Security Protections Criminal Justice Personnel

Under current law, it is unlawful for a person to make available on the internet the personal information of certain law enforcement officials or certain human services workers if the dissemination of the personal information poses an imminent and serious threat to the official's or the worker's safety or to the safety of the official's or the worker's immediate family. The act extends the crime to include the following persons:

• An employee or contractor of the department of corrections who has contact with persons in the custody of the department of corrections;
• A noncertified deputy sheriff or detention officer who has contact with inmates;
• An employee or contractor of a community corrections program who has contact with offenders in the program; and
• Public defenders and alternate defense counsel.

The act redefines "law enforcement official" and includes officials covered under that statutory definition within the broader definition of "protected person". Further, the act repeals the crime specific to law enforcement officials and includes those officials within the same crime that is now inclusive of all protected persons.

In addition, the act adds all protected persons to the statutory provision that allows protected persons to submit a written request to a state or local government official to remove personal information, as defined in statute, from public records that are available on the internet.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)