Yesterday, the NC Senate passed three pieces of criminal justice reform legislation that I was proud to vote in-favor of:
- SB207 Various Raise the Age Changes/JJAC Recs.
- SB207 raises the age of juvenile delinquency and implements the recommendations from the NC Department of Public Safety’s Juvenile Jurisdiction Advisory Committee (JJAC).
- SB300 Criminal Justice Reform.
- SB300 is an omnibus bill that makes additional criminal justice reform changes to various statutes in NC, including:
- Revise bodycam footage release laws to allow quicker access to footage after a violent or deadly incident.
- Creates a public database of law enforcement officers suspensions and revocations.
- Provides a process to have all officer fingerprints entered into state and federal databases.
- Requires that officers receive training on mental health wellness strategies and require periodic psychological screenings.
- Requires law enforcement agencies to create an early warning system to monitor officer actions and behaviors, including: discharge of a firearm, use of force, vehicle collisions, and citizen complaints.
- HB536 Law Enforcement Duty to Intervene.
- HB536 creates a duty for law enforcement officers to intervene and report excessive use of force by a colleague, and also requires that officers be searched through the National Decertification Index (NDI) as a part of the certification process.
These bills now move forward to the Governor for his signature. These bills all take steps towards the overall goal of reforming the criminal justice system, but we have much more work to do. I look forward to continuing the work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on this critical issue.
