SENATE LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

SENATE, No. 1949

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED: JUNE 16, 1997

 

      The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 1949.

      This bill would expand the rights of crime victims and afford them greater protection when the perpetrators of those crimes are released from prison. The bill permits victims and the families of murder victims to present information for consideration by the Parole Board in establishing the conditions of an inmate's release on parole. The bill further authorizes the Parole Board member or panel certifying parole release, based on information provided by a victim, to impose special conditions barring the parolee from contacting the victim, entering the victim's home or workplace, or harassing or stalking the victim.

      Under current law, a victim injured as a result of a first or second-degree crime or the nearest relative of a murder victim may present a statement to be considered by the Parole Board in deciding whether to grant parole or testify at a parole hearing. This bill would broaden the role of victims by giving them input into the conditions by which parolees must abide upon their release. It is based on a recommendation of the Study Commission on Parole.