General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6663
January Session, 2013 LCO No. 4566
*04566_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 6663
January Session, 2013
LCO No. 4566
*04566_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING COMPLAINTS ALLEGING MISCONDUCT BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY PERSONNEL.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2013) (a) Each law enforcement agency shall establish a written policy concerning the acceptance and processing of a complaint from a member of the public which alleges misconduct committed by the agency's law enforcement personnel. Upon the establishment and implementation of the policy, each law enforcement agency shall create a form that may be used to initiate the investigation of a complaint of alleged misconduct committed by the agency's law enforcement personnel. Each law enforcement agency shall make its policy and complaint form available to the public and shall ensure that (1) copies of the policy and complaint form are available at the town hall or another municipal building located within the municipality served by the law enforcement agency, other than a municipal building in which the law enforcement agency is located, and (2) the policy and complaint form are available on the law enforcement agency's web site or the web site of a municipality served by the law enforcement agency. For purposes of this section, "law enforcement agency" means the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection or any municipal police department.
(b) The policy established and implemented pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall minimally require a law enforcement agency to: (1) Train all sworn officers and civilian employees that such officers and employees are required to accept all complaints of alleged misconduct by the agency's law enforcement personnel, (2) accept complaints from all members of the public, including complaints which are anonymously made or made by a complainant on behalf of another person, (3) accept and process complaints received in person, by telephone, regular mail or electronic mail, (4) refrain from requiring sworn statements or threatening criminal or civil liability for filing a complaint, (5) ensure that there are no time limits or deadlines associated with the filing of a complaint, (6) investigate all complaints, (7) document the receipt of any complaint and its disposition, and (8) when the identity of the complainant is known, notify the complainant of the disposition of the complaint.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2013 New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2013
New section
Statement of Purpose:
To require law enforcement agencies to establish written policies governing the receipt of complaints from members of the public alleging misconduct committed by law enforcement agency personnel.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]