AN ACT Relating to domestic violence; amending
RCW 26.50.035 and 10.99.030; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.
The legislature finds that domestic violence is a problem of immense
proportions affecting individuals as well as communities. Domestic violence
has long been recognized as being at the core of other major social problems including
child abuse, crimes of violence against person or property, juvenile
delinquency, and alcohol and drug abuse. Domestic violence costs include the
loss of lives as well as millions of dollars each year in the state of
Washington for health care, absence from work, and services to children. The
crisis is growing.
While the existing protection order process can
be a valuable tool to increase safety for victims and to hold batterers
accountable, specific problems in its use have become evident. Victims have
difficulty completing the paperwork required; model forms have been modified to
be inconsistent with statutory language; different forms create confusion for
law enforcement agencies about the contents and enforceability of orders.
Refinements are needed so that victims have the easy, quick, and effective
access to the court system envisioned at the time the protection order process
was first created.
Valuable information about the reported
incidents of domestic violence in the state of Washington is unobtainable
without gathering data from all law enforcement agencies. Without this
information, it is difficult for policymakers, funders, and service providers
to plan for the resources and services needed to address the issue.
Sec. 2.
RCW 26.50.035 and 1985 c 303 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) By July 1, 1994, the administrator
for the courts shall develop and prepare((, in consultation with interested
persons, the forms and instructional)) instructions and informational
brochures required under RCW 26.50.030(((3).)) (4), standard petition
and order for protection forms, and a court staff handbook on domestic violence
and the protection order process. The standard petition and order for
protection forms must be used after September 1, 1994, for all petitions filed
and orders issued under this chapter. The instructions, brochures, forms, and
handbook shall be prepared in consultation with interested persons, including a
representative of the state domestic violence coalition, judges, and law
enforcement personnel.
(a) The instructions shall be designed to
assist petitioners in completing the petition, and shall include a sample of
standard petition and order for protection forms.
(b) The informational brochure shall
describe the use of and the process for obtaining a protection order, a
no-contact order as provided by RCW 10.99.040, a restraining order as provided
by RCW 26.09.060, and an antiharassment protection order as provided by chapter
10.14 RCW.
(c) The order for protection form shall
include, in a conspicuous location, notice of criminal penalties resulting from
violation of the order, and the following statement: "You can be arrested
even if the person or persons who obtained the order invite or allow you to
violate the order's prohibitions. The respondent has the sole responsibility
to avoid or refrain from violating the order's provisions. Only the court can
change the order upon written application."
(d) The court staff handbook shall allow for
the addition of a community resource list by the court clerk.
(2) All court clerks shall obtain a
community resource list from a domestic violence program, defined in RCW
70.123.020, serving the county in which the court is located. The community
resource list shall include the names and telephone numbers of domestic
violence programs serving the community in which the court is located,
including law enforcement agencies, domestic violence agencies, sexual assault
agencies, legal assistance programs, interpreters, multicultural programs, and
batterers' treatment programs. The court shall make the community resource
list available as part of or in addition to the informational brochures
described in subsection (1) of this section.
(3) The administrator for the courts
shall distribute a master copy of the petition and order forms ((and
instructional brochures to all court clerks)), instructions, and
informational brochures to all court clerks and shall distribute a master copy
of the petition and order forms to all superior, district, and municipal courts.
(4) For purposes of this section,
"court clerks" means court administrators in courts of limited
jurisdiction and elected court clerks.
(5) The administrator for the courts shall
arrange for translation of the instructions and informational brochures
required by this section, which shall contain a sample of the standard petition
and order for protection forms, into Spanish, Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian,
and Chinese, and shall distribute a master copy of the translated instructions
and informational brochures to all court clerks by January 1, 1995.
Sec. 3.
RCW 10.99.030 and 1984 c 263 s 21 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) All training relating to the handling of
domestic violence complaints by law enforcement officers shall stress
enforcement of criminal laws in domestic situations, availability of community
resources, and protection of the victim. Law enforcement agencies and
community organizations with expertise in the issue of domestic violence shall
cooperate in all aspects of such training.
(2) The primary duty of peace officers, when
responding to a domestic violence situation, is to enforce the laws allegedly
violated and to protect the complaining party.
(3)(a) When a peace officer responds to a
domestic violence call and has probable cause to believe that a crime has been
committed, the peace officer shall exercise arrest powers with reference to the
criteria in RCW 10.31.100. The officer shall notify the victim of the victim's
right to initiate a criminal proceeding in all cases where the officer has not
exercised arrest powers or decided to initiate criminal proceedings by citation
or otherwise. The parties in such cases shall also be advised of the
importance of preserving evidence.
