The Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee heard SB 451 on crime stoppers court fee authored by Sen. Busch. The bill does the following:
- establishes a $20 crime stoppers fee (fee) to be collected in every criminal action that results in a conviction
- establishes the crime stoppers fund (fund) administered by the Indiana criminal justice institute (institute), which consists of: (1) a separate account for each county; and (2) a general account
- provides that the fee is to be deposited in the appropriate county account within the fund, and that 50% of the unused money in each county account at the end of the fiscal year shall be transferred to the general account
- defines “crime stoppers organization” and permits a Crime stoppers court fee.
- establishes a $20 crime stoppers fee (fee) to be collected in every criminal action that results in a conviction
- establishes the crime stoppers fund (fund) administered by the Indiana criminal justice institute (institute), which consists of: (1) a separate account for each county; and (2) a general account
- provides that the fee is to be deposited in the appropriate county account within the fund, and that 50% of the unused money in each county account at the end of the fiscal year shall be transferred to the general account
- defines “crime stoppers organization” and permits a county having a crime stoppers organization to apply to the institute for a grant from the fund to support the crime stoppers organization
- allows multiple counties to submit a joint application, and requires the institute to adopt rules concerning criteria for the award of a grant and the procedure to apply for a grant
An amendment was adopted allowing a court to order a defendant who is convicted as a result of a tip line payout, to pay restitution to Crime Stoppers. Allen County Crime Stoppers testified in support of the amended bill. The Indiana Public Defender Council and members of the public, including former offenders, testified in opposition to the bill. The amended bill passed, 6-1.
Read the bill at: http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2020/bills/senate/451