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August 2, 2007
Public safety is an important function of government. This issue of the Raleigh Report summarizes actions the General Assembly took this year to increase public safety.
Thank you for allowing me to send this information and your support. As always, feel free to contact me if I can be of assistance.
Domestic Violence
This session, to strengthen we domestic violence laws, we passed laws enacting the following recommendations from the Joint Legislative Committee on Domestic Violence: 1) provide secure areas in courthouses for victims waiting for their trials to be heard, 2) make it a felony to violate a protective order related to a domestic violence case while in possession of a deadly weapon, 3) add stalking to the list of reasons a magistrate can hold a suspected abuser in jail, and 4) make it easier for a victim of domestic violence, sexual offense, or stalking to change their name by exempting them from the 10-day waiting period and exempting this action from the public record.
We also increased funding for rape and crisis assault services by appropriating $894,000 for community-based programs for domestic violence victims.
Gang and Gang Violence Prevention
Keeping children and youth in school is crucial to reducing the number involved in gangs. Along with a drop out prevention initiative, we increased the criminal penalties for gang activity and appropriated $4.8 million to government and community agencies for prevention, intervention, and rehabilitation programs in our schools and communities.
Protecting Our Children
Our budget includes almost $330,000 for two agents who will work full-time investigating child exploitation and sexual predator cases.
The General Assembly ratified and Gov. Easley signed a law that will provide better monitoring of violent sex offenders. The bill (HB 29) requires recidivist and violent sex offenders to enroll in a GPS monitoring system for life. If a sex offender does not fall into one of these categories, the Department of Correction will conduct a risk assessment to determine if he or she should enroll in the monitoring program.
Safer Roads
Gov. Easley signed SB 925 that will stop drivers speeding at more than 25 mph over the posted speed limit from claiming that their speedometer was broken. These speeders will also be ineligible for a disposition of prayer for judgment continued. A prayer for judgment continued means the person has admitted guilt, but no sentence is imposed unless the commit a second offense.
A new law allows convicted drunken drivers to wear alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelets instead of serving jail time. The bracelets cost $12 a day, some of which will be paid by the convicted drivers. Counties can pick up the cost for low-income offenders since the bracelets would keep drunken drivers off the road and be less expensive than jail.
Mortgage Fraud
This session we ratified and Gov. Easley signed a bill that defines and punishes residential mortgage fraud in North Carolina. The bill (HB 817) makes it a felony to knowingly misrepresent or exclude information in the mortgage lending process even if the victim is not harmed financially. Offenders can be sentenced to up to 16 months if they have no prior record and up to 31 months if they are linked to at least five cases of fraud with no prior record.
Safer Health Care Facilities
This session we passed a law that will increase penalties for harming patients in health care facilities. The bill (HB 554) makes it a felony to cause bodily injury to a patient or resident of a health care or residential care facility.
Fire-Safe Cigarettes
Cigarettes that burn out safely when left unattended are now required in North Carolina under a new law (HB 1785). Similar legislation has been approved in more than a dozen states and Canada. The Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes says cigarettes are the leading reason for fire deaths in the United States, causing up to 900 deaths a year. The state Division of Public Health blames cigarettes and similar smoking material for 700,500 residential fires in the state in 2005. Those fires resulted in 100 deaths and 800 injuries.
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