BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair A
2013-2014 Regular Session B
4
7
AB 47 (Gatto)
As Amended June 11, 2014
Hearing date: June 24, 2014
Penal Code
AL/MK:mc
EMERGENCY ALERTS: HIT AND RUN INCIDENTS
HISTORY
Source: City of Los Angeles
Prior Legislation: SB 1047 (Alquist) - Ch. 651, Stats. 2012
SB 839 (Runner) - Ch. 311, Stats. 2010
SB 38 (Alquist) - died in Assembly Appropriations,
2009
AB 415 (Runner) - Ch. 517, Stats. 2002
SB 6 (Rainey) - Ch. 507, Stats. 1999
Support: California Walks; Bike East Bay; Los Angeles County
Bicycle Coalition; California Bicycle Coalition; Women
on Bikes California & the Pedal Love Project; Conor
Lynch Foundation; Coalition for Sustainable
Transportation; San Diego County Bicycle Coalition;
Shasta Living Streets; San Francisco Bicycle Coalition;
Walk & Bike Mendocino; California State
Firefighters'Association; People Power; Marin County
Bicycle Coalition; Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates;
Inland Empire Biking Alliance; Safe Routes to School
National Partnership; Bike Bakersfield; San Luis Obispo
County Bicycle Coalition; Los Angeles Walks;
Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs; Bike
Culture; Wolfpack Hustle; numerous individuals
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Opposition:None known
Assembly Floor Vote: N/A
KEY ISSUE
SHOULD A "YELLOW ALERT" SYSTEM SIMILAR TO THE "SILVER ALERT" SYSTEM
BE ESTABLISHED TO ISSUE AND COORDINATE ALERTS FOLLOWING A SERIOUS
HIT AND RUN INCIDENT, AS SPECIFIED?
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to create a "Yellow Alert" system
similar to the "Silver Alert" system to notify the public when a
hit and run incident has occurred to aid in the apprehension of
the suspect, as specified.
Existing law provides that if a law enforcement 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 (EAS) within the appropriate local area, commonly
known as the "Amber Alert." (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 EAS, and where appropriate,
other supplemental warning systems, shall proceed after a
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qualifying abduction has been reported to a law enforcement
agency. (Government Code § 8594 (b).)
Existing law defines "Blue Alert" to mean a quick response
system designed to issue and coordinate alerts following an
attack upon a law enforcement officer. (Government Code
§ 8594.5 (a).)
Existing law provides that upon the request of an authorized
person at a law enforcement agency that is investigating an
offense where a law enforcement officers has been killed,
suffers serious bodily injury, or is assaulted with a deadly
weapon; the suspect has fled the scene of the offense and is
determined an imminent threat to the public or others; a
detailed description of the suspect's vehicle or license plate
is available; and public dissemination of available information
may help avert further harm or accelerate apprehension of the
suspect, then CHP shall activate the EAS and issue a Blue Alert,
as specified. (Government Code § 8594.5 (b).)
Existing law provides that the Blue Alert incorporate a variety
of notification resources and developing technologies that may
be tailored to the circumstances and geography of the underlying
attacking. The Blue Alert system must utilize the
state-controlled Emergency Digital Information System, local
digital signs, focused text, or other technologies, as
appropriate. (Government Code § 8594.5 (c).)
Existing law defines "Silver Alert" to mean a notification
system designed to issue and coordinate alerts with respect to a
person reported missing who is 65 years of age or older.
(Government Code § 8594.10 (a).)
Existing law provides that when a person 65 years of age or
older is reported missing under unexplained or suspicious
circumstances and the investigating law enforcement agency
determines that person is in potential danger, as specified, the
law enforcement agency must request that CHP activate a Silver
Alert if disseminating information to the public could assist in
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the safe recovery of the missing person. (Government Code §
8594.10 (c).)
This bill would define "Yellow Alert" to mean "a notification
system ? designed to issue and coordinate alerts with respect to
a hit and run incident resulting in the death or injury of a
person."
This bill would authorize an investigating law enforcement
agency to request that CHP activate a Yellow Alert if the law
enforcement agency determines that both of the following
conditions are met:
1) A person has been killed or has suffered serious bodily
injury due to a hit and run incident.
2) The investigating law enforcement agency has additional
information concerning the suspect or the suspect's
vehicle, including, but not limited to, any of the
following:
a) The complete license plate number of the
suspect's vehicle.
b) A partial license plate number and the make,
style, and color of the suspect's vehicle.
c) The identity of the suspect.
