House Bill 3495c1

    Florida House of Representatives - 1998             CS/HB 3495

        By the Committee on Crime & Punishment and Representatives
    Ball, Feeney and Heyman





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to guidelines for fair

  3         treatment of victims and witnesses in the

  4         justice system; amending s. 960.001, F.S.;

  5         allowing specified state agencies to

  6         participate in crime prevention and educational

  7         activities; providing for use of funds

  8         appropriated for prevention activities;

  9         providing an effective date.

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11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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13         Section 1.  Paragraph (r) is added to subsection (1) of

14  section 960.001, Florida Statutes, to read:

15         960.001  Guidelines for fair treatment of victims and

16  witnesses in the criminal justice and juvenile justice

17  systems.--

18         (1)  The Department of Legal Affairs, the state

19  attorneys, the Department of Corrections, the Department of

20  Juvenile Justice, the Parole Commission, the State Courts

21  Administrator and circuit court administrators, the Department

22  of Law Enforcement, and every sheriff's department, police

23  department, or other law enforcement agency as defined in s.

24  943.10(4) shall develop and implement guidelines for the use

25  of their respective agencies, which guidelines are consistent

26  with the purposes of this act and s. 16(b), Art. I of the

27  State Constitution and are designed to implement the

28  provisions of s. 16(b), Art. I of the State Constitution and

29  to achieve the following objectives:

30         (r)  Implementing crime prevention efforts to enhance

31  the protection of individual personal safety and property as

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998             CS/HB 3495

    189-837-98






  1  prescribed by s. 187.201(7)(b)9., State Comprehensive

  2  Plan.--By preventing future crimes that either produce new

  3  victims or further harm former victims, crime prevention

  4  efforts are an essential part of providing victims and

  5  witnesses with effective service; therefore, the agencies

  6  identified in this subsection may participate in crime

  7  prevention and educational activities. Any funds appropriated

  8  for prevention activities may be used to promote public

  9  awareness of and public participation in prevention efforts.

10         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1 of the

11  year in which enacted.

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