The Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee heard SB 161 on stalking though use of a tracking device authored by Sen. Crider. The bill provides the following:
- a person who, with the intent to track an individual and without the individual’s knowledge, places a tracking device on an individual or the individual’s property commits remote criminal tracking, a Class C misdemeanor.
- Provides certain exceptions.
- Increases the penalty to a Class A misdemeanor if the person is the subject of a protective order issued on behalf of the individual.
- Establishes a sentence enhancement if a person uses a tracking device to commit or facilitate the commission of a felony.
The bill was amended by consent to exempt from the prohibition on tracking devices a device installed as original equipment by the manufacturer of a motor vehicle and to make a technical correction.
The following testified in favor of the bill: Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, a victim of domestic violence, Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, and Indiana Society of Professional Investigators. The Indiana Public Defender Council testified in opposition to the bill. The amended bill passed 8-0.
Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2023/bills/senate/161