H-4140

AN ACT Relating to a state-wide jail booking and reporting system; adding new sections to chapter 36.28A RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 36.28A RCW to read as follows:

(1) No later than December 31, 2001, the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs shall implement and operate an electronic state-wide city and county jail booking and reporting system. The system shall serve as a central repository and instant information source for offender information and jail statistical data. The system shall be placed on the Washington state justice information network and be capable of communicating electronically with every Washington state city and county jail and with all other Washington state criminal justice agencies as defined in RCW 10.97.030.

(2) After the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs has implemented an electronic jail booking system as described in subsection (1) of this section, if a city or county jail or law enforcement agency receives state or federal funding to cover the entire cost of implementing or reconfiguring an electronic jail booking system, the city or county jail or law enforcement agency shall implement or reconfigure an electronic jail booking system that is in compliance with the jail booking system standards developed pursuant to subsection (4) of this section.

(3) After the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs has implemented an electronic jail booking system as described in subsection (1) of this section, city or county jails, or law enforcement agencies that operate electronic jail booking systems, but choose not to accept state or federal money to implement or reconfigure electronic jail booking systems, shall electronically forward jail booking information to the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs. At a minimum the information forwarded shall include the name of the offender, vital statistics, the date the offender was arrested, the offenses arrested for, and if available, the mug shot. The electronic format in which the information is sent shall be at the discretion of the city or county jail, or law enforcement agency forwarding the information. City and county jails or law enforcement agencies that forward jail booking information under this subsection are not required to comply with the standards developed under subsection (4)(b) of this section.

(4) The Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs shall appoint, convene, and manage a state-wide jail booking and reporting system standards committee. The committee shall include representatives from the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs correction committee, the information service board's justice information committee, at least two individuals who serve as jailers in a city or county jail, and other individuals that the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs places on the committee. The committee shall have the authority to:

(a) Develop and amend as needed standards for the state-wide jail booking and reporting system and for the information that must be contained within the system. At a minimum, the system shall contain:

(i) The offenses the individual has been charged with;

(ii) Descriptive and personal information about each offender booked into a city or county jail. At a minimum, this information shall contain the offender's name, vital statistics, address, and mugshot;

(iii) Information about the offender while in jail, which could be used to protect criminal justice officials that have future contact with the offender, such as medical conditions, acts of violence, and other behavior problems;

(iv) Statistical data indicating the current capacity of each jail and the quantity and category of offenses charged; and

(v) The ability to communicate directly and immediately with the city and county jails and other criminal justice entities;

(b) Develop and amend as needed operational standards for city and county jail booking systems, which at a minimum shall include the type of information collected and transmitted, and the technical requirements needed for the city and county jail booking system to communicate with the state-wide jail booking and reporting system;

(c) Develop and amend as needed standards for allocating grants to city and county jails or law enforcement agencies that will be implementing or reconfiguring electronic jail booking systems.

(5) By January 1, 2001, the standards committee shall complete the initial standards described in subsection (4) of this section, and the standards shall be placed into a report and provided to all Washington state city and county jails, all other criminal justice agencies as defined in RCW 10.97.030, the chair of the Washington state senate human services and corrections committee, and the chair of the Washington state house of representatives criminal justice and corrections committee.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 36.28A RCW to read as follows:

(1) The Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs shall establish and manage a local jail booking system grant fund. All federal or state money collected to offset the costs associated with section 1(2) of this act shall be processed through the grant fund established by this section. The state-wide jail booking and reporting system standards committee established under section 1(4) of this act shall distribute the grants in accordance with any standards it develops.

(2) The Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs shall pursue federal funding to be placed into the local jail booking system grant fund.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs shall pursue federal funding to pay for the costs of implementing the central site of the state-wide jail booking and reporting system.