BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1712
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 11, 2000
Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Carl Washington, Chair
AB 1712 (Cunneen) - As Amended: March 15, 2000
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : Establishes within the Office of Criminal Justice
Planning (OCJP) a pilot program for the purpose of awarding
competitive grants to develop an instructional course on the
investigation and prosecution of high technology crimes.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Establishes within the OCJP a pilot program for the awarding
of grants to be administered by the OCJP to law enforcement
agencies and nonprofit organizations on a competitive basis.
2)Provides that the purpose of the grants is to develop an
instructional course for law enforcement, prosecutors, and
judges in the investigation and prosecution of high technology
crimes.
3)Appropriates $1 million from the General Fund to the OCJP in
order to implement the program, and states the Legislature
encourages the use of federal funds where available, in
conjunction with any state appropriation.
4)States that this bill shall become inoperative on July 1, 2003
and as of January 1, 2004 is repealed unless a later stature
extends these dates.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the High Technology Theft Apprehension and
Prosecution Program (HTTAPP), a public-private administrative
body under the auspices of the OCJP for the distribution of
funding to develop regional high techology crime units in
California law enforcement agencies. (Penal Code Section 13848
et seq.)
2)Provides that all funding for the HTTAPP be appropriated to
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OCJP to be disbursed by the Executive Director of OCJP in
consultation with High Technology Crime Advisory Committee.
(Penal Code Section 13848.2 (a).)
3)States that in identifying applications eligible for funding,
the OCJP shall include an emphasis on high technology crime by
selecting funding areas that will facilitate the establishment
of high technology multi-jurisdictional task forces. (Penal
Code Section 13848.2 (d).)
4)Establishes the High Technology Crime Advisory Committee for
the purpose of formulating a comprehensive strategy for
addressing high technology crime throughout the state and to
advise OCJP on the appropriate disbursement of funds to
regional task forces. (Penal Code Section 13848.6.)
5)States that the HTTAPP will remain in effect until January 1,
2003. (Penal Code Section 13848.7.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement . According to the author, "This bill
appropriates $1 million to create a grant program to be
administered by the OCJP. Law enforcement agencies and
non-profit organizations can compete for the grant. The
purpose of the grant is to develop an instructional course
which could be offered to district attorneys, law enforcement
and members of the judicial branch on the investigation,
prosecution, and other forensic issues involving high tech
crime.
"High tech crimes often involve sensitive material and
complicated issues; therefore, it would be helpful for those
that need to prosecute and solve these crimes to have an
informed approach in doing so. This bill encourages the use
of federal funds, where available, in conjunction with any
appropriation made at the state level for this type of
educational grant."
2)High Technology Theft Apprehension and Prosecution Program .
Allocation of funds for local task force programs must be made
through application of the district attorney county sheriff
and approved by the board of supervisors for each county that
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participates in a high technology theft apprehension and
prosecution unit.
Ten percent of the funds appropriated for the purposes of HTTAPP
must be used for developing and maintaining a statewide
database on high technology crime for use in developing and
distributing intelligence information to participating law
enforcement agencies.
The High Technology Crime Advisory Committee is composed of one
representative of the high technology manufacturing industry,
one representative of the wireless phone industry, one
representative of the multi-channel video industry, one
representative of the Internet industry, and one member of the
local law enforcement community for each area in which a
regional task force will be situated. The advisory committee
sets high techology crime investigation and prosecution
priorities through comprehensive written strategies.
3)High Technology Crime Advisory Committee . In the Assembly
policy committee analysis of the related bill, SB 1734
(Johnston), Chapter 555, Statutes of 1998, the California
High-Tech Task Force Committee stated, "The sophistication of
high-tech criminal organizations makes it impossible for a
single local agency to track enough data to stop them. Such a
group's stolen goods network extends over many, many
jurisdictions. By sharing information, a task force will
greatly improve the intelligence capability of each
participating agency. In addition, smaller departments
lacking sufficient expertise or equipment can benefit by the
pooling together of resources on a statewide basis."
4)Losses Caused by High Technology Crime . According to the
Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team, as reflected in the
Assembly policy committee analysis of SB 1734, "Computer
components have been called 'the dope of the 90's.' Because
of their small physical size they are literally worth their
weight in gold. It has been estimated that technology-related
crimes cost upward to $8 billion per year and that figure is
expected to reach $200 billion by the Year 2000 [fn. omitted].
In addition to hardware-related crimes, there is an
increasing problem with the theft and fraud of computer
software. Fraud perpetrated by the theft of information and
services is resulting in the loss of millions of dollars to
legitimate business. Telecommunications alone loses $1 billion
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per year to fraud."
5)Comments . This bill establishes within the OCJP a competitive
grant program to be awarded to law enforcement agencies and
non-profit organizations for the purpose of developing an
instructional course for law enforcement, prosecutors, and
judges in the investigation and prosecution of high technology
crimes.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California District Attorneys Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Opposition
None on File
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744