Senate Bill sb1410c1

    Florida Senate - 2004                           CS for SB 1410

    By the Committee on Comprehensive Planning; and Senators
    Miller, Aronberg, Crist, Dawson, Siplin, Bennett, Campbell,
    Margolis, Saunders, Bullard, Lawson and Wilson



    316-2174-04

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to neighborhood crime watch

  3         programs; authorizing a county sheriff or

  4         municipal police department to establish

  5         neighborhood crime watch programs; providing

  6         for residents and business owners located

  7         within the county or municipality to

  8         participate in the program; prohibiting the

  9         harassment of a participant of a neighborhood

10         crime watch program under certain

11         circumstances; providing penalties; defining

12         the term "harass"; providing an effective date.

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

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16         Section 1.  Establishment of neighborhood crime watch

17  programs.--A county sheriff or municipal police department may

18  establish neighborhood crime watch programs within the county

19  or municipality. The participants of a neighborhood crime

20  watch program shall include, but need not be limited to,

21  residents of the county or municipality and owners of

22  businesses located within the county or municipality.

23         Section 2.  Harassment of participant of neighborhood

24  crime watch program prohibited; penalty; definition.--

25         (1)  It is a misdemeanor of the first degree,

26  punishable as provided in section 775.082 or section 775.083,

27  Florida Statutes, for a person to willfully harass a person

28  who is a member of a neighborhood crime watch program for the

29  purpose of intimidating or retaliating against that person for

30  his or her participation in a neighborhood crime watch

31  program. It is a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable

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






    Florida Senate - 2004                           CS for SB 1410
    316-2174-04




 1  as provided in section 775.082 or section 775.083, Florida

 2  Statutes, for a person to harass a member of a neighborhood

 3  crime watch program while such member is traveling to or from

 4  a neighborhood crime watch meeting, actively participating in

 5  a neighborhood crime watch meeting or activity, or actively

 6  participating in an ongoing criminal investigation, as

 7  designated by a law enforcement officer.

 8         (2)  As used in this section, the term "harass" means

 9  to engage in a course of conduct directed at a specific person

10  which causes substantial emotional distress in that person and

11  serves no legitimate purpose.

12         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.

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14          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
15                         Senate Bill 1410

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17  The committee substitute creates two separate first degree
    misdemeanor offenses relating to the harassment of a member of
18  a neighborhood crime watch program.

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