In my opinion, the worst part of the Illinois SAFE-T act tucked away in the law is, “If the defendant is not brought to trial within the 90 day period required by the preceding sentence, he shall not be denied pretrial release.”
From Jan. 1 2023 to Mar. 31 2023 is 90 days. So it appears that at the very minimum the jails will be emptied out by April 1st? To include all violent offenders that ARE DETAINABLE (i.e. 1st degree murder, sex assault, Agg discharge of a firearm).
I have never seen any trial take place within 90 days of a bond hearings. Sometimes they are still waiting for discovery at that point.
This does not appear to be good for the safety of victims or the community.
Link to 725 ILCS 5/110-6.1 (i) – https://lnkd.in/e_Ay-
There has been a great deal of attention focused on the “No Cash Bond” provisions of the “SAFE-T Act” passed by the Illinois Legislature. The fact that 100 out of the 102 elected State’s Attorneys across Illinois have come out against the Bond provisions speaks for itself.
However, in the well-justified attention to the Bond provisions of the law, there is little attention being paid to the sections of the law that directly affect Law Enforcement officers in Illinois. As dangerous as the the no-cash bond provisions are, in my opinion the following sections endanger our officers and will fuel the current exodus of officers while hindering recruiting. I see some constitutional issues with the provisions that eliminate the requirement that officers accused of misconduct must be provided with the identity of their accuser, and the identity of the official conducting the investigation or interrogation of the officer.
I also am very concerned about the provision that requires an officer involved in a use of force incident to submit a report before viewing their Body Worn Camera footage of the incident, but yet allows them to amend the report AFTER viewing the BWC footage.
Sworn Affidavits are no longer required. Permits the filing of a complaint against a police officer without a sworn affidavit or other legal documentation.
Administrative Investigation Notice Requirements: Removes requirements that officers under investigation be informed of the names of complainants before administrative proceedings and the name, rank and unit or command of the officer in charge of the investigation.
Anonymous Complaints: Allows any person to file an anonymous complaint to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board (ILETSB) for conduct that would qualify an officer for decertification (this includes the following: a felony or misdemeanor, excessive use of force, failing to comply with duty to intervene, tampered with a dash camera or body camera, committed perjury, made a false statement, tampered with or fabricated evidence, or engaged in unprofessional or unethical conduct).
Body Worn Cameras: Revises some of the guidelines and requirements for use of body cameras, including allowing only supervisors and not the recording officer to review recordings prior to completing incident reports involving use of force incidents where the officer used force or is involved in that incident. However, the officer can revise his or her report after viewing the BWC footage, but only after their initial report was submitted.
Constitutional Rights and Remedies: Creates the Task Force on Constitutional Rights and Remedies Act to develop and propose policies and procedures to review and reform constitutional rights and remedies, including qualified immunity for peace officers.
Here is a link to a review of the Safe-T Act from the Civic Federation.
The worst part tucked away in the law in my opinion is, “If the defendant is not brought to trial within the 90 day period required by the preceding sentence, he shall not be denied pretrial release.”
So at the very minimum the jails will be emptied out by April 1st? To include all violent offenders that ARE DETAINABLE (i.e. 1st degree murder, sex assault, Agg discharge of a firearm). I have never seen any trial take place within 90 days of a bond hearings. Sometimes they are still waiting for discovery.
This does not appear to be good for the safety of victims or the community.
725 ILCS 5/110-6.1 (i)
Link to old and new statute:
Roy F. McCampbell's Blog 