70 F
Spring Hill
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeUncategorizedCrime Stoppers bill clears House

Crime Stoppers bill clears House

- Advertisement -

By Pat Raia, [email protected]

A measure that would make it easier for tipsters to provide information to law enforcement agencies has been unanimously passed by the Florida House of Representatives.

HB 363, the Privileged Communications Made to Crime Stoppers Organizations makes it a third degree felony for anyone to knowingly obtain or disclose privileged information or communication to Crime Stoppers organizations including anonymous tips.

It also exempts from criminal liability employees, board members, or volunteers of Crime Stoppers organizations while they are acting within their duties for those organizations.

- Advertisement -

The measure cleared the House on April 15 shortly after Attorney General Ashley Moody unveiled new practices aimed at encouraging Floridians to share potentially crime-solving information with law enforcement by using the Crime Stoppers system.

In February, Moody announced that Crime Stoppers rewards to tipsters for information leading to arrests and convictions in murder cases have increased from $5,000 to $9,500. Meanwhile, rewards for information leading to arrests and convictions in other cases have increased to $5,000.

She also unveiled a first-in-the nation networking system that allows someone to call Crime Stoppers at **TIPS (8477) from anywhere in the state, and then routes the call to the appropriate jurisdiction.

HB 363 now moves to the Senate’s Rules Committee for consideration.

If passed, the measure would become effective on October 1.

 

RELATED ARTICLES
- Advertisment -

Subscribe to our newsletter

To be updated with all the latest news, offers and special announcements.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.
We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.

Most Popular