Bill Text: FL S0418 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Criminal Justice Data Collection

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2018-03-10 - Died in Criminal Justice [S0418 Detail]

Download: Florida-2018-S0418-Introduced.html
       Florida Senate - 2018                                     SB 418
       
       
        
       By Senator Bracy
       
       
       
       
       
       11-00275-18                                            2018418__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to criminal justice data collection;
    3         providing a short title; providing legislative
    4         findings and intent; defining terms; requiring each
    5         law enforcement agency to report to the Department of
    6         Law Enforcement the number of persons arrested and
    7         released without being charged and the race and
    8         ethnicity of those persons; requiring each state
    9         attorney to report to the department the number of
   10         persons against whom formal charges were brought and
   11         subsequently dismissed and the race and ethnicity of
   12         those persons; requiring each clerk of the circuit
   13         court to report to the department the number of
   14         persons admitted into programs for diversion from
   15         prosecution and the race and ethnicity of those
   16         persons; requiring the department to publish such data
   17         on its public website; authorizing the department to
   18         coordinate and consult with agencies or entities to
   19         compile such information; providing for future repeal;
   20         providing an effective date.
   21          
   22  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   23  
   24         Section 1. This act may be cited as the Criminal Diversion
   25  Racial and Ethnic Impact Data Collection Act.
   26         Section 2. (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—The
   27  Legislature finds that racial and ethnic disparity in the
   28  criminal justice system, including the overrepresentation of
   29  certain minority groups in the system, is well documented, as
   30  are the harmful effects of such overrepresentation. This racial
   31  and ethnic disparity is evident throughout the criminal justice
   32  system, and, among other things, is caused by differing patterns
   33  of criminal activity, differing practices of law enforcement
   34  agencies, and the discretion afforded criminal justice
   35  practitioners, along with unintended effects of legislative
   36  policy. The Legislature further finds that, in order to reduce
   37  this disparity, data on the racial and ethnic composition of
   38  offenders at each stage of the criminal justice process must be
   39  systematically gathered and analyzed to lay the foundation for
   40  determining the impact of proposed remedies. The unavailability
   41  of information at any stage will hamper valid analysis at
   42  subsequent stages. While the department currently collects
   43  information on arrested persons which includes race and
   44  ethnicity during the early stages of the criminal justice
   45  process, this and other critical information is not available
   46  for adults diverted from arrest by law enforcement agencies and
   47  diverted from prosecution by state attorneys. Therefore, it is
   48  the intent of the Legislature to provide a mechanism by which
   49  statewide data on the race and ethnicity of offenders diverted
   50  from the criminal justice system in lieu of prosecution can be
   51  collected for future analyses of racial and ethnic disparities
   52  in the criminal justice system.
   53         (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this act, the term:
   54         (a) “Arrested but released without being charged” means the
   55  taking into custody of a person by a law enforcement agency who
   56  is subsequently released from custody without a formal charge
   57  being filed against him or her.
   58         (b) “Department” means the Department of Law Enforcement.
   59         (c) “Diversion from prosecution” means the placement of a
   60  defendant into a program by a state attorney, after successful
   61  completion of which formal charges are dismissed.
   62         (d) “Law enforcement agency” means an agency of this state
   63  or a political subdivision of this state which is vested by law
   64  with the duty to maintain public order and to enforce criminal
   65  laws.
   66         (e) “Race and ethnicity” means categories of socially
   67  significant groupings by which individuals identify themselves,
   68  based on physical characteristics and cultural heritage.
   69         (3) REPORTING AND PUBLICATION.—
   70         (a)Each law enforcement agency in this state shall
   71  determine and report to the department the number of persons
   72  arrested and released without being charged and the race and
   73  ethnicity of each of those persons.
   74         (b)Each state attorney in this state shall determine and
   75  report to the department the number of persons for whom formal
   76  charges were dismissed, and the race and ethnicity of each of
   77  those persons.
   78         (c)Each clerk of the circuit court shall determine and
   79  report to the department the number of persons admitted into a
   80  program for diversion from prosecution, the race and ethnicity
   81  of each of those persons, and the type of diversion program they
   82  participated in.
   83         (d)The department shall annually publish on its public
   84  website the information reported under this subsection for the
   85  previous calendar year, aggregated by county, race, ethnicity,
   86  and type of diversion program, along with an assessment of the
   87  quality of the information received.
   88         (e)The department may coordinate and consult with any
   89  agency or entity in this state required by this act to compile
   90  and report such information.
   91         Section 3. This act shall stand repealed on December 31,
   92  2021.
   93         Section 4. This act shall take effect January 1, 2019.

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