Bill Text: HI SB108 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Law Enforcement.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-02-13 - Report adopted; Passed Second Reading and referred to JDL/WAM. [SB108 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2017-SB108-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
108 |
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TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to law enforcement.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that numerous cities across the country have successfully implemented the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) concept. LEAD is a community-based diversion approach with goals of improving public safety and reducing unnecessary involvement with the criminal justice system for individuals who participate in the program.
Originating in Seattle, in 2011, LEAD is a harm-reduction oriented process for responding to low-level offenses and is the result of collaboration among police, prosecutors, public defenders, political leaders, mental health and drug treatment providers, housing providers and other service agencies, and community leaders. In 2015, the University of Washington conducted an evaluation of the Seattle program and found that participants' odds of a subsequent arrest were fifty-eight per cent lower than those of participants in a control group. In addition to Seattle, LEAD has been or is being implemented in a range of jurisdictions including Santa Fe, New Mexico; Albany, New York; Huntington, West Virginia; Portland, Oregon; Baltimore, Maryland; San Francisco, California; and Atlanta, Georgia. The approach has also caught the attention of the White House which hosted a National Convening on LEAD in 2015.
The legislature finds that improving public safety and public order and reducing future criminal behavior by individuals engaged in low-level offenses is a worthwhile endeavor. Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to incorporate the principles of the LEAD approach into state and county law enforcement practices.
SECTION 2. (a) Law enforcement officers, including employees of county police departments, shall engage in their duties in a manner consistent with the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) approach which includes a harm reduction philosophy, non-displacement principle, and community transparency and accountability.
(b) As an alternative to arrest of an individual engaged in a low-level offense, a law enforcement officer may take or refer the individual, voluntarily, to services which may include case management, housing, medical care, mental health care, alcohol or substance use disorder treatment, nutritional counseling and treatment, psychological counseling, employment training and education, and civil legal services. A law enforcement officer may make a social contact referral for an individual whom he or she believes is at high risk of arrest for a low-level offense in the future and expresses interest in voluntarily being referred to services.
(c) Law enforcement agencies, including county police departments, shall make personnel knowledgeable in the LEAD approach.
SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD)
Description:
Requires law enforcement agencies, including county police departments, to make personnel knowledgeable in the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) approach. Requires law enforcement officers, including county police officers, to implement the LEAD approach.
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
