ASSEMBLY, No. 907

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblyman ROCCO

An Act concerning the fingerprinting of adults charged with certain disorderly persons offenses and amending R.S.53:1-15.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. R.S.53:1-15 is amended to read as follows:

    53:1-15. The sheriffs, chiefs of police, members of the State Police and any other law enforcement agencies and officers shall, immediately upon the arrest of any person for an indictable offense, or of any person believed to be wanted for an indictable offense, or believed to be an habitual criminal, or within a reasonable time after the filing of a complaint by a law enforcement officer charging any person with any indictable offense, or upon the arrest of any person for shoplifting, pursuant to N.J.S.2C:20-11, or upon the arrest of any person for lewdness, pursuant to N.J.S.2C:14-4, or upon the arrest of any person for failure to report child abuse pursuant to section 7 of P.L.1971, c.437 (C.9:6-8.14), or the conviction of any other person charged with a nonindictable offense, where the identity of the person charged is in question, take the fingerprints of such person, according to the fingerprint system of identification established by the Superintendent of State Police and on the forms prescribed, and forward without delay two copies or more of the same, together with photographs and such other descriptions as may be required and with a history of offense committed, to the State Bureau of Identification.

    Such sheriffs, chiefs of police, members of the State Police and any other law enforcement agencies and officers shall also take the fingerprints, descriptions and such other information as may be required of unknown dead persons and forward same to the State Bureau of Identification.

    Any person charged in a complaint filed by a law enforcement officer with an indictable offense, who has not been arrested, or any person charged in an indictment, who has not been arrested, shall submit himself to the identification procedures provided herein either on the date of any court appearance or upon written request of the appropriate law enforcement agency within a reasonable time after the filing of the complaint. Any person who refuses to submit to such identification procedures shall be a disorderly person.

(cf: P.L.1982, c.219)

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill provides for the fingerprinting and photographing of all persons arrested for lewdness. Because lewdness is a disorderly persons offense and not an indictable offense, persons arrested for lewdness are not now photographed and fingerprinted. The bill also includes the disorderly persons offense of failure to report child abuse, N.J.S.A.9:6-8.14. These convictions are not part of an individual's computerized history and an individual may be involved in a lewd behavior incident with a child but, because of lack of proof on the lewdness offense, be charged with failure to report.

Provides for the fingerprinting and photographing of persons arrested for certain disorderly persons offenses.