BILL ANALYSIS SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY Senator Mark Leno, Chair S 2009-2010 Regular Session B 8 3 9 SB 839 (Runner) As Amended February 24, 2010 Hearing date: March 23, 2010 Government Code AA:dl EMERGENCY SERVICES: "BLUE ALERT" SYSTEM HISTORY Sources: Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriff; California State Sheriffs' Association; California Broadcasters Association; Peace Officers Research Association of California; California Association of Highway Patrolmen Prior Legislation: SB 38 (Alquist) - (2009) pending in Assembly Appropriations Committee AB 415 (Runner and Maddox) - Ch. 517, Stats. 2002 HR 8 (Runner) - adopted by the Assembly, 2001 SB 6 (Rainey) - Ch. 579, Stats. 1999 Support: Riverside Police Officers' Association; Los Angeles Police Protective League; Los Angeles Probation Officers'Union, AFSCME, Local 685; Riverside Sheriffs'Association; Los Angeles Police Protective League; Orange County Board of Supervisors; California Correctional Supervisors Organization; California State Sheriffs' Association; Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety Opposition:None Known (More) SB 839 (Runner) PageB KEY ISSUE SHOULD A "BLUE ALERT" SYSTEM SIMILAR TO THE "AMBER ALERT" SYSTEM BE CREATED TO NOTIFY THE PUBLIC WHEN A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER HAS BEEN ATTACKED, AS SPECIFIED? PURPOSE The purpose of this bill is to create a "blue alert" system similar to the "Amber Alert" system to notify the public when a law enforcement officer has been attacked, as specified. Existing law , commonly known as "Amber Alert," provides that if an abduction has been reported to a law enforcement agency and the agency determines that a child 17 years of age or younger, or an individual with a proven mental or physical disability, has been abducted and is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death and there is information available that, if disseminated to the general public, could assist in the safe recovery of the victim, the agency, shall request the activation of the Emergency Alert System within the appropriate local area. (Government Code 8594 (a).) Existing law provides that the California Highway Patrol (CHP) in consultation with the Department of Justice (DOJ) as well as a representative from the California State Sheriffs' Association, the California Police Chiefs' Association and the California Peace Officers' Association shall develop policies and procedures providing instruction specifying how law enforcement agencies, broadcasters participating in the Emergency Alert System, and where appropriate, other supplemental warning systems, shall proceed after a qualifying abduction has been reported to a law enforcement agency. (Government Code 8594 (b).) (More) SB 839 (Runner) PageC This bill would establish a "Blue Alert" system of public notification relating to emergencies endangering law enforcement officers modeled after Amber Alert, with the following specific features: "Blue alert" would be defined to mean "a quick response system designed to issue and coordinate alerts following an attack upon a law enforcement officer," as specified; Upon the request of an authorized person at a law enforcement agency that is investigating an attack upon a law enforcement officer, the California Highway Patrol would be required to activate the Emergency Alert System and issue a blue alert if all of the following conditions are met: (1) A law enforcement officer has been killed, suffers serious bodily injury, or is assaulted with a deadly weapon, and the suspect has fled the scene of the offense. (2) A law enforcement agency investigating the offense has determined that the suspect poses an imminent threat to the public or other law enforcement personnel. (3) A detailed description of the suspect's vehicle or license plate is available for broadcast. (4) Public dissemination of available information may help avert further harm or accelerate apprehension of the suspect. (5) The California Highway Patrol has been designated to use the federally authorized Emergency Alert System for the issuance of blue alerts. (More) SB 839 (Runner) PageD This bill would require that the blue alert response system "employ the Emergency Alert System, as available, the Emergency Digital Information Service, local digital signs, focused text alerts, and other appropriate technologies." This bill would require, on or before December 31, 2011, the California Highway Patrol to "augment the department's public Internet Web site to include a blue alert link that describes the "blue alert" process, objectives, and available quick responses. The Internet Web site shall explain that the term blue alert will communicate that a peace officer has been attacked or killed and that the scope of an alert will be tailored to the circumstances of the offense and available technologies." RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION IMPLICATIONS The severe prison overcrowding problem California has experienced for the last several years has not been solved. In December of 2006 plaintiffs in two federal lawsuits against the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sought a court-ordered limit on the prison population pursuant to the federal Prison Litigation Reform Act. On January 12, 2010, a federal three-judge panel issued an order requiring the state to reduce its inmate population to 137.5 percent of design capacity -- a reduction of roughly 40,000 inmates -- within two years. In a prior, related 184-page Opinion and Order dated August 4, 2009, that court stated in part: "California's correctional system is in a tailspin," the state's independent oversight agency has reported. . . . (Jan. 2007 Little Hoover Commission Report, "Solving California's Corrections Crisis: Time Is Running Out"). Tough-on-crime politics have increased the population of California's prisons dramatically while making necessary reforms impossible. . . . As a result, the state's prisons have become places "of extreme peril to the safety of persons" they house, . (More) SB 839 (Runner) PageE . . (Governor Schwarzenegger's Oct. 4, 2006 Prison Overcrowding State of Emergency Declaration), while contributing little to the safety of California's residents, . . . . California "spends more on corrections than most countries in the world," but the state "reaps fewer public safety benefits." . . . . Although California's