NM Laws/Alerts in Place

Please post here any current laws/alerts in place relating to the Missing/UID.

NEW MEXICO ACTS: MISSING PERSONS

29-15-1. Short title.
This act may be cited as the "Missing Persons Information Act".

29-15-2. Definitions.

A. "child" means an individual under the age of eighteen years who is not emancipated;
B. "clearinghouse" means the missing persons information clearinghouse;
C. "custodian" means a parent, guardian or other person who exercises legal physical control, care or custody of a child;
D. "endangered person" means a missing person who:
(1) is in imminent danger of causing harm to the person's self;
(2) is in imminent danger of causing harm to another;
(3) is in imminent danger of being harmed by another or who has been harmed by another; or
(4) has Alzheimer's disease;
E. "immediate family member" means the spouse or nearest relative of a person;

F. "lead station" means an AM radio station that has been designated as the "state primary station" by the federal communications commission for the emergency alert system;

G. "missing person" means a person whose whereabouts are unknown to the person's custodian or immediate family member and the circumstances of whose absence indicate that:
(1) the person did not leave the care and control of the custodian or immediate family member voluntarily and the taking of the person was not authorized by law; or
(2) the person voluntarily left the care and control of the custodian without the custodian's consent and without intent to return;

H. "missing person report" means information that is:
(1) given to a law enforcement agency on a form used for sending information to the national crime information center; and
(2) about a person whose whereabouts are unknown to the reporter and who is alleged in the form submitted by the reporter to be missing;

I. "person" means an individual, regardless of age;

J. "possible match" means the similarities between an unidentified body of a person and a missing person that would lead one to believe they are the same person;

K. "reporter" means the person who reports a missing person; and

L. "state agency" means an agency of the state, political subdivision of the state or public post-secondary educational institution.

29-15-3. Missing persons information clearinghouse; function.
A. The "missing persons information clearinghouse" is established in the department of public safety. The department of public safety shall provide for the administration of the clearinghouse. The department of public safety may adopt rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of the Missing Persons Information Act [29-15-1 NMSA 1978] in the manner prescribed in Subsection E of Section 9-1-5 NMSA 1978.

B. The clearinghouse is a central repository of information on missing persons and shall be used by all law enforcement agencies, including tribal agencies, in this state.

C. The clearinghouse shall:
(1) establish a system of intrastate communication of information relating to missing persons;
(2) provide a centralized file for the exchange of information on missing persons and unidentified bodies of persons within the state;
(3) communicate with the national crime information center for the exchange of information on missing persons suspected of interstate travel;
(4) collect, process, maintain and disseminate accurate and complete information on missing persons;
(5) provide a statewide toll-free telephone line for the reporting of missing persons and for receiving information on missing persons;
(6) disseminate to custodians, law enforcement agencies, the state department of public education, the children, youth and families department and the general public information that explains how to prevent child abduction and what to do if a child becomes missing;
(7) compile statistics relating to the incidence of missing persons within the state;
(8) provide training and technical assistance to law enforcement agencies and social services agencies pertaining to missing persons; and
(9) establish a media protocol for disseminating information pertaining to missing persons.

D. The clearinghouse shall print and distribute posters, flyers and other forms of information containing descriptions of missing persons.

E. The department of public safety may accept public or private grants, gifts and donations to assist the department in carrying out the provisions of the Missing Persons Information Act.

29-15-3.1. Endangered person advisory.

A. The department of public safety shall issue an endangered person advisory if, after review and investigation of a missing person report of an endangered person, the department makes an independent determination that the missing person is an endangered person.

B. The department shall develop and implement endangered person advisory procedures for the purpose of disseminating, as rapidly as possible, information about an endangered person. The procedures shall include:
(1) notification to the lead station of the endangered person advisory;
(2) notification to other public and private media sources and members of the public as necessary; and
(3) providing information about the endangered person, including all identifying information, to the lead station and other media sources.

29-15-4. State department of public education; cooperation with clearinghouse.

The state department of public education [public education department] shall cooperate with the clearinghouse in seeking to locate missing children who may be enrolled in New Mexico school systems, including private schools, and for the reporting of children who may be missing or who may be unlawfully removed from schools.

29-15-5. Custodian or immediate family member request for information.

A. Upon written notification to a law enforcement agency by a custodian or immediate family member of a missing person, the law enforcement agency shall immediately request from the clearinghouse information concerning the person that may aid the custodian or immediate family member in the identification or location of the person.

B. A law enforcement agency to which notification has been provided pursuant to Subsection A of this section shall report to the custodian or immediate family member on the results of its inquiry within seven calendar days after the day the written notification is received by the law enforcement agency, or as soon as the results of its inquiry become available, whichever occurs last.

C. A copy of the missing person report form shall be filed with the clearinghouse.

29-15-6. Missing person report forms.

