ViCAP - Violent Criminal Apprehension Program

November 21, 2022

The 86th (R) Texas Legislature passed HB3106, creating what is now called Molly Jane's Law. This law took effect on September 1, 2019, and specifically states all Texas law enforcement agencies (LEAs) must enter their sexual assault cases into the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP) National Database. The 87th (R) Texas legislation passed HB3607, which changed the Government Code reference for Molly Jane’s Law (Texas Government Code 420.035 and 420.036) and is effective 9/1/2021.

What are agencies required to enter?

Agencies are required to enter:

  1. All pending sexual assault cases regardless of whether the investigation was commenced before, on, or after the effective date of Molly Jane's law, September 1, 2019.
  2. Other sex offenses where biological evidence has been collected, in an evidence collection kit. It is important to note that agencies enter on the basis that biological evidence was collected. Agencies should not wait until testing on biological evidence is complete to enter, as this delays entry of required data.
  3. Agencies can enter other offenses that qualify for ViCAP but there is no requirement under Molly Jane's Law to do so.

What is ViCAP?

Established by the DOJ in 1985, the FBI Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP) serves law enforcement agencies across the nation by providing a free repository for behavioral and investigative information related to the following solved and unsolved violent crimes:

  1. Homicides (and attempts) that are known or suspected to be part of a series and/or are apparently random or sexually oriented.
  2. Sexual Assaults that are known or suspected to be part of a series and/or are committed by a stranger.
  3. Missing Persons where the circumstances indicate a strong possibility of foul play, and the victim is still missing.
  4. Unidentified Human Remains where the manner of death is known or suspected to be homicide. 

How to gain access to the ViCAP Database

  1. The individual will first need to obtain LEEP (Law Enforcement Enterprise Portal) access. This is either done by contacting their LEEP AA (Agency Administrator), or if none is assigned, by contacting the DPS LEEP team at LEEP@dps.texas.gov
  2. Once an agency user has access to LEEP, agencies must select a single point of contact to serve as the liaison between the FBI ViCAP team and users within your agency. This is known as the LEA Manager. Follow the FBI’s direction on adding or searching for an agency’s LEA Manager in the ViCAP’ s Justice Connect page once inside of LEEP.

*Access can only be granted to employees of agencies, NOT volunteers! *

Contact Info:

  1. For training requests and questions regarding HB 3106 and TX requirements for ViCAP entry, contact ViCAP@FBI.gov
  2. For questions regarding the ViCAP program and investigative assistance for cases meeting ViCAP requirements, contact ViCAP@FBI.gov
  3. For LEEP access, contact DPS LEEP@dps.texas.gov

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