Bill Text: NJ A3463 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes identity check for suspects taken into custody on warrants.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-03-08 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee [A3463 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A3463-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman RONALD S. DANCER
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes identity check for suspects taken into custody on warrants.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning identity checks and persons in custody and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. For the purposes of this section:
"County correctional facility" means any prison or other secure facility managed and operated by any county of this State in which adult offenders are incarcerated.
"Motor vehicle identification card" means a driver's license issued pursuant to R.S.39:3-10, a probationary license issued pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1950, c.127 (C.39:3-13.4), a non-driver photo identification card issued pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1980, c.47 (C.39:3-29.3), or any similar card issued by another state or the District of Columbia for purposes of identification or permitting its holder to operate a motor vehicle.
"Municipal jail" means a municipal jail, lockup, police station, or other place maintained by a municipality for the detention of suspects or offenders.
"State correctional facility" means a State prison or other penal institution or a State-contracted half-way house.
b. Within 12 hours of arrest or detainment on a warrant, an identity check shall be conducted on a person held in custody in a State correctional facility, county correctional facility, or municipal jail to ensure that the identity of the person being held matches the identity of the person for whom the warrant was issued.
c. An identity check shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) a review of the person's identifying documentation including a motor vehicle identification card, a passport, a credit card, a debit card, a military identification card, a social security card, or any other documentation issued by a federal, State, or local government entity, or a private entity which may be used to identify the person;
(2) a review of any photograph of the person for whom the warrant was issued, along with a comparison to the physical appearance of the person taken into custody and any photographs accompanying the person's identifying documentation; and
(3) the issuance of a statement that the reviews required pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection have been performed and, to the greatest extent practicable, the identity of the person in custody has been determined to match the person for whom the warrant was issued.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that within
12 hours of arrest or detainment on
a warrant, an identity check is required to be conducted on a person held in
custody in a State correctional facility, county correctional facility, or
municipal jail to ensure that the identity of the person being held matches the
identity of the person for whom the warrant was issued.
Under the bill, an identity check is required to include, but is not limited to:
(1) a review of the person's identifying documentation including a motor vehicle identification card, a passport, a credit card, a debit card, a military identification card, a social security card, or any other documentation issued by a federal, State, or local government entity, or a private entity which may be used to identify the person;
(2) a review of any photograph of the person for whom the warrant was issued, along with a comparison to the physical appearance of the person taken into custody and any photographs accompanying the person's identifying documentation; and
(3) issuance of a statement that the reviews required pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection have been performed and, to the greatest extent practicable, the identity of the person in custody has been determined to match the person for whom the warrant was issued.
In October 2019, an innocent Jackson Township resident was jailed as a result of mistaken identity. In that case, the resident had a similar name to a defendant named in a warrant, and the error and the resident's innocence were not confirmed by authorities for three days. It is the sponsor's intent that the provisions of the bill would assist authorities in avoiding this type of error in the future.
