Section 11108.3 Of Article 3. Criminal Identification And Statistics From California Penal Code >> Title 1. >> Part 4. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 3.
11108.3
. (a) In addition to the requirements of Section 11108 that
apply to a local law enforcement agency's duty to report to the
Department of Justice the recovery of a firearm, a police or sheriff'
s department shall, and any other law enforcement agency or agent
may, report to the department in a manner determined by the Attorney
General in consultation with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives all available information necessary to identify and
trace the history of all recovered firearms that are illegally
possessed, have been used in a crime, or are suspected of having been
used in a crime.
(b) When the department receives information from a local law
enforcement agency pursuant to subdivision (a), it shall promptly
forward this information to the National Tracing Center of the
federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to the
extent practicable.
(c) The Department of Justice shall implement an electronic system
by January 1, 2002, to receive comprehensive tracing information
from each local law enforcement agency, and to forward this
information to the National Tracing Center.
(d) In implementing this section, the Attorney General shall
ensure to the maximum extent practical that both of the following
apply:
(1) The information he or she provides to the federal Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives enables that agency to
trace the ownership of the firearm described in subdivision (a).
(2) Local law enforcement agencies can report all relevant
information without being unduly burdened by this reporting function.
(e) Information collected pursuant to this section shall be
maintained by the department for a period of not less than 10 years,
and shall be available, under guidelines set forth by the Attorney
General, for academic and policy research purposes.
(f) The Attorney General shall have the authority to issue
regulations to further the purposes of this section.