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.