data collection forms is 400 hours. Two hundred grantees will complete a form twice a year with an estimated completion time of one hour per form.

If additional information is required, contact Brenda E. Dyer, Deputy Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice, Justice Management Division, Policy and Planning Staff, Patrick Henry Building, Suite 1600, 601 D Street NW., Washington, DC 20530.

Dated: July 25, 2003.

Brenda E. Dyer,

Deputy Clearance Officer, Department of Justice.