This bill would require CHP, if CHP concurs that the
requirements above are met, to activate a Yellow Alert within
the geographic area requested by the investigating law
enforcement agency. Upon activating a Yellow Alert, CHP will
issue a be-on-the-lookout alert, an Emergency Digital
Information Service message, or an electronic flyer to assist
the investigating law enforcement agency.
This bill would encourage radio, television, and cable and
satellite systems to cooperate in disseminating information
contained in a Yellow Alert.
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
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For the last several years, severe overcrowding in California's
prisons has been the focus of evolving and expensive litigation
relating to conditions of confinement. On May 23, 2011, the
United States Supreme Court ordered California to reduce its
prison population to 137.5 percent of design capacity within two
years from the date of its ruling, subject to the right of the
state to seek modifications in appropriate circumstances.
Beginning in early 2007, Senate leadership initiated a policy to
hold legislative proposals which could further aggravate the
prison overcrowding crisis through new or expanded felony
prosecutions. Under the resulting policy, known as "ROCA"
(which stands for "Receivership/ Overcrowding Crisis
Aggravation"), the Committee held measures that created a new
felony, expanded the scope or penalty of an existing felony, or
otherwise increased the application of a felony in a manner
which could exacerbate the prison overcrowding crisis. Under
these principles, ROCA was applied as a content-neutral,
provisional measure necessary to ensure that the Legislature did
not erode progress towards reducing prison overcrowding by
passing legislation, which would increase the prison population.
In January of 2013, just over a year after the enactment of the
historic Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011, the State of
California filed court documents seeking to vacate or modify the
federal court order requiring the state to reduce its prison
population to 137.5 percent of design capacity. The State
submitted that the, ". . . population in the State's 33 prisons
has been reduced by over 24,000 inmates since October 2011 when
public safety realignment went into effect, by more than 36,000
inmates compared to the 2008 population . . . , and by nearly
42,000 inmates since 2006 . . . ." Plaintiffs opposed the
state's motion, arguing that, "California prisons, which
currently average 150% of capacity, and reach as high as 185% of
capacity at one prison, continue to deliver health care that is
constitutionally deficient." In an order dated January 29,
2013, the federal court granted the state a six-month extension
to achieve the 137.5 % inmate population cap by December 31,
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2013.
The Three-Judge Court then ordered, on April 11, 2013, the state
of California to "immediately take all steps necessary to comply
with this Court's . . . Order . . . requiring defendants to
reduce overall prison population to 137.5% design capacity by
December 31, 2013." On September 16, 2013, the State asked the
Court to extend that deadline to December 31, 2016. In
response, the Court extended the deadline first to January 27,
2014, and then February 24, 2014, and ordered the parties to
enter into a meet-and-confer process to "explore how defendants
can comply with this Court's June 20, 2013, Order, including
means and dates by which such compliance can be expedited or
accomplished and how this Court can ensure a durable solution to
the prison crowding problem."
The parties were not able to reach an agreement during the
meet-and-confer process. As a result, the Court ordered
briefing on the State's requested extension and, on February 10,
2014, issued an order extending the deadline to reduce the
in-state adult institution population to 137.5% design capacity
to February 28, 2016. The order requires the state to meet the
following interim and final population reduction benchmarks:
143% of design bed capacity by June 30, 2014;
141.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2015; and,
137.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2016.
If a benchmark is missed the Compliance Officer (a position
created by the February 10, 2016 order) can order the release of
inmates to bring the State into compliance with that benchmark.
In a status report to the Court dated May 15, 2014, the state
reported that as of May 14, 2014, 116,428 inmates were housed in
the State's 34 adult institutions, which amounts to 140.8% of
design bed capacity, and 8,650 inmates were housed in
out-of-state facilities.
The ongoing prison overcrowding litigation indicates that prison
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capacity and related issues concerning conditions of confinement
remain unresolved. While real gains in reducing the prison
population have been made, even greater reductions may be
required to meet the orders of the federal court. Therefore,
the Committee's consideration of ROCA bills -bills that may
impact the prison population - will be informed by the following
questions:
Whether a measure erodes realignment and impacts the
prison population;
Whether a measure addresses a crime which is directly
dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there
is no other reasonably appropriate sanction;
Whether a bill corrects a constitutional infirmity or
legislative drafting error;
Whether a measure proposes penalties which are
proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other
reasonably appropriate remedy; and,
Whether a bill addresses a major area of public safety
or criminal activity for which there is no other
reasonable, appropriate remedy.
