Anti-crime package
is proposed

Seven bills offered by a law
enforcement group include
a study of domestic violence

State and county law enforcement officials want to figure out how to stop domestic violence deaths by having teams study cases.

Star-Bulletin Legislature Database Star-Bulletin Legislature Guide (PDF, 1.9 MB) State Legislature: Bills & Hawaii Revised Statutes

"Domestic violence is a problem, has been for years," said Deputy Attorney General Kurt Spohn. "People are trying to figure out ways it can be prevented. And if you review domestic violence fatalities, you might be able to figure out a pattern."

Under a proposal to be submitted to the state Legislature, the Department of Health would be authorized to form domestic violence fatality review teams.

The bill is one of seven being introduced by the Hawaii Law Enforcement Coalition, made up of the state's four county prosecutors, police chiefs, the U.S. attorney and the state attorney general.

Another proposal would make it easier for police and prosecutors to get wiretaps. State and county law enforcement officials said Hawaii's wiretap law requires a hearing in court, thereby putting witnesses at risk if their identities are revealed.

Law enforcement officials have been unsuccessful for years in changing the law.

"A fair and effective electronic surveillance law is essential to law enforcement efforts," said state Attorney General Mark Bennett. "Hawaii's existing electronic surveillance law is hopelessly behind current technology and so restrictive that wiretaps are virtually never used."

Federal wiretaps do not require a hearing, and because of joint operations with federal law enforcement, evidence obtained in those operations are not always usable in state courts.

The coalition is sponsoring a change to the state Constitution in how blank votes and overvotes for proposed constitutional amendments are counted. Under current law, blank votes are counted as 'no' votes. The proposed change is to have blank votes not be counted at all.

Other bills include:

» Changing Hawaii's bribery law from the current five-year maximum sentence. A bill would designate the existing offense as bribery in the first degree and increase the penalty to 10 years. It would also create two new offenses: bribery in the second degree and unlawful gift to public servants.

» Requiring sentences of 30 years to life for habitual violent felons. The bill would also add new provisions, such as repeat-offender sentencing for 15 serious, Class C felonies.

» Amending the state Constitution to allow defendants' testimony in criminal cases to be impeached. Current state law allows impeachment of testimony from victims or witnesses but not defendants.

» Implementing public Internet and walk-in access to members of the public seeking information about convicted sex offenders. A state constitutional amendment gave the public this access last year, and this bill would enable that process to begin.