BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 256
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Date of Hearing: April 15, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
256 (Jones-Sawyer) - As Amended April 7, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill expands the prohibition against knowingly, willfully,
and intentionally tampering with evidence to include digital
images and video recordings. Specifically, this bill:
AB 256
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1)Specifies that the prohibition against any individual
knowingly, willfully, and intentionally tampering with
physical evidence includes tampering with a digital image or
video recording, a violation of which is a misdemeanor.
2)Specifies that the prohibition against a peace officer
knowingly, willfully and intentionally tampering with physical
evidence to charge someone with a crime or to produce as true
evidence at trial includes tampering with a digital image or
video recording, a violation of which is a felony punishable
by two, three or five years in state prison.
3)Prohibits a peace officer from knowingly, willfully, and
intentionally tampering with physical matter, a digital image,
or video recording with the specific intent that the item be
unavailable for production, a violation of which is a felony
punishable by two, three or five years in state prison.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Likely minor fiscal impact to the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR). If one peace officer were convicted per
year for tampering with digital evidence, the annual cost to
CDCR would be approximately $27,000 the first year and $54,000
the second year, $84,000 the third year.
Minor, nonreimbursable costs for incarceration, offset to a
degree by increased fine revenue, to the extent the misdemeanor
results in incarceration.
COMMENTS:
AB 256
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1)Background. Current law makes it a misdemeanor for a person
to knowingly, willfully, and intentionally alter, modify,
plant, place, manufacture, conceal, or move any physical
matter, with specific intent that the action will result in a
person being charged with a crime, or with the specific intent
that the physical matter be will be wrongfully produced as
genuine or true upon any trial, proceeding or inquiry.
Current law makes it a felony for a peace officer to
knowingly, willfully, and intentionally alter, modify, plant,
place, manufacture, conceal, or move any physical matter, with
specific intent that the action will result in a person being
charged with a crime, or with the specific intent that the
physical matter will be wrongfully produced as genuine or true
upon any trial, proceeding or inquiry.
2)Purpose. According to the author, "Increasingly, as the
public captures questionable police practices on video, it is
critical that we send a message that altering or deleting
these videos will not be tolerated."
3)Argument in Support: According to the California Attorneys
for Criminal Justice, the sponsor of this bill, "In 2000,
Assembly Bill 1993(Romero) was signed into law making it a
felony for a peace officer to knowingly alter, place, or move
physical matter with the specific intent to wrongfully charge
another person for a crime. The AB 1993 was inspired by the
Los Angeles Police Department Rampart scandal.
"However, with technological advancements, this law has not been
updated to accommodate these developments. Personal mobile
phones and other electronic devices now allow individuals to
capture images and videos. This recording capability has
AB 256
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provided the public an opportunity to lawfully monitor
instances of police misconduct."
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081