A. The clearinghouse shall distribute missing person report forms to law enforcement agencies in the state.

B. A missing person report may be made to a law enforcement agency in person or by telephone or other indirect method of communication and the person taking the report may enter the information on the form for the reporter. A missing person report form may be completed by the reporter and delivered to a law enforcement officer.

C. A copy of the missing person report form shall be filed with the clearinghouse.


29-15-7. Law enforcement requirements; missing person reports; unidentified bodies.

A. A law enforcement agency, upon receiving a missing person report, shall:
(1) immediately start an appropriate investigation to determine the present location of the missing person and to determine whether the missing person is an endangered person;
(2) provide to the clearinghouse all information the law enforcement agency has relating to an investigation regarding or the location or identification of a missing person;
(3) immediately enter the name of the missing person into the clearinghouse and the national crime information center missing person file; and
(4) if the missing person is determined to be an endangered person, immediately notify the department of public safety in accordance with procedures prescribed by the department.

B. Information not immediately available shall be obtained as soon as possible by the law enforcement agency and entered into the clearinghouse and the national crime information center file as a supplement to the original entry.

C. All New Mexico law enforcement agencies are required to enter information about all unidentified bodies of persons found in their jurisdiction into the clearinghouse and the national crime information center unidentified person file, including all available identifying features of the body and a description of the clothing found on the body. If an information entry into the national crime information center file results in an automatic entry of the information into the clearinghouse, the law enforcement agency is not required to make a direct entry of that information into the clearinghouse.


29-15-8. Release of dental records; immunity.

A. At the time a missing person report is made, the law enforcement agency to which the missing person report is given shall provide a dental record release form to the custodian or immediate family member of the missing person. The law enforcement agency shall endorse the dental record release form with a notation that a missing person report has been made in compliance with the provisions of the Missing Persons Information Act [29-15-1 NMSA 1978]. When the dental record release form is properly completed by the custodian or immediate family member of the missing person and contains the endorsement, the form is sufficient to permit a dentist or physician in this state to release dental records relating to the missing person to the law enforcement agency.

B. A district court judge may for good cause shown authorize the release of dental records of a missing person to a law enforcement agency.

C. The law enforcement agency shall send the dental records to the clearinghouse.

D. A dentist or physician who releases dental records to a person presenting a proper release executed or ordered pursuant to this section is immune from civil liability or criminal prosecution for the release of the dental records.


29-15-9. Cross-checking and matching.

A. The clearinghouse shall cross-check and attempt to match unidentified bodies with descriptions of missing persons. When the clearinghouse discovers a possible match between an unidentified body and a missing person description, the clearinghouse shall notify the appropriate law enforcement agencies.

B. Law enforcement agencies that receive notice of a possible match shall make arrangements for positive identification. If a positive identification is made, the law enforcement agency shall complete and close the investigation with written notification to the clearinghouse.


29-15-10. Interagency cooperation.

A. State agencies and public and private schools shall cooperate with a law enforcement agency that is investigating a missing person report and shall furnish any information that will assist the law enforcement agency in completing the investigation.

B. Information provided by a state agency or a public or private school shall not be released to any person outside the law enforcement agency or the clearinghouse, except as provided by regulation of the department of public safety.


29-15-11. Confidentiality of records.

A. The department of public safety shall by regulation provide for the classification of information and records as confidential that:
(1) are otherwise confidential under state or federal law or regulations adopted pursuant to state or federal law;
(2) are related to the investigation by a law enforcement agency of a missing person or an unidentified body, if the department of public safety, in consultation with the law enforcement agency, determines that release of the information would be deleterious to the investigation;
(3) are records or notations that the clearinghouse maintains for internal use in matters relating to missing persons and unidentified bodies and the department of public safety determines that release of the internal documents might interfere with an investigation by a law enforcement agency in New Mexico or any other jurisdiction; or
(4) the department of public safety determines might interfere with an investigation or otherwise harm a person, custodian or reporter.

B. The regulation may provide for the sharing of confidential information with the custodian or immediate family member of the missing person.

29-15-12. Attorney general to require compliance.

The attorney general shall require each law enforcement agency to comply with the provisions of the Missing Persons Information Act [29-15-1 NMSA 1978] and may seek writs of mandamus or other appropriate remedies to enforce the provisions of that act.

32A-14-4. Birth records of missing children; state registrar's duties.

A. Upon notification by a law enforcement agency that a child born in the state is missing, the state registrar shall flag the child's birth certificate record in such a manner that whenever a copy of the birth certificate or information concerning the birth record is requested, the state registrar shall be alerted to the fact that the certificate is that of a missing child.

B. Upon notification by a law enforcement agency that a child born outside the state is missing, the state registrar shall notify the corresponding officer in the state where the child was born that the child has been reported missing.

