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| 1 | A bill to be entitled | ||
| 2 | An act relating to neighborhood crime watch programs; | ||
| 3 | authorizing a county sheriff or municipal police | ||
| 4 | department to establish neighborhood crime watch programs; | ||
| 5 | providing for residents and business owners located within | ||
| 6 | the county or municipality to participate in the program; | ||
| 7 | prohibiting the harassment of a participant of a | ||
| 8 | neighborhood crime watch program; providing a criminal | ||
| 9 | penalty; defining the term "harass"; providing an | ||
| 10 | effective date. | ||
| 11 | |||
| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: | ||
| 13 | |||
| 14 | Section 1. Establishment of neighborhood crime watch | ||
| 15 | programs.--A county sheriff or municipal police department may | ||
| 16 | establish neighborhood crime watch programs within the county or | ||
| 17 | municipality. The participants of a neighborhood crime watch | ||
| 18 | program shall include, but need not be limited to, residents of | ||
| 19 | the county or municipality and owners of businesses located | ||
| 20 | within the county or municipality. | ||
| 21 | Section 2. Harassment of participant of neighborhood crime | ||
| 22 | watch program prohibited; penalty; definition.-- | ||
| 23 | (1) It is a misdemeanor of the first degree for a person | ||
| 24 | to willfully harass a person who is a member of a neighborhood | ||
| 25 | crime watch group for the purpose of intimidating or retaliating | ||
| 26 | against that person for his or her participation in a | ||
| 27 | neighborhood crime watch program. It is a violation of this | ||
| 28 | section for a person to harass a member of a neighborhood crime | ||
| 29 | watch group while such member is traveling to or from a | ||
| 30 | neighborhood crime watch meeting, actively participating in a | ||
| 31 | neighborhood crime watch meeting or activity, or actively | ||
| 32 | participating in an ongoing criminal investigation, as | ||
| 33 | designated by a law enforcement officer. | ||
| 34 | (2) As used in this section, the term "harass" means to | ||
| 35 | engage in a course of conduct directed at a specific person | ||
| 36 | which causes substantial emotional distress in that person and | ||
| 37 | serves no legitimate purpose. | ||
| 38 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004. | ||