(b) A peace officer responding to a domestic
violence call shall take a complete offense report including the officer's
disposition of the case.
(4) When a peace officer responds to a domestic
violence call, the officer shall advise victims of all reasonable means to
prevent further abuse, including advising each person of the availability of a
shelter or other services in the community, and giving each person immediate
notice of the legal rights and remedies available. The notice shall include
handing each person a copy of the following statement:
"IF YOU ARE THE VICTIM
OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, you can ask the city or county prosecuting attorney to
file a criminal complaint. You also have the right to file a petition in
superior, district, or municipal court requesting an order for protection from
domestic abuse which could include any of the following: (a) An order
restraining your abuser from further acts of abuse; (b) an order directing your
abuser to leave your household; (c) an order preventing your abuser from
entering your residence, school, business, or place of employment; (d) an order
awarding you or the other parent custody of or visitation with your minor child
or children; and (e) an order restraining your abuser from molesting or
interfering with minor children in your custody. The forms you need to obtain
a protection order are available in any municipal, district, or superior court.
Information about shelters
and alternatives to domestic violence is available from a state-wide
twenty-four-hour toll-free hotline at 1-800-562-6025. The battered women's
shelter and other resources in your area are . . . . .
(include local information)"
(5) The peace officer may offer, arrange, or
facilitate transportation for the victim to a hospital for treatment of
injuries or to a place of safety or shelter.
(6) The law enforcement agency shall forward
the offense report to the appropriate prosecutor within ten days of making such
report if there is probable cause to believe that an offense has been
committed, unless the case is under active investigation.
(7) Each law enforcement agency shall make as
soon as practicable a written record and shall maintain records of all
incidents of domestic violence reported to it.
(8) Records kept pursuant to subsections (3)
and (7) of this section shall be made identifiable by means of a departmental
code for domestic violence.
(9) Commencing January 1, 1994, records of
incidents of domestic violence shall be submitted, in accordance with
procedures described in this subsection, to the Washington association of
sheriffs and police chiefs by all law enforcement agencies. The Washington
criminal justice training commission shall amend its contract for collection of
state-wide crime data with the Washington association of sheriffs and police
chiefs:
(a) To include a table, in the annual report
of crime in Washington produced by the Washington association of sheriffs and
police chiefs pursuant to the contract, showing the total number of actual
offenses and the number and percent of the offenses that are domestic violence
incidents for the following crimes: (i) Criminal homicide, with subtotals for
murder and nonnegligent homicide and manslaughter by negligence; (ii) forcible
rape, with subtotals for rape by force and attempted forcible rape; (iii)
robbery, with subtotals for firearm, knife or cutting instrument, or other
dangerous weapon, and strongarm robbery; (iv) assault, with subtotals for
firearm, knife or cutting instrument, other dangerous weapon, hands, feet,
aggravated, and other nonaggravated assaults; (v) burglary, with subtotals for
forcible entry, nonforcible unlawful entry, and attempted forcible entry; (vi)
larceny theft, except motor vehicle theft; (vii) motor vehicle theft, with
subtotals for autos, trucks and buses, and other vehicles; and (viii) arson;
(b) To require that the table shall continue
to be prepared and contained in the annual report of crime in Washington until
that time as comparable or more detailed information about domestic violence
incidents is available through the Washington state incident based reporting
system and the information is prepared and contained in the annual report of
crime in Washington; and
(c) To require that, in consultation with
interested persons, the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs
prepare and disseminate procedures to all law enforcement agencies in the state
as to how the agencies shall code and report domestic violence incidents to the
Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. If
specific funding for section 2 subsection (5) of this act, referencing this act
by bill, section and subsection number, is not provided by June 30, 1993, in
the omnibus appropriations act, section 2 subsection (5) is null and void.
Sec. 5.
RCW 7.69.020 and 1985 c 443 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise,
the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.
(1) "Crime" means an act punishable
as a felony, gross misdemeanor, or misdemeanor under the laws of this state or
equivalent federal or local law.
(2) "Survivor" or
"survivors" of a victim of crime means a spouse, child, parent, legal
guardian, sibling, or grandparent. If there is more than one survivor of a
victim of crime, one survivor shall be designated by the prosecutor to
represent all survivors for purposes of providing the notice to survivors
required by this chapter.