COMMENTS
1.Need for This Bill
According to the author:
Hit and run accidents have risen dramatically in
recent years with law enforcement as well as biking
and walking advocates looking for ways to hold the
cowards who commit these crimes more accountable for
their actions. In the City of Los Angeles, known as
the epicenter of this horrible epidemic, L.A.P.D.
Chief Charlie Beck thought that a combination of new
laws, stiffer penalties, and increased awareness would
lead drivers to take greater responsibility for their
actions. AB 47 falls into the category of new laws
Chief Beck calls for.
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The measure would create a "Yellow Alert" that would
allow local law enforcement to ask the California
Highway Patrol to access to their emergency
notification systems, on a regional level, when there
is a hit and run accident only if certain criteria are
met.
This measure is based on legislation that was recently
enacted in the state of Colorado, where a rise in
tragic hit and runs, as well as the tragic hit and run
death of Denver valet Jose Medina just days before his
wedding, prompted the creation of the Medina Alert for
hit and run accidents for all of Colorado. In the
period of time these alerts were used in the city of
Denver, before statewide enactment, 13 of 17 hit and
runs that triggered these alerts were solved-a nearly
76% success rate.
2.Background: Hit and Run Incidents are on the Rise
According to the author, hit-and-run accidents have drastically
increased over the past several years with a significant number
of these accidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists.
A number of agencies and organizations collect data on hit and
run accidents. For example, the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) statistics indicate that, at the national
level, hit and run accidents have increased over the years from
1,274 in 2009 to 1,449 in 2011 (the last year recorded). The
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety also found that one in five of
all pedestrian fatalities are hit and runs and that 60 percent
of hit and run fatalities have pedestrians as victims.
According to a 2013 article in USA Today, an estimated 20,000
hit and run incidents occur in the city of Los Angeles each year
with 4,000 resulting in injuries or death.<1>
3.Effect of This Bill
---------------------------
<1> See
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/10/hit-and-run-
crashes-los-angeles/3452699/
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AB 47 would establish a "Yellow Alert" system of public
notification relating to hit and run incidences modeled after
the Silver Alert and a similar piece of legislation passed in
Colorado. When a person has been killed or has suffered serious
bodily injury due to a hit and run incident, the investigating
law enforcement agency may request that CHP issue a Yellow
Alert within a certain geographic area, but only if information
concerning the suspect or the suspect's vehicle is known. To
assist the investigating law enforcement agency, CHP is required
to issue a Yellow Alert through a be-on-the-lookout alert, an
Emergency Digital Information Service message, or an electronic
flyer.
This bill requires that the agency must have additional
information about the suspect or suspect's vehicle, including,
but not limited to:
a) The complete license plate number of the
suspect's vehicle.
b) A partial license plate number and the make,
style, and color of the suspect's vehicle.
c) The identity of the suspect.
In cases where a complete license plate number of the suspect's
vehicle or the identity of the suspect is known, it may not be
necessary to deploy emergency alert services given that law
enforcement agencies already have the means to identify the
suspect through available criminal and non-criminal databases.
1.Comparing Yellow Alerts with Existing Emergency Alert Systems
Under existing law, CHP is authorized to initiate an emergency
alert response under the following circumstances:
1) Amber Alerts may be issued when a law enforcement agency
determines that child, 17 years of age or younger, or an
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individual with a proven mental or physical disability has
been abducted and is in imminent danger, as specified.
2) Silver Alerts may be issued if a law enforcement agency
determines that a person 65 years or older, reported
missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances, may
be in potential danger, as specified.
3) Blue Alerts may be issued when a law enforcement officer
is a victim of a violent crime and the suspect, who has
fled the scene of the offense, is determined by a law
enforcement agency to be an imminent threat to the public
or other law enforcement personnel, as specified.
For cases in which current law authorizes an emergency alert,
the primary imperative is to prevent imminent danger. For an
Amber Alert to be issued, a law enforcement agency must first
assess if the victim is "in imminent danger of serious bodily
injury or death" and whether the widespread dissemination of
pertinent information to the public would assist in the safe
recovery of the victim. Similarly, a Silver Alert can only be
issued when a person 65 years of age or older is reported
missing and determined by the law enforcement agency to be in
potential danger due to age or a variety of other factors.
