SB 26-FALSE INFORMATION/REPORT TO POLICE MR. MIKE PAULEY, staff to Senator Loren Leman, presented SB 26. SB 26 creates a new crime of giving false information to a police officer. Under current law, a person is guilty of a class A misdemeanor for giving false information to a police officer with the intent of implicating another in a crime. SB 26 would make it a class A misdemeanor to give false identity information to a police officer while under arrest or detention for a misdemeanor offense. Any false identity information may hinder justice regardless of intent. MR. PAULEY explained SB 26 also creates a class C felony for providing false identity information while under arrest or detention for a felony offense. MR. PAULEY said the bill emphasizes the gravity of providing false identity or information to a peace officer in an attempt to avoid prosecution. The severity of this crime is tantamount to physical escape and should be punished accordingly, with more severe punishment for more severe offenses. He also claimed false information can derail investigations to the point they are stale and cannot move forward. MR. PAULEY concluded by saying SB 26 is supported by the Anchorage Peace Officers Association, the Victims for Justice and the Alaska Association of Chiefs of Police. Number 050 SENATOR HALFORD asked if the bill applies only to a person who is under arrest or detention or being served a warrant. MR. PAULEY agreed it does. SENATOR HALFORD asked if the bill also covers people being issued a citation. MR. PAULEY replied it does, but that would be a misdemeanor. SENATOR HALFORD clarified that until the point a person is issued a citation, there is no violation. MR. PAULEY responded that he believed that was correct, but would depend on the interpretation of "under arrest or detention." SENATOR HALFORD noted this bill includes making a false report to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) concerning the condition of a dam or reservoir. MR. PAULEY claimed this was in existing statute and he was unfamiliar with the history of this. SENATOR HALFORD commented, "It was a very foolish bill we passed about a decade ago." Number 114 SENATOR DONLEY claimed "We have other laws to cover that particular issue . . . "[false reports to DNR]. SENATOR DONLEY asked if it is a misdemeanor to give false identity information to a police officer conducting an investigation, without the intent to implicate another. He said this seems to leave a gap; no crime is committed unless a person gives false information with the intent of implicating another, or while under arrest or detention, or being issued a citation. SENATOR HALFORD explained if a person gives false identity information when a police officer merely asks, "Who are you?", there is no crime, as the person is not under arrest or detention. He agreed there seems to be a gap. SENATOR DONLEY suggested there could be public policy reasons why the sponsor does not want to include this. MR. PAULEY replied the sponsor would not be likely to object to broadening the scope of the bill. Number 196 SENATOR ELLIS asked if the sponsor actually believes providing false information is as serious a crime as physically eluding arrest. He also asked if MR. PAULEY could provide examples of cases that had gone stale due to false information. MR. PAULEY did not have examples of stale cases, but said this concern had been conveyed to him by the Anchorage Police Department. He said he was comparing physical escape with false information in an analogy and the point is that deception is being used to elude arrest and the severity of the penalty should correlate with the severity of the offense. SENATOR ELLIS said he was surprised MR. PAULEY would equate the two, as physical escape is an objective situation and a report of false information seems more subjective. SENATOR HALFORD said the false information given must be with the intent to implicate another or regarding identity or to report a false alarm. He asked if a correctional officer is considered a peace officer and how this bill might apply to people who are incarcerated. MS. MARGOT KNUTH, representing the Department of Corrections, remarked the Department of Law might be better suited to answer questions about whether or not correctional officers fall under the definitions of SB 26. SENATOR HALFORD suggested "blaming it on somebody else" is probably a regular occurrence in prison. MS. KNUTH replied the Department has disciplinary procedures to deal with this. Number 282 MS. ANNE CARPENETI, representing the Department of Law, said it does not seem as if correctional officers are included under the definitions in SB 26; she said she would research the question and provide the committee with a definitive answer. SENATOR HALFORD asked if Village Public Safety Officers (VPSOs) are covered under the bill and MS. CARPENETI said they are. SENATOR HALFORD asked what constitutes detention and how this bill would apply if a citation is not actually issued. MS. CARPENETI replied official detention is defined as arrest or something like it. A person merely stopped for a citation probably would not be under detention. She noted that the common definition of detention might apply. SENATOR HALFORD claimed the bill does not "reach what you are trying to reach . . . the person who has given the false information will have the defense 'but I wasn't arrested, I wasn't cited'." MS. CARPENETI said the Department's concern is that it is more serious to falsely implicate another in a crime or create a false alarm (both class A misdemeanors) than to give false identity information (a C felony under SB 26). SENATOR DONLEY asked if the latter crime should be an A misdemeanor. MS. CARPENETI concurred, noting that criminally negligent homicide is a C felony offense. Number 348 SENATOR HALFORD reported fiscal notes had been received for the bill. SENATOR DONLEY considered the possibility of reducing Section 1 to a class A misdemeanor and allowing it to encompass all class A misdemeanors. Additionally, he proposed including the simple crime of providing false information to a peace officer (while not under arrest, detention, etc.) as a class B misdemeanor. MR. BLAIR MCCUNE, representing the Alaska Public Defender Agency, said the Agency's main concern is how well the C felony created in SB 26 fits with existing C felonies such as resisting arrest. MR. MCCUNE suggested adding a requirement for providing false information "with intent to avoid prosecution" would bring that provision in line with the others that require the same type of mental state. MR. MCCUNE reported "official detention" is used as a term of art, and is not the same as the common definition. MR. MCCUNE agreed that this bill does not appear to apply to correctional officers. Number 454 SENATOR HALFORD asked if the bill would apply to probation officers who could have cause to ask the identity of a person in the company of someone on probation. He commented the Agency knows false information is given in 2% of police cases, showing this is a valid problem to address. MR. MCCUNE said juveniles might give false information initially, but "change their tune" after a stern look. This charge is for people who persistently give false information. SENATOR DONLEY commented if the bill does not define "detention," the Public Defender Agency will argue it is not specific enough and the term needs to be defined. Number 483 MR. DAVID HUDSON, representing the Alaska State Troopers, supported SB 26 as an aid to police investigations. He asked the sponsor to consider including false information given to an officer conducting an investigation. He said by the time a suspect is under arrest, making a positive identification is relatively easy. He also suggested the committee might consider including an "intent to avoid arrest" provision to the bill. SENATOR ELLIS asked MR. HUDSON when an investigation starts and when it stops. MR. HUDSON explained investigating officers identify themselves and explain they are conducting an investigation before they ask for a person's identification. They then provide the person's name to a dispatcher for a background check. A person who has a warrant out for their arrest may give false information at this time; however, if an officer doubts the veracity of the information provided, he or she may remind the person it is a crime to give false information to a peace officer. Number 540 SENATOR ELLIS asked if expanding the bill to include investigations would widely broaden the bill's scope. MR. HUDSON said such a change would encompass many aspects of police work and "strengthen the ability of law enforcement to provide positive public contact." SENATOR HALFORD asked if a person contacted in an investigation is required to give information to police. MR. HUDSON replied a person has the right to remain silent. Number 571 SENATOR HALFORD said the committee would hold SB 26 and take it up in the future.