ASSEMBLY, No. 1396

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblyman KELLY

An Act requiring all persons arrested in New Jersey to be palm printed 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 an indictable offense, or upon the arrest of any person for shoplifting, pursuant to N.J.S.2C:20-11, 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 the offense committed, to the State Bureau of Identification.

    The sheriffs, chiefs of police, members of the State Police and any other law enforcement agencies and officers shall also, immediately upon the arrest of any person for an indictable offense or otherwise, take the palm prints of such person. Such palm print records shall be maintained in the sheriffs’ offices with their fingerprint files.  

    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 as required by section 2 of P.L.1982, c.79 (C.2A:4A-61) of juveniles adjudicated delinquent and shall 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.1994, c.56, s.4)

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill would require all persons arrested in New Jersey to be palm printed. All sheriffs’ offices would be required to keep such palm print records with their fingerprint files. These requirements would be the first step to the incorporation of such records into an expanded Automated Fingerprint Identification System, which would facilitate the detection of criminals both statewide and nationwide. Given that palm printing would simply be added to the current arrest process involving fingerprinting, the additional time and funds expended would be minimal.

Requires persons arrested in New Jersey to be palm printed.