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| Proposed bills toughen penalties, offer flexibility - Hendricks County Flyer |
| Proposed bills toughen penalties, offer flexibility
By Amanda Roach
INDIANAPOLIS — INDIANAPOLIS — Rep. Greg Steuerwald (R-Hendricks County) has authored two bills to toughen penalties for child molesters and give police departments more flexibility when hiring officers.
Steuerwald has been working alongside other state representatives to create House Bills 1141 (Child Molesting) and 1114 (Police officers and firefighters residency).
House Bill 1141 states that a person who performs sexual intercourse or deviant conduct with a child under 14 years of age has committed a class B felony of child molestation. The charge can be raised to a class A felony if the act is committed by someone 21 years old who uses deadly force to perform the act.
The bill also states that a person — with a child under 14 years of age — submits to fondling or touching with the intent to arouse or satisfy sexual desires has committed a class C felony of child molestation.
Steuerwald has added that the charge can be raised to a class B felony “if the person compels the child to submit to the fondling or touching by using or threatening to use force.”
The charge can also be classified as a class A felony if it is committed by using deadly force or while armed with a deadly weapon.
“This is a step in the right direction to providing further protection to children,” Steuerwald said in a press release. “We must bring offenders to justice with the harshest punishment the law will allow.”
The bill was first read by the Committee on Courts and Criminal Code, but was later assigned to the Committee of Judiciary and is waiting a decision.
Meanwhile, House Bill 1114, which Steuerwald co-authored, was passed in the House 93-0 on Tuesday.
Steuerwald had originally authored House Bill 1142 (the residency of police officers), but it was later amended into House Bill 1114 by the Committee on Local Government.
Bill 1114 provides members of town metropolitan police departments with the same residency requirements of city police departments, town marshals, and fire departments.
The bill states that the town’s legislative body can adopt an ordinance or a resolution requiring police officers and firefighters to live within the county they work.
This ordinance will not apply to officers and firefighters who were hired and have been working for the department prior to the adoption of the town ordinance.
“At the request of Brownsburg Police Chief Steve Carroll, and in conjunction with the Fraternal Order of Police, I was asked to remedy this issue,” Steuerwald said. “This initiative provides more flexibility to small towns by allowing them to hire the most qualified individuals for the job, which, in return, will provide the best protection for citizens.
“In addition, it allows the town to limit use of patrol automobiles to within the town by ordinance. I am pleased to see this bill move forward.”
This bill has been passed over to state senators where its first reading will be in the Committee on Local Governments and Elections.
amanda.roach@flyergroup.com
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| Residency bill headed to governor’s office -Hendricks County Flyer |
| Measure would permit towns to hire police from outside the county
by Brian Kern
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana House of Representatives has concurred 94-0 on a town police residency bill that will provide municipalities with more flexibility when it comes to the hiring of police officers.
House Bill 1114 will pave the way for towns to hire officers who reside outside of county limits.
“Currently, cities can hire police and firefighters living in contiguous counties, but towns cannot,” House Representative Greg Steuerwald (R-Hendricks County) explained. “All we are saying is that the town now has the discretion to hire a police officer who lives closer to the town than they could before.”
Steuerwald introduced the town residency bill at the urging of Brownsburg Police Chief Steve Carroll who observed that city and town ordinances differed in their respective hiring policies.
Carroll noted that in some cases a police officer living just outside of the county line may actually live closer to a town police station than an individual who lives in the same county. However, current legislation would prohibit the town from hiring that officer because he or she lives outside of the county.
“I think that this was something that was just simply overlooked,” Carroll said. “This bill is something to bring parity to town officers that city officers already had and it clears up a lot of that ambiguity.”
State Sen. Connie Lawson, whom Steuerwald credits for helping carry the measure through the Senate, agreed.
“The current code is really confusing and it only made sense that the towns could have the same capability as the cities when it comes to the hiring of police and fire,” Laswon said.
The bill now makes its way to the governor’s office for consideration where, if passed, the new legislation will be enacted into law on July 1.
Carroll says that the bill is also an important step toward making town police departments more competitive and attractive to prospective officers.
“It’s a helpful tool in our recruiting process and an extra thing you can throw out there in recruiting,” he said.
Steuerwald noted that the bill does contain an important legislative safeguard for municipalities. Towns will now have the authority to adopt ordinances to limit the use of patrol vehicles to within town limits, he said.
Therefore those officers who reside outside of the county may not be permitted to have a take home patrol car. Carroll says that such protection is needed to ensure that patrol cars are serving their intended purpose.
“We give them take home cars for a visible police presence in the community, so we want those cars to be here,” Carroll said.
brian.kern@flyergroup.com
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