Bill Text: NJ A3461 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Creates penalties for using mobile applications to aid in commission of crime.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-03-07 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee [A3461 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-A3461-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman RONALD S. DANCER
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Creates penalties for using mobile applications to aid in commission of crime.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the use of mobile applications to facilitate criminal activity and supplementing Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A person who knowingly uses a mobile application to facilitate the commission of a criminal offense is guilty of a crime.
b. An offense under this section constitutes a crime of the fourth degree if the underlying offense is a disorderly persons offense. Otherwise, an offense under this section shall be classified one degree higher than the underlying offense.
c. Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.2C:1-8, a conviction under this section shall not merge with a conviction for the underlying offense. Nor shall a conviction for the underlying offense merge with a conviction under this section. Nothing contained in this act shall prohibit the court from imposing an extended term of imprisonment pursuant to N.J.S.2C:43-7; nor shall this be construed to preclude or limit a prosecution or conviction of any person for conspiracy under N.J.S.2C:5-2, or any prosecution or conviction for any offense.
d. As used in this section:
"Mobile application" means a program downloaded onto and used in conjunction with a mobile electronic communication device, and available through multiple software platforms.
"Mobile electronic communication device" means any mobile device capable of communication or other transmission of information and includes, but is not limited to, a cellular telephone, wireless tablet, or other device with Internet capability, or other wireless communication device.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill makes it a crime to knowingly use a mobile application, commonly known as an "app," to facilitate the commission of a criminal offense.
Under the provisions of the bill, the use of a mobile application to facilitate criminal activity is a separate crime, which is to be graded one level higher than the underlying offense. The bill specifies that a conviction under its provisions cannot be merged with the conviction for the underlying offense. For purposes of the bill, a "mobile application" is defined as a program downloaded onto and used in conjunction with a mobile electronic communication device, and available through multiple software platforms.
Following the recent execution of two officers of the New York Police Department (NYPD), law enforcement agencies around the country have called into question the use of the "Waze" app. Waze is an interactive driving and navigation tool that allows its users to connect and share information in real time concerning the traffic and safety conditions of public roadways. A component of the app is the ability to pinpoint the location of law enforcement personnel, whose location is then available to all other users. Allegedly, the suspect in the NYPD police killings used Waze prior to the shooting. While it is not known if Waze was actually used to track the officers in carrying out the crime, it is certainly possible for a criminal to misuse the app in this way.
Accordingly, this bill criminalizes the knowing use of any app, including Waze, to facilitate the commission of a crime.
