| 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 criminal |
| 9 | penalties; providing definitions; providing an effective |
| 10 | date. |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
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| 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 shall be a misdemeanor of the first degree, |
| 24 | punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, for any |
| 25 | person to willfully harass, threaten, or intimidate an |
| 26 | identifiable member of a neighborhood crime watch program while |
| 27 | such member is engaged in, or traveling to or from, an organized |
| 28 | neighborhood crime watch program activity or a member who is |
| 29 | participating in an ongoing criminal investigation, as |
| 30 | designated by a law enforcement officer. |
| 31 | (2) As used in this section, the term: |
| 32 | (a) "Harass" means to engage in a course of conduct |
| 33 | directed at a specific person which causes substantial emotional |
| 34 | distress in that person and serves no legitimate purpose. |
| 35 | (b) "Organized neighborhood crime watch program activity" |
| 36 | means any prearranged event, meeting, or other scheduled |
| 37 | activity, or neighborhood patrol, conducted by or at the |
| 38 | direction of a neighborhood crime watch program or the program's |
| 39 | authorized designee. |
| 40 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004. |