Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 2990 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish statutory language to define crimestoppers programs, and to provide a mechanism to compensate persons whose tip leads to the arrest and conviction of a criminal.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Honolulu City and County Police Department, CrimeStoppers Honolulu, Inc., and the Hawaii Bankers Association. The Office of Information Practices submitted comments.

Your Committee finds that citizens can be the best police force in the State, as they often are exposed to criminal activity when there are no law enforcement personnel in the vicinity. Your Committee believes that citizens should be encouraged to assist peace officers in ferreting out crime.

Along those lines, the CrimeStoppers program was created in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1976. There are now over 1,100 crimestoppers programs worldwide, and the program has proven very successful in galvanizing citizen involvement in crime detection and prevention.

In 1981, CrimeStoppers Honolulu, Inc., was founded by Richard Davi. Over the past 20 years, persons providing tips through the program have lead to several thousand arrests and the recovery of millions of dollars worth of property.

Your Committee fully supports the efforts of the CrimeStoppers program, and further supports this measure, to provide a statutory framework for defining such programs and compensating persons providing useful tips.

Your Committee amended this measure to delete the proposed amendments to chapter 92F that would have specified that certain communications related to the CrimeStoppers program are protected from disclosure. Based on testimony submitted by OIP, such an amendment is unnecessary, as existing law is sufficient to protect the confidentiality of the information provided to crimestoppers organizations.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2990, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2990, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.