HB 313

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to dating violence; providing a short
3	title; amending s. 784.046, F.S.; revising provisions
4	relating to dating violence incidents to provide
5	requirements for investigations, notice to victims, and
6	reporting similar to those for incidents of domestic
7	violence and to apply certain immunity provisions thereto;
8	prohibiting certain willful violations of conditions of
9	pretrial release; providing penalties; amending s. 901.15,
10	F.S.; providing for warrantless arrests of persons for
11	dating violence; conforming provisions; providing an
12	effective date.
13
14	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16	Section 1.  This act may be cited as the "Barwick-Ruschak
17	Act."
18	Section 2.  Subsection (11) of section 784.046, Florida
19	Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (16), and a new subsection
20	(11) and subsections (12), (13), (14), and (15) are added to
21	that section, to read:
22	784.046  Action by victim of repeat violence, sexual
23	violence, or dating violence for protective injunction; dating
24	violence investigations, notice to victims, and reporting;
25	pretrial release violations powers and duties of court and clerk
26	of court; filing and form of petition; notice and hearing;
27	temporary injunction; issuance; statewide verification system;
28	enforcement.--
29	(11)  Any law enforcement officer who investigates an
30	alleged incident of dating violence shall assist the victim to
31	obtain medical treatment if such is required as a result of the
32	alleged incident to which the officer responds. Any law
33	enforcement officer who investigates an alleged incident of
34	dating violence shall advise the victim of such violence that
35	there is a domestic violence center from which the victim may
36	receive services. The law enforcement officer shall give the
37	victim immediate notice of the legal rights and remedies
38	available on a standard form developed and distributed by the
39	Department of Law Enforcement. As necessary, the Department of
40	Law Enforcement shall revise the Legal Rights and Remedies
41	Notice to Victims to include a general summary of this section,
42	using simple English as well as Spanish, and shall distribute
43	the notice as a model form to be used by all law enforcement
44	agencies throughout the state. The notice shall include:
45	(a)  The resource listing, including telephone number, for
46	the area domestic violence center designated by the Department
47	of Children and Family Services; and
48	(b)  A copy of the following statement: "IF YOU ARE THE
49	VICTIM OF DATING VIOLENCE, you may ask the state attorney to
50	file a criminal complaint. You also have the right to go to
51	court and file a petition requesting an injunction for
52	protection from dating violence which may include, but need not
53	be limited to, provisions that restrain the abuser from further
54	acts of abuse; direct the abuser to leave your household; and
55	prevent the abuser from entering your residence, school,
56	business, or place of employment."
57	(12)  When a law enforcement officer investigates an
58	allegation that an incident of dating violence has occurred, the
59	officer shall handle the incident pursuant to the arrest policy
60	provided in s. 901.15(7), and as developed in accordance with
61	subsections (13), (14), and (16). Whether or not an arrest is
62	made, the officer shall make a written police report that is
63	complete and clearly indicates that the alleged offense was an
64	incident of dating violence. Such report shall be given to the
65	officer's supervisor and filed with the law enforcement agency
66	in a manner that will permit data on dating violence cases to be
67	compiled. Such report must include:
68	(a)  A description of physical injuries observed, if any.
69	(b)  If a law enforcement officer decides not to make an
70	arrest or decides to arrest two or more parties, the grounds for
71	not arresting anyone or for arresting two or more parties.
72	(c)  A statement which indicates that a copy of the legal
73	rights and remedies notice was given to the victim.
74
75	Whenever possible, the law enforcement officer shall obtain a
76	written statement from the victim and witnesses concerning the
77	alleged dating violence. The officer shall submit the report to
78	the supervisor or other person to whom the employer's rules or
79	policies require reports of similar allegations of criminal
80	activity to be made. The law enforcement agency shall, without
81	charge, send a copy of the initial police report, as well as any
82	subsequent, supplemental, or related report, which excludes
83	victim or witness statements or other materials that are part of
84	an active criminal investigation and are exempt from disclosure
85	under chapter 119, to the nearest locally certified domestic
86	violence center within 24 hours after the agency's receipt of
87	the report. The report furnished to the domestic violence center
88	must include a narrative description of the dating violence
89	incident.
90	(13)  Whenever a law enforcement officer determines upon
91	probable cause that an act of dating violence has been committed
92	within the jurisdiction, the officer may arrest the person or
93	persons suspected of its commission and charge such person or
94	persons with the appropriate crime. The decision to arrest and
95	charge shall not require consent of the victim or consideration
96	of the relationship of the parties.
97	(14)(a)  When complaints are received from two or more
98	parties, the officers shall evaluate each complaint separately
99	to determine whether there is probable cause for arrest.
100	(b)  If a law enforcement officer has probable cause to
101	believe that two or more persons have committed a misdemeanor or
102	felony, or if two or more persons make complaints to the
103	officer, the officer shall try to determine who was the primary
104	aggressor. Arrest is the preferred response only with respect to
105	the primary aggressor and not the preferred response with
106	respect to a person who acts in a reasonable manner to protect
107	or defend himself or herself or another family or household
108	member from dating violence.
109	(15)  A person who willfully violates a condition of
110	pretrial release provided in s. 903.047, when the original
111	arrest was for an act of dating violence as defined in this
112	section, commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable
113	as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, and shall be held in
114	custody until his or her first appearance.
115	(16)(11)  A law enforcement officer acting in good faith
116	under this section and the officer's employing agency shall be
117	immune from all liability, civil or criminal, that might
118	otherwise be incurred or imposed by reason of the officer's or
119	agency's actions in carrying out the provisions of this section.
120	Section 3.  Subsection (7) of section 901.15, Florida
121	Statutes, is amended to read:
122	901.15  When arrest by officer without warrant is
123	lawful.--A law enforcement officer may arrest a person without a
124	warrant when:
125	(7)  There is probable cause to believe that the person has
126	committed an act of domestic violence, as defined in s. 741.28,
127	or dating violence, as provided in s. 784.046. The decision to
128	arrest shall not require consent of the victim or consideration
129	of the relationship of the parties. It is the public policy of
130	this state to strongly discourage arrest and charges of both
131	parties for domestic violence or dating violence on each other
132	and to encourage training of law enforcement and prosecutors in
133	these areas this area. A law enforcement officer who acts in
134	good faith and exercises due care in making an arrest under this
135	subsection, under s. 741.31(4) or s. 784.047, or pursuant to a
136	foreign order of protection accorded full faith and credit
137	pursuant to s. 741.315, is immune from civil liability that
138	otherwise might result by reason of his or her action.
139	Section 4.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2008.

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