(Washington, DC) – Today, Reps. Jay Inslee (WA-01), Adam Smith (WA-09)
and Dave Reichert (WA-08) co-introduced a pair of complementary bills in
the House seeking to address the deficiencies in the interstate compact
system that governs the release and supervision of convicted felons
across state lines. Companion bills were introduced in the Senate by
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL).
On November 29th, 2009, four Lakewood, Washington police officers;
Sergeant Mark Renninger, Officer Ronald Owens, Officer Tina Griswold,
and Officer Greg Richards were murdered by a convicted felon from
Arkansas who had been living in Washington State following the
commutation of his sentence. The legislation, crafted by the local
lawmakers and working in coordination with Governor Christine Gregoire,
law enforcement and federal agencies, purposes solutions that would
improve information-sharing and best practices at all levels of law
enforcement. Legislation would also require the U.S. Department of
Justice to review existing rules governing interstate transfers of adult
offenders, to best ensure public and officer safety.
“The
lessons of this tragic event cannot be ignored,” said Rep. Jay Inslee.
“The system, as it is, failed to safeguard those charged with protecting
and serving us. By revisiting the rules and tools states and law
enforcement use to communicate with each other, and by making some
simple, common sense changes, we can prevent these mistakes from
happening again.”
“As a former prosecutor, I understand how
important it is for law enforcement agencies to share information
across federal, state, and local jurisdictions,” said Rep. Adam Smith.
“Last November, we saw the disastrous outcome of a break down in this
communication. Based on lessons learned from this tragic shooting, the
legislation introduced today seeks to address the shortcomings of
current interstate policies and will protect and empower our law
enforcement officials.”
“Our law enforcement officers put
themselves at risk every day to keep our families and communities safe,
and we need to do everything possible to protect those who protect us,”
said Senator Patty Murray. “We honor the memories of our fallen officers
by learning the tough lessons and making sure that it never happens
again. We also need increased vigilance to ensure that other states are
not allowed to dump their criminals into our communities, that’s why
we’re calling for a rigorous review of the rules and improved
communication at every level to prevent a tragedy like Lakewood from
happening again.”
“The painful loss of too many law
enforcement officers in our state demonstrates the critical need to
enhance the protection our communities – both for our officers and
citizens,” Gov. Chris Gregoire said. “I applaud Representative Inslee
and other members of our Congressional delegation for introducing this
legislation that will take a close look at the Interstate Compact to
ensure needed changes are made to protect not only Washington state, but
the rest of the nation.”
“I am pleased to see Representative
Inslee and other members of our Congressional delegation support a
review of the rules of the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender
Supervision,” said Washington State Department of Corrections Secretary
Eldon Vail. “I believe more criminal history information sharing prior
to one state accepting an offender from another and clear authority to
end supervision by the receiving state when the community is at risk are
common sense public safety improvements for the citizens of Washington
and for all states across the country.”
For the last few
months, Members have been working with the experts who were tasked by
Governor Gregoire to review the incidents leading up to Lakewood tragedy
and make recommendations to change existing policies. Members worked
with expert staff at Washington State Department of Corrections and
Washington Association of Sheriff’s and Police Chiefs to determine that
in order to prevent future incidents, federal legislation is needed to
ensure that the Interstate Compact rules are rigorously reviewed and all
states act in good faith to protect all communities that host
interstate offenders.
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