ByHouse Civil Rights & Judiciary (originally sponsored by Representatives Jinkins, Peterson, Thai, Morgan, Macri, Senn, Appleton, Frame, Kloba, Doglio, Pollet, Hudgins, Valdez, Lovick, Lekanoff, Walen, Bergquist, Stanford, Slatter, Tarleton, Wylie, Tharinger, Fey, Gregerson, and Goodman)

AN ACT Relating to establishing policies and requirements regarding law enforcement response to domestic violence incidents to enhance the safety of domestic violence victims, families, and officers; amending RCW 10.99.030, 10.99.040, and 9.41.345; and adding new sections to chapter 10.99 RCW.

(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 criminal justice training commission shall implement by January 1, 1997, a course of instruction for the training of law enforcement officers in Washington in the handling of domestic violence complaints. The basic law enforcement curriculum of the criminal justice training commission shall include at least twenty hours of basic training instruction on the law enforcement response to domestic violence. The course of instruction, the learning and performance objectives, and the standards for the training shall be developed by the commission and focus on enforcing the criminal laws, safety of the victim, and holding the perpetrator accountable for the violence. The curriculum shall include training on the extent and prevalence of domestic violence, the importance of criminal justice intervention, techniques for responding to incidents that minimize the likelihood of officer injury and that promote victim safety, investigation and interviewing skills, evidence gathering and report writing, assistance to and services for victims and children, verification and enforcement of court orders, liability, and any additional provisions that are necessary to carry out the intention of this subsection.

(3) The criminal justice training commission shall develop and update annually an in-service training program to familiarize law enforcement officers with the domestic violence laws. The program shall include techniques for handling incidents of domestic violence that minimize the likelihood of injury to the officer and that promote the safety of all parties. The commission shall make the training program available to all law enforcement agencies in the state.

(4) Development of the training in subsections (2) and (3) of this section shall be conducted in conjunction with agencies having a primary responsibility for serving victims of domestic violence with emergency shelter and other services, and representatives to the statewide organization providing training and education to these organizations and to the general public.

(((6)))(2)(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.

(((7)))(3)(a) A peace officer who responds to a domestic violence call and has probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed shall remove all firearms and ammunition the peace officer has reasonable grounds to believe were used or threatened to be used in the commission of the offense. In addition, the peace officer shall request consent to take temporary custody of any firearms and ammunition to which the alleged abuser has access until a judicial officer has heard the matter.

(b) The peace officer shall separate the parties and then inquire of the victim: (i) If there are any firearms or ammunition in the home that are owned or possessed by either party; (ii) if the alleged abuser has access to any other firearms located off-site; and (iii) whether the alleged abuser has an active concealed pistol license, so that there is a complete record for future court proceedings. The inquiry should make clear to the victim that the peace officer is not asking only about whether a firearm was used at the time of the incident but also under other circumstances, such as whether the alleged abuser has kept a firearm in plain sight in a manner that is coercive, has threatened use of firearms in the past, or has additional firearms in a vehicle or other location. Law enforcement personnel may use a pictorial display of common firearms to assist the victim in identifying firearms.

(c) The peace officer shall document all information about firearms and concealed pistol licenses in the incident report. The incident report must be coded to indicate the presence of or access to firearms so that personal recognizance screeners, prosecutors, and judicial officers address the heightened risk to victim, family, and peace officer safety due to the alleged abuser's access to firearms.

(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; and (f) an order requiring your abuser to turn in any firearms and concealed pistol license in the abuser's possession or control to law enforcement and prohibiting the abuser from possessing or accessing firearms or a concealed pistol license for the duration of the civil order. The forms you need to obtain a protection order are available in any municipal, district, or superior court.

(((9) 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. Upon receiving the offense report, the prosecuting agency may, in its discretion, choose not to file the information as a domestic violence offense, if the offense was committed against a sibling, parent, stepparent, or grandparent.

(12) 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 statewide 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; (viii) arson; and (ix) violations of the provisions of a protection order or no-contact order restraining the person from going onto the grounds of or entering a residence, workplace, school, or day care, provided that specific appropriations are subsequently made for the collection and compilation of data regarding violations of protection orders or no-contact orders;

(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

(6) An appointed or elected public official, public employee, or public agency as defined in RCW 4.24.470, or units of local government and its employees, as provided in RCW 36.28A.010, are immune from civil liability for damages arising out of the seizure of a firearm, unless it is shown that the official, employee, or agency acted with gross negligence or in bad faith.

(1) All training relating to the handling of domestic violence complaints by law enforcement officers must 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 criminal justice training commission shall implement by the effective date of this section, a course of instruction for the training of law enforcement officers in Washington in the handling of domestic violence complaints. The basic law enforcement curriculum of the criminal justice training commission must include at least twenty hours of basic training instruction on the law enforcement response to domestic violence. The course of instruction, the learning and performance objectives, and the standards for the training must be developed by the commission and focus on enforcing the criminal laws, safety of the victim, and holding the perpetrator accountable for the violence. The curriculum must include training on the extent and prevalence of domestic violence, the importance of criminal justice intervention, techniques for responding to incidents that minimize the likelihood of officer injury and that promote victim safety, investigation and interviewing skills, evidence gathering and report writing, assistance to and services for victims and children, verification and enforcement of court orders, liability, and any additional provisions that are necessary to carry out the intention of this subsection.

(3) The criminal justice training commission shall develop and update annually an in-service training program to familiarize law enforcement officers with domestic violence laws. The program must include techniques for handling incidents of domestic violence that minimize the likelihood of injury to the officer and that promote the safety of all parties. The commission shall make the training program available to all law enforcement agencies in the state.

