City Council

City of Chesapeake 2010
APPROVED Legislative Package

Public Safety Legislative Proposals

City of Chesapeake - 2010 APPROVED Legislative Package

Office of the Sheriff

1. Inmate Medical Costs for Outside Services

Legislation to address the amount paid by local jails for medical services when seen by outside the facility physicians and hospitals.

Currently there is no regulation of the cost of these visits and local jails, in most cases, pay full hospital or doctor rates. This legislation would help reduce the cost incurred by the locality for inmates with severe or chronic conditions.

2. Sheriff Fee Proposal

Legislation that would increase the Sheriff's service fee for subpoenas, show causes, warrants, etc… from $12.00 to $15.00.

This fee has for several years been well below the national average and our neighboring states. A modest increase of $3.00 to offset dramatic gas increases as well as labor cost. Some of these documents require personal service and may take a deputy several trips back to the same address before getting service. This proposal would help to off-set a portion of the expense. (Code of Virginia: 17.1-272, section A)

Fee Comparison

California - $30.00
Florida - $20.00
Georgia - $50.00
Maryland - $30.00
North Carolina - $15.00

3. Sheriff Fee Proposal

Legislation to increase fees collected for legal service provided to Virginia Sheriffs.

These are labor intensive and require more than simple service. The targeted services are repossessions, levies, and evictions. Each requires a longer period of time to execute and may last several hours in duration. The increase in fees will help to off-set a portion of the expense. (Code of Virginia: 17.1-272, section B)

Descriptions

1. Repossession
   Current fee: $25.00 plus $12.00 for additional defendant
   Proposed fee: $50.00, do away with the $12.00 for additional defendant
2. Levy
   Current fee: $25.00 with 10% commission for collection
   Proposed fee: $50.00 with 10% commission for collection
3. Eviction
   Current fee: $25.00 plus $12.00 for additional defendant
   Proposed fee: $50.00, do away for the $12.00 for additional defendant

4. Fees and Mileage

Legislation to amend the sheriff fess that would remain in the localities to 35%.

Prior to the current distribution formula, the localities retained 1/3 and the State received the remaining 2/3. (Code of Virginia: 15.2-1609.3, section B)

This legislation is important for the following reasons:

1. As localities grow or the demand for services increase, the locality will not benefit for additional work or staffing. All additional revenue would be sent to the state.
2. Using Chesapeake for an example, the locality only receives 10 - 11% of sheriff fees collected with the state receiving 89 - 90% of the fees the sheriff collects. This distribution is inappropriate and unfair to the sheriff. The sheriff has become merely a collecting agent receiving a small pittance while doing all the work.
3. The formula not only adversely affects the large city sheriffs, but especially the rural sheriffs in Virginia who have experienced dramatic increases in population and demand for services.
4. With the current formula, there is no reward for pro-active sheriffs who improve operation of their civil process section encouraging more fees as all the money will go to the state. It can encourage the sheriff to ignore collection of sheriff fees as there is no reward for there efforts.
5. This will provide for a reasonable share of the sheriff fees collected. The 10 - 11% of fees collected is not an adequate share for the locality since the sheriff is responsible for the collecting, accounting, disbursing of funds, and record keeping.

Police Department

1. VA Code Section 18.2-174. Impersonating officer.

Amend §18.2-174 by changing penalty from Class 1 misdemeanor to Class 6 felony.

Any person who shall falsely assume or exercise the functions, powers, duties and privileges incident to the office of sheriff, police officer, marshal, or other peace officer, or who shall falsely assume or pretend to be any such officer, shall be deemed guilty of a Class 1 Misdemeanor.

However, if any person shall falsely assume or exercise the functions, powers, duties and privileges incident to the office of sheriff, police officer, marshal, or other peace officer, or who shall falsely assume or pretend to be any such officer, for the purposes of, or during the commission of any other crime, or for the purpose of circumventing or bypassing any security measures at any business or establishment they shall be deemed guilty of a Class 6 Felony.

