Requires police officers and peace officers to issue appearance tickets to individuals charged with certain offenses instead of arresting such individuals.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3201
SPONSOR: Aubry TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to requiring
police officers and peace officers to issue appearance tickets to indi-
viduals charged with certain offenses instead of arresting such individ-
uals
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this legislation is to end Unnecessary Arrests for minor
non-criminal offenses.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Article 140 of the Criminal Procedure Law, as added by Chap-
ter 996 of the Laws of 1970 is amended by adding a new section which
provides that
1. a police officer or peace officer shall not arrest a person for an
offense described in paragraph 3, unless one of the conditions in para-
graph 2 applies. Instead of making an arrest, a police officer or peace
office may issue either an appearance ticket requiring such person to
appear before a local criminal court
2. An officer shall make an arrest under the provision set forth in this
subsection
3. This section shall apply to the enforcement of the offenses listed
therein.
Section 2. provides that this act shall take effect on the thirtieth day
after it shall have become law.
JUSTIFICATION:
Since 1994, the NYPD has prioritized the enforcement of low-level
offenses, particularly in low-income communities of color. While many of
these offenses are so minor, they are not legally considered crimes,
they can still constitute grounds for arrest at the discretion of indi-
vidual police officers. Other offenses, such as sitting on the steps of
a subway platform or being in a public park after hours, are charged as
misdemeanors even though they would be considered violations in any
other setting.
"Broken Windows" policing - the idea that cracking down on small signs
of 'disorder' can prevent more serious offenses -means that every single
day, New Yorkers are needlessly brought into the criminal justice system
for everyday activities like sitting on a park bench, placing their
groceries on the seat in an empty subway car, or entering the apartment
building of a family member or friend.
In addition to being arrested, this aggressive enforcement has also
meant hundreds of thousands of summonses for New Yorkers each year - and
even jail time - for offenses as petty as littering, riding a bicycle on
the sidewalk or spitting on the street. This enforcement is also dispa-
rate depending on who you are and where you live - these trivial activ-
ities have been essentially decriminalized and go unenforced in some
neighborhoods, while other New Yorkers are criminalized and face severe
consequences for the same behavior.
Many people arrested for violations and other minor offenses in New York
City face severe and long- team consequences that neither they nor the
broader public would expect for such " crimes. "In addition to the jail
time New Yorkers have: faced challenges continuing their education
because of missed class, financial aid implications and other reasons;
missed thousands of dollars in lost wages; had their supervised release
from prison revoked, lost their place in a shelter; been fired from
their jobs; become ineligible for public housing; and had their
possessions lost or damaged by police.
No one should be arrested for a violation, Unnecessary Arrests for minor
non-criminal offenses needs to end now.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.9898 was referred to codes in 2016.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3201
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 27, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. AUBRY, SEPULVEDA, HYNDMAN, RICHARDSON -- read
once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to requiring
police officers and peace officers to issue appearance tickets to
individuals charged with certain offenses instead of arresting such
individuals
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The criminal procedure law is amended by adding a new
2 section 140.60 to read as follows:
3 § 140.60 Appearance tickets.
4 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary, a
5 police officer or peace officer shall not arrest a person for an offense
6 described in subdivision three of this section, unless one of the condi-
7 tions in subdivision two of this section applies. A police officer or
8 peace office may issue either an appearance ticket requiring such person
9 to appear before a local criminal court at a designated future time in
10 connection with an accusatory instrument to be filed against such person
11 therein or a notice of violation and hearing to commence a proceeding to
12 recover a civil penalty in an administrative proceeding before an admin-
13 istrative tribunal having jurisdiction over such proceeding in lieu of
14 making an arrest.
15 2. A police officer, acting pursuant to section 140.10 of this arti-
16 cle, or a peace officer, acting pursuant to section 140.25 of this arti-
17 cle, may arrest a person for an offense described in subdivision three
18 of this section only if:
19 (a) the officer is unable to ascertain the person's identity. An offi-
20 cer may rely on various factors relevant to establishing identity in
21 ascertaining a person's identity, including but not limited to personal
22 knowledge of such person, such person's self-identification, and photo-
23 graphic identification. There is no requirement that a person present
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08338-01-7
A. 3201 2
1 photographic identification in order to be issued an appearance ticket
2 in lieu of arrest; however, if offered by such person, an officer shall
3 accept as evidence of identity forms of identification including but not
4 limited to a valid driver's license or non-driver identification card
5 issued by the commissioner of motor vehicles, the federal government,any
6 United States territory, commonwealth or possession, the District of
7 Columbia, a state government or municipal government within the United
8 States or a provincial government of the dominion of Canada; a valid
9 passport issued by the United States government or any other country;
10 and identification card issued by the armed forces of the United States;
11 and an electronic benefit transfer card;
12 (b) the officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person has
13 committed a crime in addition to an offense described in subdivision
14 three of this section; or
15 (c) the person presents an immediate threat of bodily injury to that
16 person or another.
17 3. This section shall apply to the enforcement of the following
18 offenses:
19 (a) A petty offense, as defined in subdivision thirty-nine of section
20 1.20 of this chapter;
21 (b) An offense contained in title 21 of chapter XXI of subchapter D of
22 the state codes, rules and regulations;
23 (c) An offense contained in chapter 1 of title 56 of the New York City
24 rules and regulations; and
25 (d) A violation of section 153.09 of the New York City health code.
26 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
27 have become a law.