(4) Development of the training in subsections (2) and (3) of this section must be conducted in conjunction with agencies having a primary responsibility for serving victims of domestic violence with emergency shelter and other services, and representatives to the statewide organization providing training and education to these organizations and to the general public.

(1) A law enforcement agency shall forward the offense report regarding any incident of domestic violence 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. Upon receiving the offense report, the prosecuting agency may, in its discretion, choose not to file the information as a domestic violence offense, if the offense was committed against a sibling, parent, stepparent, or grandparent.

(4) Commencing on the effective date of this section, records of incidents of domestic violence must 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 criminal justice training commission shall amend its contract for collection of statewide crime data with the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs:

(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.

(c) Shall waive any requirement that the victim's location be disclosed to any person, other than the attorney of a criminal defendant, upon a showing that there is a possibility of further violence: PROVIDED, That the court may order a criminal defense attorney not to disclose to his or her client the victim's location; and

(2)(a) Because of the likelihood of repeated violence directed at those who have been victims of domestic violence in the past, when any person charged with or arrested for a crime involving domestic violence is released from custody before arraignment or trial on bail or personal recognizance, the court authorizing the release may prohibit that person from having any contact with the victim. The jurisdiction authorizing the release shall determine whether that person should be prohibited from having any contact with the victim. If there is no outstanding restraining or protective order prohibiting that person from having contact with the victim, the court authorizing release may issue, by telephone, a no-contact order prohibiting the person charged or arrested from having contact with the victim or from knowingly coming within, or knowingly remaining within, a specified distance of a location.

(c) The no-contact order shall also be issued in writing as soon as possible, and shall state that it may be extended as provided in subsection (3) of this section. By January 1, 2011, the administrative office of the courts shall develop a pattern form for all no-contact orders issued under this chapter. A no-contact order issued under this chapter must substantially comply with the pattern form developed by the administrative office of the courts.

(3)(a) At the time of arraignment the court shall determine whether a no-contact order shall be issued or extended. So long as the court finds probable cause, the court may issue or extend a no-contact order even if the defendant fails to appear at arraignment. The no-contact order shall terminate if the defendant is acquitted or the charges are dismissed.

(b) In issuing the order, the court shall consider all information documented in the incident report concerning the person's possession of and access to firearms and whether law enforcement took temporary custody of firearms at the time of the arrest. The court may as a condition of release prohibit the defendant from possessing or accessing firearms and order the defendant to immediately surrender all firearms and any concealed pistol license to a law enforcement agency upon release.

(c) If a no-contact order is issued or extended, the court may also include in the conditions of release a requirement that the defendant submit to electronic monitoring as defined in RCW 9.94A.030. If electronic monitoring is ordered, the court shall specify who shall provide the monitoring services, and the terms under which the monitoring shall be performed. Upon conviction, the court may require as a condition of the sentence that the defendant reimburse the providing agency for the costs of the electronic monitoring.

(b) The written order releasing the person charged or arrested shall contain the court's directives and shall bear the legend: "Violation of this order is a criminal offense under chapter 26.50 RCW and will subject a violator to arrest; any assault, drive-by shooting, or reckless endangerment that is a violation of this order is a felony. You can be arrested even if any person protected by the order invites or allows you to violate the order's prohibitions. You have the sole responsibility to avoid or refrain from violating the order's provisions. Only the court can change the order."

(6) Whenever a no-contact order is issued, modified, or terminated under subsection (2) or (3) of this section, the clerk of the court shall forward a copy of the order on or before the next judicial day to the appropriate law enforcement agency specified in the order. Upon receipt of the copy of the order the law enforcement agency shall enter the order for one year or until the expiration date specified on the order into any computer-based criminal intelligence information system available in this state used by law enforcement agencies to list outstanding warrants. Entry into the computer-based criminal intelligence information system constitutes notice to all law enforcement agencies of the existence of the order. The order is fully enforceable in any jurisdiction in the state. Upon receipt of notice that an order has been terminated under subsection (3) of this section, the law enforcement agency shall remove the order from the computer-based criminal intelligence information system.

(7) All courts shall develop policies and procedures by January 1, 2011, to grant victims a process to modify or rescind a no-contact order issued under this chapter. The administrative office of the courts shall develop a model policy to assist the courts in implementing the requirements of this subsection.

(d) Ensure that twenty-four hours have elapsed from the time the firearm was obtained by law enforcement, unless the firearm was seized in connection with a domestic violence call pursuant to RCW 10.99.030, in which case the law enforcement agency must ensure that five business days have elapsed from the time the firearm was obtained.

(b)(i) If a firearm cannot be returned because it is required to be held in custody or is otherwise prohibited from being released, a law enforcement agency must provide written notice to the individual from whom it was obtained within five business days of the individual requesting return of his or her firearm and specify the reason the firearm must be held in custody.

(4)(a) A law enforcement agency may not return a concealed pistol license that has been surrendered to or impounded by the law enforcement agency for any reason to the licensee until the law enforcement agency determines the licensee is eligible to possess a firearm under state and federal law and meets the other eligibility requirements for a concealed pistol license under RCW 9.41.070.

(5) The provisions of chapter 130, Laws of 2015 and subsection (4) of this section shall not apply to circumstances where a law enforcement officer has momentarily obtained a firearm or concealed pistol license from an individual and would otherwise immediately return the firearm or concealed pistol license to the individual during the same interaction.