Justification:

Increasing the penalty from a misdemeanor to a felony will reflect the seriousness of the offense of impersonating a police officer. Most law abiding citizens will obey without question the directions or requests of a person they believe to be a law enforcement officer. An article in the Virginian Pilot newspaper on October 22, 2004 highlighted an individual who had posed as a law enforcement officer to stop females and then handcuffed and fondled them. Also, given the current terrorism environment, individuals who impersonate a police officer pose a threat to many security systems as some security personnel may be more likely to allow someone they believe to be a police officer to enter a secured area.

Also, on April 27, 2009 at approximately 2:40 PM in the area of Battlefield Blvd. North and Kempsville Road a vehicle pulled up next to a victim at this intersection and advised the victim he was a "cop" and told the victim to pull over into a parking lot. The victim pulled into a parking lot and reported that the suspect did not exit his vehicle, but pulled up next to the victim and displayed what appeared to be toy police badge. The suspect then advised the victim that he had disregarded a red light and began to use profanity. The suspect then told the victim that he (the suspect) needed to leave and he left the area.

Also, on May 3, 2009 at approximately 8:15 PM in the area of I-664 and Pughsville Road a female victim reported that she was pulled over by a white Chevrolet Impala. The suspect vehicle did have a top police light bar, but had a blue dashboard light and siren. The suspect exited his vehicle and approached the victim's vehicle. The suspect is described as a white male, 5'10"-5'11", with black medium length hair, between the ages of 35-42, with a "raspy voice". The suspect was wearing dark sunglasses, and plain-clothes; however his shirt had what appeared to be an embroidered type badge. The victim reported that she inquired why she was being pulled over, and the suspect advised her that she had a tail light that was not operating. The suspect then asked the victim for her license and registration, and then asked the victim to exit her vehicle. At that time a marked Portsmouth Police vehicle drove by this encounter, the suspect quickly gave the victim her license and registration, and immediately returned to his vehicle. The suspect then left the area towards the City of Suffolk.

Similar incidents routinely occur across the Commonwealth and the nation given the ease with which anyone can obtain a law enforcement badge, or an imitation law enforcement badge.

2. Establishment of new code section to prohibit disorderly houses:

§18.2- 415.1. Disorderly Houses, definition, penalties.

1. It shall be unlawful for any person to keep, maintain or operate, for himself or for any other person or as an officer of or agent for any corporation, association, club lodge or other organization, or under the guise of any corporation, association, club lodge or other organization, any disorderly house or place where disorderly persons meet or may meet or the purpose of illegally dispensing or indulging in intoxicating liquors, illegal gaming or or disorderly conduct. However, the conduct prohibited under this section shall not be deemed to include the utterance or display of any words or conduct guaranteed by the constitution.
2. It shall be unlawful for any person to frequent or visit any disorderly place for the purposes indicated in paragraph A.
3. The governing bodies of counties, cities and towns are authorized to adopt ordinances prohibiting and punishing the acts and conduct prohibited by sections A and B of this section.
4. Violation of this subsection shall be punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Justification:

Officers are often called to scenes of loud disorderly parties at both public and private locations. This section would assist officers in curtailing the boisterous or other disorderly conduct at these locations by providing the ability to cite those who after being warned continue their activities. There are currently no legal remedies available to address those visiting or frequenting such disorderly locations which often require several repeat calls for service and a substantial drain on law enforcement resources especially on weekends and holidays when demand for services are unusually high. The existing code dealing with maintaining a common nuisance (4.1.317) is an old code that was used primarily to control what was commonly referred to as "nip joints" and not able to be utilized to address the large disorderly gatherings, especially the juvenile parties that often have over 50 people in residential neighborhoods. The problem of underage drinking is a national problem costing the United States nearly $62 billion a year. The 2006 edition of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol notes that underage drinking leads to nearly 3,200 death each year.