The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard HB 1287 on home detention authored by Rep. Meltzer. The bill does the following:
- Allows a court to place a person convicted of certain crimes directly in a community corrections program.
- Provides that a violation of certain terms of a community corrections program placement constitutes escape.
- Repeals the offense of unauthorized absence from home detention, a Class A misdemeanor.
- Repeals a provision that requires the court to suspend a period of an individual’s sentence if placed in a community corrections program.
- Provides that if a person on home detention commits escape, a Level 6 felony if s/he knowingly and intentionally: (1) leaves the person’s home; (2) remains outside of the person’s home; or (3) travels to an unauthorized location; in violation of the home detention order and without written permission.
- Provides that the court may only suspend a part of a sentence that exceeds the minimum sentence for a juvenile adjudication for an act that would constitute a felony if committed by an adult.
The bill was amended by consent to make the noncriminal sections of the bill effective upon passage. The amendment also prohibits a court from ordering a person with certain non-suspendible sentences to serve the non-suspendible portion of the person’s sentence in a community corrections program and specifies that a person commits escape if the person knowingly or intentionally removes or interferes with an electronic monitoring device. Testimony is support of the bill was heard from the Indiana Judges Association, Indiana Public Defender Council, and Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council. The amended bill passed 11-0.
Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2023/bills/house/1287