Administering Entity
Department of Justice / Office of the Attorney General
Recent/Pending Legislation
- No 2023–2026 bill amending ch. 345 was located (Legislature of the Virgin Islands). The exact enacting act/bill number for ch. 345 could not be confirmed from public sources and should be verified against a session-law print.
Core DNA-database law: The Virgin Islands DNA Database and Databank Act, 5 V.I.C. ch. 345, §§ 4201–4211 (located in Title 5, Judicial Procedure, not Title 14, Crimes).
Convicted & Charged: Broad. A “designated offender” (§ 4201) is anyone charged with or convicted of any felony, any violent crime, or any misdemeanor sexual offense. Because it reaches persons “charged with” an offense, it authorizes arrestee-type, pre-conviction collection (§ 4203); refusal carries up to a $1,000 fine and 5 years. All felonies are covered; among misdemeanors, only sexual offenses.
Administering entity & CODIS: A Director within the Department of Justice / Office of the Attorney General (§ 4202). There is no in-territory NDIS lab — § 4205 relies on “independent forensic laboratories,” and the USVI is not on the FBI’s NDIS-participant list (FBI Fact Sheet). Core DNA-database analysis has been procured externally (award to DNA Labs International).
- No law or published policy identified.
- No legislation, regulation, or stated policy identified.
- No law or program identified.
- No law or program identified.