Florida Senate - 2016                                     SB 360
       
       
        
       By Senator Clemens
       
       
       
       
       
       27-00453-16                                            2016360__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to victim assistance; amending s.
    3         960.001, F.S.; requiring a law enforcement agency to
    4         immediately notify a victim if his or her property is
    5         determined to be in the possession of a pawnbroker;
    6         requiring the law enforcement agency to provide
    7         specified information to the victim; providing an
    8         effective date.
    9          
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Paragraph (h) of subsection (1) of section
   13  960.001, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   14         960.001 Guidelines for fair treatment of victims and
   15  witnesses in the criminal justice and juvenile justice systems.—
   16         (1) The Department of Legal Affairs, the state attorneys,
   17  the Department of Corrections, the Department of Juvenile
   18  Justice, the Florida Commission on Offender Review, the State
   19  Courts Administrator and circuit court administrators, the
   20  Department of Law Enforcement, and every sheriff’s department,
   21  police department, or other law enforcement agency as defined in
   22  s. 943.10(4) shall develop and implement guidelines for the use
   23  of their respective agencies, which guidelines are consistent
   24  with the purposes of this act and s. 16(b), Art. I of the State
   25  Constitution and are designed to implement s. 16(b), Art. I of
   26  the State Constitution and to achieve the following objectives:
   27         (h) Return of property to victim.—
   28         1. A law enforcement agency agencies and the state attorney
   29  shall promptly return a victim’s property held for evidentiary
   30  purposes unless there is a compelling law enforcement reason for
   31  retaining it. The trial or juvenile court exercising
   32  jurisdiction over the criminal or juvenile proceeding may enter
   33  appropriate orders to implement this subsection, including
   34  allowing photographs of the victim’s property to be used as
   35  evidence at the criminal trial or the juvenile proceeding in
   36  place of the victim’s property if no related substantial
   37  evidentiary issue related thereto is in dispute.
   38         2. A law enforcement agency shall immediately notify the
   39  victim if the victim’s property is determined to be in the
   40  possession of a pawnbroker. The agency shall give the victim the
   41  name and location of the pawnshop and instructions outlining the
   42  process for a replevin action and the procedures specified in s.
   43  539.001(15) for obtaining possession of the property.
   44         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.