existing prison system serves neither the public nor the inmates well, the state has for years been unable or unwilling to implement the reforms necessary to reverse its continuing deterioration. (Some citations omitted.) . . . The massive 750% increase in the California prison population since the mid-1970s is the result of political decisions made over three decades, including the shift to inflexible determinate sentencing and the passage of harsh mandatory minimum and three-strikes laws, as well as the state's counterproductive parole system. Unfortunately, as California's prison population has grown, California's political decision-makers have failed to provide the resources and facilities required to meet the additional need for space and for other necessities of prison existence. Likewise, although state-appointed experts have repeatedly provided numerous methods by which the state could safely reduce its prison population, their recommendations have been ignored, underfunded, or postponed indefinitely. The convergence of tough-on-crime policies and an unwillingness to expend the necessary funds to support the population growth has brought California's prisons to the breaking point. The state of emergency declared by Governor Schwarzenegger almost three years ago continues to this day, California's prisons remain severely overcrowded, and inmates in the California prison system continue to languish without constitutionally (More) SB 839 (Runner) PageF adequate medical and mental health care.<1> The court stayed implementation of its January 12, 2010, ruling pending the state's appeal of the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. That appeal, and the final outcome of this litigation, is not anticipated until later this year or 2011. This bill does not appear to aggravate the prison overcrowding crisis described above. COMMENTS 1. Stated Need for This Bill The author states: SB 839 would allow the California Highway Patrol to issue a Blue Alert, which is a quick response system designed to issue and coordinate alerts following an attack upon a law enforcement officer if the following conditions are met: A law enforcement officer has been killed, suffers serious bodily injury, or is assaulted with a deadly weapon, and the suspect has fled the scene of the offense; A law enforcement agency investigating the offense has determined that the suspect poses an imminent threat to the public or other law enforcement personnel; A detailed description of the suspect's vehicle or license plate is available for broadcast; ----------------------- <1> Three Judge Court Opinion and Order, Coleman v. Schwarzenegger, Plata v. Schwarzenegger, in the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of California and the Northern District of California United States District Court composed of three judges pursuant to Section 2284, Title 28 United States Code (August 4, 2009). (More) SB 839 (Runner) PageG Public dissemination of available information may help avert further harm or accelerate apprehension of the suspect; and The California Highway Patrol has been designated to use the federally authorized Emergency Alert System (EAS) for the issuance of "blue alerts." Additionally, the Blue Alert response system shall employ the broad-based EAS after the federal government has established a Blue Alert code, as well as Emergency Digital Information Services (EDIS), local digital signs, focused cell phone text alerts, and all other appropriate technologies. The proposed Blue Alert would serve the same function as the highly successful AMBER Alert, namely, it would quickly and effectively get many pairs of eyes looking for a criminal who kills or assaults a law enforcement officer. (More) It is common for law enforcement personnel at these crime scenes to have some information about these violent individuals, including a general description or a partial license plate number, which emphasizes the need to use California's existing emergency alert system to allow the public to partner with law enforcement officials in the hunt for criminals who are clearly a threat to society. As the AMBER Alert system has demonstrated time and again throughout the United States, a quick response is vital. Currently, Texas is the only state using Blue Alerts. Oklahoma has legislation ready to be introduced. Allowing the CHP to employ the broad-based EAS, after the federal government has established a Blue Alert code as well as EDIS, local digital signs, focused cell phone text alerts, or other appropriate technologies to activate a Blue Alert will ensure that its rare use is an efficient and cost effective way to bring together the necessary resources to assist in quickly locating cop killers who often flee the scene of the crime in a vehicle, as evidenced by the number of multiple officers killed in Oakland and Seattle last year. 2. Existing Alert System for Missing Children Existing law creates an emergency alert system for law enforcement to alert the public when a child has been abducted and is believed to be in imminent danger. This is commonly known as the "Amber Alert" system. CHP along with DOJ and law enforcement groups create the policies that set forth how and when the alert system is activated. According to the CHP Web site: (More) SB 839 (Runner) PageI AMBER ALERT empowers law enforcement, the media and the public to combat abduction by sending out immediate, up-to-date information that aids in the child's safe recovery. Using radio, television, the Internet, highway information signs, and even cell phone networks, AMBER ALERT gives the public the information needed to locate abducted children. The AMBER ALERT Program has helped in successfully recovering over one hundred children since it was established statewide in California on July 31, 2002. ( http://www.chp.ca.gov/amber/index.html#Guidelines ) Members and the author may wish to discuss how the "Blue Alert" proposed by this bill can be expected to impact the existing Amber Alert program. HOW WOULD THE "BLUE ALERT" SYSTEM PROPOSED BY THIS BILL IMPACT THE EXISTING AMBER ALERT PROGRAM? 3. Related Legislation Last year, this Committee passed SB 38 (Alquist), which would create a "silver alert" system similar to the "Amber Alert" system to notify the public when a senior person who has an impaired mental condition goes missing. That bill currently is pending in Assembly Appropriations Committee. ***************