BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1209
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 12, 2009
Counsel: Kimberly A. Horiuchi
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Jose Solorio, Chair
AB 1209 (Hagman) - As Introduced: February 27, 2009
SUMMARY : Authorizes a peace officer to require an arrestee to
provide use of his or her thumbs or fingers or both in order to
capture these images with a mobile fingerprint device.
Specifically, this bill :
1)States when a mobile fingerprint device is used to capture
images of the arrestee's thumb or finger prints or both, a
person contesting a charge, as specified, may choose to allow
an officer to capture images of his or her thumb or finger
prints or both for comparison with the images of the thumb or
fingerprints of the arrestee.
2)Authorizes as an alternative to booking and releasing an
arrestee, as specified, prior to release, an officer may
instead require the arrestee provide use of his or her thumb
or fingers or both in order to capture images of the
arrestee's thumb or finger prints or both with a mobile
fingerprint device.
3)Requires an officer provide the arrestee with verification, as
specified, by making entry on the citation that images of the
arrestee's thumb or finger prints or both were captured with a
mobile finger print device.
4)Mandates that upon the arrestee's appearance in court, the
magistrate, judge, or court, shall, before the proceeding
begins, order the defendant to provide verification that
images of his or her thumb or fingerprints were captured by
the arresting officer with a mobile fingerprint device.
5)States if the defendant provides the verification, the
magistrate, judge, or court shall order the defendant to be
fingerprinted immediately by the court. If the defendant
cannot produce the verification, the magistrate, judge or
court shall require that the defendant be booked and
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fingerprinted by the arresting agency before the next court
appearance, and that the defendant provide the verification at
the next court appearance unless both parties stipulate that
booking or fingerprinting is not necessary.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States that except as otherwise provided by law, in any case
in which a person is arrested for an offense declared to be an
infraction, the person may be released according to the
procedures set forth by this chapter for the release of
persons arrested for an offense declared to be a misdemeanor.
In all cases, except as specified in provisions of the Vehicle
Code, in which a person is arrested for an infraction, a peace
officer shall only require the arrestee to present his or her
driver's license or other satisfactory evidence of his or her
identity for examination and to sign a written promise to
appear contained in a notice to appear. If the arrestee does
not have a driver's license or other satisfactory evidence of
identity in his or her possession, the officer may require the
arrestee to place a right thumbprint, or a left thumbprint or
fingerprint if the person has a missing or disfigured right
thumb, on the notice to appear. Except for law enforcement
purposes relating to the identity of the arrestee, no person
or entity may sell, give away, allow the distribution of,
include in a database, or create a database with, this print.
Only if the arrestee refuses to sign a written promise, has no
satisfactory identification, or refuses to provide a
thumbprint or fingerprint, may the arrestee be taken into
custody. [Penal Code Section 853.5(a).]
2)Provides that a person contesting a charge by claiming under
penalty of perjury not to be the person issued the notice to
appear may choose to submit a right thumbprint, or a left
thumbprint if the person has a missing or disfigured right
thumb, to the issuing court through his or her local law
enforcement agency for comparison with the one placed on the
notice to appear. A local law enforcement agency providing
this service may charge the requester no more than the actual
costs. The issuing court may refer the thumbprint submitted
and the notice to appear to the prosecuting attorney for
comparison of the thumbprints. When there is no thumbprint or
fingerprint on the notice to appear, or when the comparison of
thumbprints is inconclusive, the court shall refer the notice
to appear or copy thereof back to the issuing agency for
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further investigation, unless the court finds that referral is
not in the interest of justice. [Penal Code Section
853.5(b).]
3)States in any case in which a person is arrested for an
offense declared to be a misdemeanor, including a violation of
any city or county ordinance, and does not demand to be taken
before a magistrate, that person shall, instead of being taken
before a magistrate, be released according to the procedures,
as specified. If the person is released, the officer or his
or her superior shall prepare in duplicate a written notice to
appear in court, containing the name and address of the
person, the offense charged, and the time when, and place
where, the person shall appear in court. If, pursuant to
existing law, the person is not released prior to being booked
and the officer in charge of the booking or his or her
superior determines that the person should be released, the
officer or his or her superior shall prepare a written notice
to appear in a court. [Penal Code Section 853.6(a).]
4)Provides that in any case in which a person is arrested for a
misdemeanor violation of a protective court order involving
domestic violence, as defined in existing law, or arrested
pursuant to a policy, as specified, the person shall be taken
before a magistrate instead of being released according to the
procedures set forth in this chapter, unless the arresting
officer determines that there is not a reasonable likelihood
that the offense will continue or resume or that the safety of
persons or property would be imminently endangered by release
of the person arrested. Prior to adopting these provisions,
each city, county, or city and county shall develop a protocol
to assist officers to determine when arrest and release is
appropriate, rather than taking the arrested person before a
magistrate. The county shall establish a committee to develop
the protocol, consisting of, at a minimum, the police chief or
county sheriff within the jurisdiction, the district attorney,
county counsel, city attorney, representatives from domestic
violence shelters, domestic violence councils, and other
relevant community agencies. Nothing in this provision shall
be construed to affect a defendant's ability to be released on
bail or on his or her own recognizance. [Penal Code Section
853.6(b).]
