Department of Justice Announces $6.3 Million to Enhance Program to Protect Consumers From Fraud, Unsafe Vehicles

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Department of Justice today announced that nearly $6.3 million in Fiscal Year 2010 funding was awarded to six jurisdictions and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) for the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS).  The District of Columbia, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, and Oregon will receive up to $100,000 each to assist with their participation in NMVTIS.  AAMVA will receive $5.7 million to support the continued implementation of NMVTIS and AAMVA's responsibilities as the NMVTIS Operator.

The Department's Office of Justice Programs, through its Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) manage NMVTIS.  This system, which is available to the public, law enforcement, and others, is an electronic system used to verify vehicle information in five key areas:  1) current state of title and last title date; 2) brand history; 3) odometer reading; 4) total loss history; and 5) salvage history.  The NMVTIS system, available at www.vehiclehistory.gov, provides short, concise reports; however, it does not include vehicle repair histories, recall information, and other care and maintenance data.

"NMVTIS is unique because federal law requires more than 8,000 insurance carriers, auto recyclers, junk yards, and salvage yards to regularly report salvage vehicle data so it can be included in this publicly available system, which currently has nearly 22 million salvage or total loss records," explained James H. Burch, II, BJA's Acting Director.  "Consumers can help protect themselves from fraud and unsafe vehicles by checking the vehicle's title and other information, such as salvage history, before they make a purchasing decision."

A list of the Fiscal Year 2010 NMVTIS grants is available at:  http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/funding/FY2010_awards_solicitation.htm

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP), headed by Assistant Attorney General Laurie O. Robinson, provides federal leadership in developing the nation's capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP has seven bureaus and offices: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Office for Victims of Crime; the Community Capacity Development Office, and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). More information about OJP and its components can be found at http://www.ojp.gov.

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SOURCE Office of Justice Programs

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