FINAL BILL REPORT

                 ESHB 2337

                          C 3 L 00

                     Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description:  Ordering implementation of a state‑wide city and county jail booking and reporting system.

Sponsors:  By House Committee on  (originally sponsored by Representatives Ballasiotes, O'Brien, Cairnes, Kagi, B. Chandler, Lovick, Delvin, Carlson and Conway).

House Committee on Criminal Justice & Corrections

Senate Committee on Judiciary

Background:

The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) is considered a combination of units of local government.  It is responsible for, upon the request of a particular county, assisting that county in helping to develop and implement its local law and justice plan.  The association also maintains a central repository for the collection of all malicious harassment type crimes and, on occasion, is responsible for working with other state and local agencies in conducting crime-related studies.

The Washington Justice Information Network, operated by the Department of Information Services, is a computerized network system that transports criminal justice information to various counties throughout the state.  The system, located in every county except Asotin and Pend Oreille, allows criminal records regarding a particular offender being charged.  The system is not located in every city and county jail and does not contain jail booking and capacity information.  Jail booking systems are operated independently in each individual county.

Summary of Bill:

The WASPC must implement and operate a statewide central booking and reporting system by December 31, 2001.  At a minimum the system must contain the following items:

$each offense for which an arrested individual is being charged;

$descriptive information about each offender such as the offender's name, vital statistics, address, and mugshot;

$any information about the offender while in jail that could be used to protect criminal justice officials who have future contact with the offender, such as medical conditions and behavior problems; and

$statistical data indicating the current capacity of each jail and the quantity and category of offenses charged.

The system must be placed on the Washington Justice Information Network and be capable of communicating electronically with every city and county jail and with all state criminal justice agencies located in Washington.

After the WASPC has implemented the electronic jail booking system, if a city or county jail or law enforcement agency receives state or federal funding to cover the cost of implementing or reconfiguring an electronic jail booking system, the city or county jail or law enforcement agency must reconfigure its electronic jail booking system so that it is in compliance with the WASPC's jail booking system.

A city or county jail or law enforcement agency that operates an electronic jail booking system, but choose not to accept state or federal money to implement or reconfigure its electronic jail booking system, must electronically forward its jail booking information to the WASPC.  The electronic format that is sent may be at the discretion of that city or county jail or law enforcement agency, but must include at a minimum the name of the offender, any vital statistics, the date of arrest, the charge, and if available, the mug shot.

The WASPC must appoint and convene a statewide Jail Booking and Reporting System Standards Committee comprised of representatives from the WASPC, the Information Service Board's Justice Information Committee, the Judicial Information System of the Office of the Administrator for the Courts, at least two individuals who serve as jailers in a city or county jail, and any other individuals that the WASPC chooses to place on the committee.  The committee is authorized to develop and amend as needed the operational standards for the statewide jail booking and reporting system, as well as the standards to be used for allocating grants to a particular city and county jail or law enforcement agency that will be implementing or reconfiguring its electronic jail booking system.

All operational standards and the standards developed for allocating grants to city and county jails and law enforcement agencies, for the purpose of implementing the central electronic jail booking system, must be placed in a report.  The report must be provided, by January 1, 2001, to all city and county jails, all criminal justice agencies, the WASPC, the chair of the Senate Human Services and Corrections Committee, and the chair of the House of Representatives Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee.

The WASPC is also responsible for pursuing federal funding to pay for the costs of implementing the central jail booking system.  All federal or state money collected to offset the costs associated with the jail booking and reporting system must be deposited and processed through a local jail booking system grant fund to be established and managed by the WASPC.  The statewide Jail Booking and Reporting System Standards Committee is responsible for distributing the grants in accordance with the standards it develops.

The act is null and void if the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs does not receive federal funding for the purposes of the act by December 31, 2000.

Votes on Final Passage:

House950

Senate470

Effective:June 8, 2000