03/02/1994 01:40 PM Senate JUD

  CHAIRMAN ROBIN TAYLOR  called the Judiciary Committee meeting to             
 order at 1:40 p.m.  He introduced  SB 321  (FINGERPRINTING AND CRIME     E    
 RECORDS) as the first order of business before the committee.                 
                                                                               
 SENATOR HALFORD explained that SB 321 establishes a uniform system            
 to deal with fingerprinting and it adopts the Violent Crimes                  
 Apprehension Program (VICAP).  The VICAP program has information on           
 unsolved crimes which should help with major serial type cases.               
 VICAP identifies the fingerprint and the crime print in order to              
 prosecute crimes more effectively.  He noted his amendment which              
 was a clarification of the definition of information.  The                    
 amendment by the Department of Public Safety adds violent sexual              
 assaults to the VICAP provisions.  Senator Halford offered those              
 amendments for the committee's review.                                        
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN TAYLOR held the two amendments until the conclusion of the           
 testimony so that the committee could review them.                            
                                                                               
 STEVE BRANCHFLOWER, Assistant District Attorney in the Department             
 of Law, explained that he assists police officers with their cases            
 in order to make better cases.  He informed the committee of the              
 increase in murders in the last few years, especially in Anchorage.           
 The conspiracy bill and the juvenile waiver bill would be a great             
 help in facing this increase in murders.  He pointed out that the             
 legislature could also help prosecutors and police officers through           
 the Uniform Homicide Reporting section of SB 321.  This amendment             
 would guarantee that police across the state would work with VICAP            
 administrators in the prompt sharing of important information;                
 receiving information in a timely manner is very important.  He               
 encouraged the committee to view the video prepared by Greg Cooper.           
 The video features a serial killer who was arrested and prosecuted            
 in Juneau.                                                                    
                                                                               
 Mr. Branchflower described how VICAP evolved.  Before VICAP, there            
 was no national information clearinghouse to compare information.             
 He stated that VICAP, a national computer data information center,            
 collects and analyzes reports of violent crimes, specifically                 
 murder.  He explained that VICAP deals with three categories of               
 homicides:                                                                    
 (1) solved or unsolved homicides which seem to be random in nature,           
 sexually oriented, or those appearing not to have a motive, part of           
 a series of homicides;                                                        
 (2) missing persons suspected of being part of a series of                    
 homicides; and                                                                
 (3) dead bodies suspected of being victims of homicide.                       
                                                                               
 Number 145                                                                    
                                                                               
 A police officer would fill out a VICAP questionnaire detailing all           
 phases of the crime from victimology to physical evidence.  This              
 information is programmed into the VICAP computer and then a search           
 of the database occurs in order to uncover similar patterns of                
 homicide.  Mr. Branchflower noted that if similarities are found,             
 VICAP assists the local law enforcement agencies in coordinating              
 investigations.  He said that this had been successfully used in              
 many Anchorage cases.  He informed the committee that VICAP is                
 located in the Behavioral Sciences Unit of the FBI which allows               
 access to expertise in various areas.  VICAP provides law                     
 enforcement with an important tool, especially helpful for remote             
 states like Alaska.                                                           
                                                                               
 Mr. Branchflower recognized that the VICAP database depends upon              
 reliable information.  Passage of SB 321 would specify that law               
 enforcement officers and prosecutors in Alaska want to participate            
 nationally.  He observed that accurate reporting would increase the           
 chances of catching a murderer before he does more harm.  He                  
 applauded the Department of Public Safety's amendment adding that             
 violent sexual assaults must also be reported.  He pointed out that           
 four other states have passed similar legislation.  He expressed no           
 surprise at the zero fiscal note, many Alaskan officers are doing             
 this on a voluntary basis now.  SB 321 is needed.  He believed that           
 identifying arrested convicts with fingerprints is necessary to               
 notify prosecutors and officers of the type of individual before              
 them, and more importantly, to assist law enforcement protection.             
 Passage of SB 321 would ensure that the data base would                       
 systematically and continuously input fingerprints.  He indicated             
 a slight increase in the burden on the Department of Corrections              
 (DOC), but the fingerprint process should become self-sufficient.             
                                                                               
                                                                               
 Number 244                                                                    
                                                                               
 SENATOR LITTLE asked if the entire state currently has the                    
 equipment and capability to do fingerprinting.  STEVE BRANCHFLOWER            
 deferred to DOC.  Mr. Branchflower stated that the equipment would            
 not be a large investment and would probably already be present in            
 most police offices.                                                          
                                                                               
 GREG COOPER, VICAP Program Manager, clarified that VICAP's mission            
 is to facilitate the cooperation, communication, and coordination             
 between law enforcement agencies around the country and support               
 their efforts to investigate, identify, track, apprehend, and                 
 prosecute the targeted violent serial killer.  The VICAP national             
 data clearinghouse is involved in case matching, multi-agency                 
 investigative task forces and major case management consultation.             
 VICAP provides research, publication, training, and investigative             
 resources in order to have efficient and effective investigations             
 regarding a serial killer.                                                    
                                                                               
 From a policy and administrative perspective, Mr. Cooper supported            
 any effort to increase VICAP's admissions; the success of the case            
 matching capability is contingent upon the amount and accuracy of             
 these unsolved homicides.  He informed the committee that                     
 currently, the VICAP database contains over 8,000 cases which seems           
 small in comparison to the 22,000 homicides per year.                         
 Approximately 69 percent of those homicides are unsolved.  He                 
 explained that much of the reason for the decrease in the ability             
 to solve homicides was related to the serial killer phenomena.  A             
 serial killer often travels over county and state jurisdictions               
 which emphasizes law enforcement's difficulty in communicating with           
 each other.  VICAP attempts to coordinate law enforcement                     
 organizations in an interdependent manner.  In conclusion, he                 
 applauded the efforts to increase VICAP admissions.                           
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN TAYLOR thanked Mr. Cooper for his testimony.  He asked if            
 there were any questions from the committee.                                  
                                                                               
 SENATOR DONLEY moved to adopt Senator Halford's amendment,                    
 Amendment 1.                                                                  
                                                                               
 SENATOR LITTLE asked if Amendment 1 would require that                        
 fingerprinting be done at a correctional facility.  SENATOR HALFORD           
 clarified that Amendment 1 replaces (d) with more specific                    
 language.                                                                     
                                                                               
 Hearing no objection, Amendment 1 was adopted.                                
                                                                               
 SENATOR DONLEY moved to adopt the Department of Public Safety's               
 amendment, Amendment 2.  CHAIRMAN TAYLOR pointed out that the                 
 insert for page 5, line 1 did not specify exactly where to insert             
 the new language.  SENATOR DONLEY moved to adopt Amendment 2 with             
 drafting corrections.  The insert was said to be placed on page 5,            
 line 1, after "committed."  Hearing no objections, Amendment 2 was            
 adopted.                                                                      
                                                                               
 SENATOR HALFORD moved that the adopted amendments be incorporated             
 into a Judiciary CS and that CSSB 321(JUD) be moved out of                    
 committee with individual recommendations.  Hearing no objections,            
 it was so ordered.