SENATE LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 1219

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: NOVEMBER 7, 1996

      The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 1219.

      This bill authorizes counties to establish funding mechanisms to support a crime case hotline for victims and witnesses, a computer-aided victim notification system providing information on the release of offenders and those charged with crimes, and a pay-per-call jail information line. This legislative initiative, patterned in part on pending New York State legislation and a pilot program already operating in Passaic County, would empower victims and strengthen the counties' victim-witness programs in several ways.

      A crime case toll-free hotline would provide a means for victims and witnesses to more easily obtain information relating to cases in which they are or have been involved. The law already provides for the Office of Victim-Witness Advocacy in the Division of Criminal Justice to ensure that the rights of crime victims are enforced in each county prosecutor's office by adherence to standards promulgated by the Attorney General. The standards set forth a wide variety of services and information, including advice and counsel to victims concerning their rights. These forms of assistance, which are triggered upon request, may be especially appreciated by victims and witnesses on a toll-free basis. For example, status information could be obtained about pending criminal proceedings, custody, court dates and incarceration sites.

      The bill permits county prosecutors' offices to utilize a computerized device to notify victims by telephone of the release of defendants charged with or convicted of crimes. This device automatically dials a person on a preset periodic schedule until it is successful in reaching that person. In conjunction with current guidelines, this bill would provide for automatic computer-aided telephone notice for the following crimes: homicide, arson, robbery, domestic violence, death by auto, aggravated assault, sexual offenses, child abuse and attempts to commit all of the above offenses. In such

cases presently, the arresting or investigating police agency immediately notifies the victim by telephone. For all other offenses, the police provide telephone notification within 48 hours of the offender's release. To date, notification in such cases has been inconsistent at best since authorities have lacked the resources to implement these important statutory and administrative guidelines.

      The bill also authorizes counties to obtain additional funding for the bill's requirements by assessing a fee of up to one percent on the total amount required to be posted as bail by persons charged with a crime. It would be paid in cash and refunded should the alleged offender be exonerated.

      The committee amendments remove a provision which permitted counties to establish a pay-per-call information line to give the public access to criminal case information. Other committee amendments are clarifying and technical in nature.