Additionally, an offending suspect needs to be considered an
imminent threat to the public or other law enforcement personnel
before a Blue Alert can be initiated after a violent attack on a
law enforcement officer. The Committee may wish to discuss the
extent to which the Yellow Alert system would be consistent with
the established purposes and uses of emergency alerts.
Given the inherent nature of hit and run incidents, information
about the suspect or the suspect's vehicle may be unavailable or
unverifiable. In a missing person's case, once a law
enforcement agency decides to request an Amber or Silver Alert,
the agency often has access to an accurate description of the
missing person, if not a photograph or digital image, that
confers a high degree of certainty in the information being
disseminated to the public about the missing person. In
essence, it is easier to identify and verify the person for whom
the public should be on alert. For
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hit and run incidents, the investigating law enforcement agency
may have limited information available that cannot be verified.
The Committee may wish to discuss if the safeguards provided in
this bill would adequately prevent the misidentification of a
suspect.
WOULD THE USE OF YELLOW ALERTS BE ALIGNED WITH THE PURPOSE OF
EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEMS?
WHAT POSSIBLE SAFEGUARDS PREVENT THE MISIDENTIFICATION OF A
SUSPECT?
1.Colorado: The Medina Alert
On March 25, 2014, Colorado passed legislation, HB 14-1191,
authorizing an emergency alert system for hit and run incidents
similar to AB 47, called the Medina Alert. According to an
article from the Denver Post:
Jose Medina was killed in a hit-and-run crash two
years ago when he was struck by an SUV on Lincoln
Street on the first day of his job as a valet at a
Denver nightclub.
Two years ago, the 21-year-old Medina was on the
first day of his job as a valet, parking cars outside
a Denver nightclub, when he was struck and killed by
a sport utility vehicle that sped away.
That night, a taxi driver who saw the incident
followed the fleeing vehicle, wrote down the
license-plate number and helped provide authorities
with enough information that everyone involved was
eventually arrested.
A year later, the Medina Alert was created. The
notification goes to all patrol cars, cabdrivers,
news outlets, truck drivers and pedicab operators. A
message is displayed on traffic reader boards and on
Crime Stoppers'Twitter and Facebook accounts.
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"When we have a collision and we need to get the
information out to the public who act as our eyes and
ears ... the Medina Alert is one of the many tools,"
said Denver police Sgt. Michael Farr, who works in
the traffic-investigations unit. "Unlike using Crime
Stoppers and the media, the advantage is that it is
tied to the Colorado Department of Transportation's
overhead message boards." <2>
In 2012, Denver created and implemented the protocol for the
Medina Alert. Since then, 17 cases have prompted a Medina Alert,
and 13 have been solved. However, it remains unclear how
instrumental the Medina Alert was in solving the 13 cases. For
example, in the incident that inspired the creation of the
Medina Alert, described above, a witness was able to provide law
enforcement with a license plate number, which aided in the
apprehension of suspects. It is questionable how helpful a
Medina Alert would have been given that accurate and full
information was captured in the critical moments immediately
following the hit and run incident. The same concern exists
when the identity of a suspect is known. Although hit and run
incidents are tragic and unjust, the capacity of the Yellow
Alert to truly assist in solving these cases may be limited by
the frequent lack of accurate and available information about
the suspect during such momentary, but potentially fatal,
crimes.
2.Author's Proposed Amendment
The author intends to amend the bill in Committee to add a
clarification regarding the inclusion of changeable message
signs (CMS) in the Yellow Alert system.
3.Suggested Amendment
Current statutes authorizing the Amber, Silver, and Blue alerts
---------------------------
<2> See
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25417132/hickenlooper-signs-med
ina-alert-bill-marking-milestone-mother.
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generally require that the investigating law enforcement agency
determine if disseminating information to the public could
assist in the safe recovery of the missing person, avert further
harm, or accelerate the apprehension of the suspect. As
previously mentioned, in cases where a full license plate number
or the identity of the suspect is available, an emergency
response may not be necessary as law enforcement may apprehend
the suspect through means that are already available. To bring
conformity to AB 47 and current statute, the author may wish to
consider an amendment to explicitly clarify that an alert can
only be issued when public dissemination of available
information may accelerate or assist in the apprehension of the
suspect.
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