(3) "Victim" means a person against
whom a crime has been committed or the representative of a person against whom
a crime has been committed.
(4) "Victim impact statement" means a
statement submitted to the court by the victim or a survivor, individually or
with the assistance of the prosecuting attorney if assistance is requested by the
victim or survivor, which may include but is not limited to information
assessing the financial, medical, social, and psychological impact of the
offense upon the victim or survivors.
(5) "Witness" means a person who has
been or is expected to be summoned to testify for the prosecution in a criminal
action, or who by reason of having relevant information is subject to call or
likely to be called as a witness for the prosecution, whether or not an action
or proceeding has been commenced.
(6) "Crime victim/witness program"
means any crime victim and witness program of a county or local law enforcement
agency or prosecutor's office, any rape crisis center's sexual assault victim
advocacy program as provided in chapter 70.125 RCW, any domestic violence program's
legal and community advocate program for domestic violence victims as provided
in chapter 70.123 RCW, or any other crime victim advocacy program which
provides trained advocates to assist crime victims during the investigation and
prosecution of the crime.
Sec. 6.
RCW 7.69.030 and 1985 c 443 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
There shall be a reasonable effort made to
ensure that victims, survivors of victims, and witnesses of crimes have the
following rights:
(1) With respect to victims of violent or
sex crimes, to receive, at the time of reporting the crime to law enforcement
officials, a written statement of the rights of crime victims as provided in
this chapter. The written statement shall include the name, address, and
telephone number of a county or local crime victim/witness program, if such a
crime victim/witness program exists in the county;
(2) To be informed by local law
enforcement agencies or the prosecuting attorney of the final disposition of the
case in which the victim, survivor, or witness is involved;
(((2))) (3) To be notified by the
party who issued the subpoena that a court proceeding to which they have been
subpoenaed will not occur as scheduled, in order to save the person an
unnecessary trip to court;
(((3))) (4) To receive protection
from harm and threats of harm arising out of cooperation with law enforcement
and prosecution efforts, and to be provided with information as to the level of
protection available;
(((4))) (5) To be informed of the
procedure to be followed to apply for and receive any witness fees to which
they are entitled;
(((5))) (6) To be provided,
whenever practical, a secure waiting area during court proceedings that does
not require them to be in close proximity to defendants and families or friends
of defendants;
(((6))) (7) To have any stolen or
other personal property expeditiously returned by law enforcement agencies or
the superior court when no longer needed as evidence. When feasible, all such
property, except weapons, currency, contraband, property subject to evidentiary
analysis, and property of which ownership is disputed, shall be photographed
and returned to the owner within ten days of being taken;
(((7))) (8) To be provided with
appropriate employer intercession services to ensure that employers of victims,
survivors of victims, and witnesses of crime will cooperate with the criminal
justice process in order to minimize an employee's loss of pay and other
benefits resulting from court appearance;
(((8))) (9) To access to
immediate medical assistance and not to be detained for an unreasonable length
of time by a law enforcement agency before having such assistance
administered. However, an employee of the law enforcement agency may, if
necessary, accompany the person to a medical facility to question the person
about the criminal incident if the questioning does not hinder the
administration of medical assistance;
(((9))) (10) With respect to victims
of violent and sex crimes, to have a crime victim advocate from a crime
victim/witness program present at any prosecutorial or defense interviews with
the victim. This subsection applies if practical and if the presence of the
crime victim advocate does not cause any unnecessary delay in the investigation
or prosecution of the case. The role of the crime victim advocate is to
provide emotional support to the crime victim;
(11) With respect to victims and
survivors of victims, to be physically present in court during trial, or if
subpoenaed to testify, to be scheduled as early as practical in the proceedings
in order to be physically present during trial after testifying and not to be
excluded solely because they have testified;
(((10))) (12) With respect to
victims and survivors of victims, to be informed by the prosecuting attorney of
the date, time, and place of the trial and of the sentencing hearing for felony
convictions upon request by a victim or survivor;
(((11))) (13) To submit a victim
impact statement or report to the court, with the assistance of the prosecuting
attorney if requested, which shall be included in all presentence reports and
permanently included in the files and records accompanying the offender
committed to the custody of a state agency or institution;
(((12))) (14) With respect to
victims and survivors of victims, to present a statement personally or by
representation, at the sentencing hearing for felony convictions; and
(((13))) (15) With respect to
victims and survivors of victims, to entry of an order of restitution by the
court in all felony cases, even when the offender is sentenced to confinement,
unless extraordinary circumstances exist which make restitution inappropriate
in the court's judgment.