C. In response to any inquiry, the state registrar or any local registrar appointed by him or any employee of the vital statistics bureau shall not provide a copy of a birth certificate or information concerning the birth record of any missing child whose birth record is flagged pursuant to this section, except following notification of the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the investigation of the missing child. Such inquiries shall be handled in the following manner:

(1) when a copy of the birth certificate of a missing child whose record has been flagged is requested in person, the local registrar or employee accepting the request shall immediately notify his supervisor or the state registrar. If possible, the person making the request shall complete a form supplying his name, address, telephone number and relationship to the missing child and the name, address and birth date of the missing child. The driver's license of the person making the request, if available, shall be photocopied and returned to him. He shall be informed that a copy of the birth certificate shall be mailed to him. The local registrar or employee shall note the physical description of the person making the request, and, upon that person's departure from the vital statistics bureau office, the supervisor or state registrar shall immediately notify the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction of the request and the information obtained pursuant to this paragraph. The state registrar shall retain the form completed by the person making the request; and

(2) when a copy of the birth certificate of a missing child whose birth record has been flagged is requested in writing, the state registrar shall immediately notify the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction of the request and shall provide a copy of the written request. The state registrar shall retain the original written request.

D. Upon notification by a law enforcement agency that a missing child has been recovered, the state registrar shall remove the flag from the child's birth record.




http://www.conwaygreene.com/nmsu/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-hit-h.htm&2.0

DNA Identification Act

29-16-2. Purpose of act.

The purpose of the DNA Identification Act is to:
A. establish a DNA identification system for covered offenders and persons required to provide a DNA sample pursuant to the provisions of Section 1 of this 2006 act [29-3-10 NMSA 1978];

B. facilitate the use of DNA records by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in the:
(1) identification, detection or exclusion of persons in connection with criminal investigations; and
(2) registration of sex offenders required to register pursuant to the provisions of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act [29-11A-1 NMSA 1978];

C. establish a missing persons DNA identification system consisting of the following DNA indexes:
(1) unidentified persons;
(2) unidentified human remains; and
(3) relatives of, or known reference samples from, missing persons; and

D. facilitate the use of DNA records by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and the state medical investigator in the identification and location of missing and unidentified persons or human remains.


29-16-6.1. Reimbursement of costs.

A. When the DNA testing of samples listed in Section 29-16-6 NMSA 1978 is required, the administrative center shall be reimbursed for the costs of the sample collection and DNA testing:
(1) of unidentified persons by the investigating law enforcement agency;
(2) of unidentified human remains by the state medical investigator or by the investigating law enforcement agency; and
(3) for relatives of, or known reference samples from, a missing person by the relatives of the missing person or by the investigating law enforcement agency.

B. Reimbursements shall be deposited in the fund.

29-16-8.1. DNA searches.

A. Searches of samples collected pursuant to the DNA Identification Act [29-16-1 NMSA 1978], for purposes of the missing persons DNA identification system, shall be limited to searches against DNA indexes consisting of:
(1) unidentified persons;
(2) unidentified human remains;
(3) relatives of, or known reference samples from, missing persons;
(4) covered offenders as defined by the DNA Identification Act and maintained by the DNA identification system; and
(5) persons arrested for the commission of a felony as provided in Section 1 of this
2006 act [29-3-10 NMSA 1978].

B. Searches of samples collected from unidentified persons or relatives of missing persons pursuant to the DNA Identification Act shall not be performed against DNA indexes consisting of evidentiary samples resulting from criminal investigations.


29-16-10.1. Expungement of samples and DNA records.

A. A person may request expungement of his sample and DNA records from the missing persons DNA identification system.

B. The administrative center shall expunge a person's sample and DNA records from the missing persons DNA identification system when the person provides the administrative center with the following materials:
(1) a written request for expungement of his sample and DNA records; and
(2) if applicable, a certified copy of a court order that overturns the original search warrant or court order that led to the inclusion of his sample and DNA records in the missing persons DNA identification system.

C. When a person's sample and DNA records are expunged from the missing persons DNA identification system, the head of the administrative center shall ensure that the person's sample and DNA records are expunged from CODIS.

http://www.conwaygreene.com/nmsu/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-hit-h.htm&2.0

New Mexico AMBER Alert

Criteria for an Amber Alert:
• There must be evidence of a non-family abduction;
• Of a child 17 years of age or less; and,
• There must be specific information concerning the abductor and/or child, which would prove useful to the public in hopes of recovering the child; and,
• There must be reason to believe the child in is imminent danger of bodily harm or death.
New Mexico State law requires the New Mexico State Police to develop and implement a "state-wide" Amber Plan.

The State Police policy mandates the following four resources be utilized when an Amber Alert Occurs:
• EAS broadcast (state law)
• Notification of ALL law enforcement (state law)
• Notification of GSD/RCB for re-broadcast (state law)
• Broadcast to ALL N.M. lottery terminals (policy)
http://www.dps.nm.org/amberAlert/index.php