FISCAL EFFECT : None
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COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Under current
law, when a person is arrested for an infraction or
misdemeanor, law enforcement officers are required to verify a
person's identification (ID) through a driver's license or
other satisfactory evidence for citation purposes.
Additionally, when arrestees are cited and released for
certain offenses, they are required to appear a later date for
booking and fingerprinting. So long as the arresting officer
determines that the arrestee will not continue to endanger the
public, an arrestee, with proper identification, is cited,
released, and agrees to appear in court at a later date for
booking and fingerprinting, instead of being transported to a
facility to be booked. When an arrestee does not have proper
ID, the arrestee provides fingerprints on the citation, agrees
to appear in Court and is then released. The arrestee must
arrange to provide preliminary fingerprints before Court
arraignment.
"Only when an arrestee fails to have proper ID, refuses to sign
a promise to appear in court and to provide fingerprints may
the arrestee be taken into custody. When an arrestee does not
provide proper initial ID or fingerprints, there is no quick
and accurate way of verifying the information. Rather, an
officer must transport the individual to a police station
where fingerprints are submitted on a LiveScan machine in
order to ensure their identity. While this data is speedy and
precise, the process still requires the officer to be pulled
away from patrolling the streets. In addition, when an
arrestee provides fingerprints on their citation and agrees to
provide more prints at a later date before arraignment, many
fail to appear in Court, preventing the Court and law
enforcement from having adequate prints for identification and
warrants. In a time when more local budgets are being cut,
it's important that we try to keep law enforcement on the
street, instead of behind desks.
"AB 1209 will provide law enforcement and prosecutors a better
tool to obtain more accurate information while saving time.
AB 1209 will likely help to reduce failures-to-appear, and
provide the Court with enough identification of individuals
who fail to appear for the purpose of authorizing arrest
warrants. In addition, AB 1209 will help law enforcement
track outstanding warrants, and identify individuals who need
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to provide DNA for Proposition 69 compliance in the field. AB
1209 will also save the arrestee time from scheduling and
transporting to an arresting agency just to be booked. AB
1209 does not change current law that prohibits the release of
fingerprint information to non-authorized sources. AB 1209
simply provides law enforcement the option to use accurate
technology to save time and fight crime."
2)LiveScan Fingerprinting : According to the Department of
Justice (DOJ), LiveScan fingerprinting may be used when
submitting background checks and are currently available in
several cities.
"LiveScan is inkless electronic fingerprinting. The
fingerprints are electronically transmitted to DOJ for
completion of a criminal record check. The Live Scan
technology replaces the process of recording an individual's
fingerprint patterns through a rolling process using ink.
Digitizing the fingerprint minutiae (the characteristics that
make fingerprints unique) enables the electronic transfer of
the fingerprint image data in combination with personal
descriptor information to central computers at the DOJ in a
matter of seconds, instead of the days required to send hard
copy fingerprint cards through the mail. Additionally, the
DOJ will coordinate other processing resulting from the
automated submission of fingerprints, including forwarding the
fingerprints to the FBI (if required)". [] LiveScan is generally available
for law enforcement purposes at the station.
3)Arguments in Support : According to the Attorney General , "AB
1209 would update the California Penal Code to address the use
of Mobile ID devices for field bookings. These devices
quickly and accurately record and transmit fingerprint data
from the field. Authorization to use Mobile ID devices for
field booking would increase both public and officer safety
and convenience. The Mobile ID devices would provide the
officer with positive identification of an individual based on
fingerprints. This is important because, according to
preliminary indications, 10% of individuals fingerprinted
using a Mobile ID device gave false information to an officer.
This percentage is likely much higher when a Mobile
fingerprint device is not used.
"Many subjects who are cited and released fail to appear in
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court. Field booking of individuals would provide the booking
officer with immediate positive identification of individuals
subject to arrest, and DOJ with positive identification would
result in fewer failures to appear, and would provide the
courts with certain identification of individuals who have
failed to appear for the purpose of authorizing arrest
warrants. This immediate and positive identification would
also avoid the use of valuable peace officer patrol time
required to take a subject to a station or jail or positive
identification by fingerprinting. The use of Mobile ID
devices would save the arrestee considerable time as well.
Traditionally, the arrestee would have to take time from his
or her schedule and find transportation to the arresting
agency to be booked. Mobile ID devices would provide the
individual an alternative to this situation. The individual
would have the less intrusive option to be partially printed
immediately and fully printed when they appear later in
court."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
Attorney General of California
Peace Officer's Research Association of
California
Riverside County Sheriffs' Association
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Horiuchi / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744