Sec. 7.
RCW 7.69A.020 and 1992 c 188 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise,
the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.
(1) "Crime" means an act punishable
as a felony, gross misdemeanor, or misdemeanor under the laws of this state or
equivalent federal or local law.
(2) "Child" means any living child
under the age of eighteen years.
(3) "Victim" means a living person
against whom a crime has been committed.
(4) "Witness" means a person who has
been or is expected to be summoned to testify for the prosecution in a criminal
action, or who by reason of having relevant information is subject to call or
likely to be called as a witness for the prosecution, whether or not an action
or proceeding has been commenced.
(5) "Family member" means child,
parent, or legal guardian.
(6) "Advocate" means any person,
including a family member not accused of a crime, who provides support to a
child victim or child witness during any legal proceeding.
(7) "Court proceedings" means any
court proceeding conducted during the course of the prosecution of a crime
committed against a child victim, including pretrial hearings, trial,
sentencing, or appellate proceedings.
(8) "Identifying information" means
the child's name, address, location, and photograph, and in cases in which the
child is a relative or stepchild of the alleged perpetrator, identification of
the relationship between the child and the alleged perpetrator.
(9) "Crime victim/witness program"
means any crime victim and witness program of a county or local law enforcement
agency or prosecutor's office, any rape crisis center's sexual assault victim
advocacy program as provided in chapter 70.125 RCW, any domestic violence
program's legal and community advocate program for domestic violence victims as
provided in chapter 70.123 RCW, or any other crime victim advocacy program
which provides trained advocates to assist crime victims during the
investigation and prosecution of the crime.
Sec. 8.
RCW 7.69A.030 and 1985 c 394 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
In addition to the rights of victims and
witnesses provided for in RCW 7.69.030, there shall be every reasonable effort
made by law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and judges to assure that child
victims and witnesses are afforded the rights enumerated in this section. The
enumeration of rights shall not be construed to create substantive rights and
duties, and the application of an enumerated right in an individual case is
subject to the discretion of the law enforcement agency, prosecutor, or judge.
Child victims and witnesses have the following rights:
(1) To have explained in language easily
understood by the child, all legal proceedings and/or police investigations in
which the child may be involved.
(2) With respect to child victims of sex or
violent crimes or child abuse, to have a crime victim advocate from a crime
victim/witness program present at any prosecutorial or defense interviews with
the child victim. This subsection applies if practical and if the presence of
the crime victim advocate does not cause any unnecessary delay in the
investigation or prosecution of the case. The role of the crime victim advocate
is to provide emotional support to the child victim and to promote the child's
feelings of security and safety.
(3) To be provided, whenever possible, a
secure waiting area during court proceedings and to have an advocate or support
person remain with the child prior to and during any court proceedings.
(((3))) (4) To not have the
names, addresses, nor photographs of the living child victim or witness
disclosed by any law enforcement agency, prosecutor's office, or state agency
without the permission of the child victim, child witness, parents, or legal
guardians to anyone except another law enforcement agency, prosecutor, defense
counsel, or private or governmental agency that provides services to the child
victim or witness.
(((4))) (5) To allow an advocate
to make recommendations to the prosecuting attorney about the ability of the
child to cooperate with prosecution and the potential effect of the proceedings
on the child.
(((5))) (6) To allow an advocate
to provide information to the court concerning the child's ability to
understand the nature of the proceedings.
(((6))) (7) To be provided
information or appropriate referrals to social service agencies to assist the
child and/or the child's family with the emotional impact of the crime, the
subsequent investigation, and judicial proceedings in which the child is
involved.
(((7))) (8) To allow an advocate
to be present in court while the child testifies in order to provide emotional
support to the child.
(((8))) (9) To provide information
to the court as to the need for the presence of other supportive persons at the
court proceedings while the child testifies in order to promote the child's
feelings of security and safety.
(((9))) (10) To allow law
enforcement agencies the opportunity to enlist the assistance of other
professional personnel such as child protection services, victim advocates or
prosecutorial staff trained in the interviewing of the child victim.
(11) With respect to child victims of
violent or sex crimes or child abuse, to receive either directly or through the
child's parent or guardian if appropriate, at the time of reporting the crime
to law enforcement officials, a written statement of the rights of child
victims as provided in this chapter. The written statement shall include the
name, address, and telephone number of a county or local crime victim/witness
program, if such a crime victim/witness program exists in the county.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. If
any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is
held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to
other persons or circumstances is not affected.
