State Senator Sally Turner (R-Beason) released the following statement in response to the passage of House Bill 1095, which makes some changes to the SAFE-T Act:
“While I recognize that House Bill 1095 does make some positive changes, it does too little to address the overall underlying problems that still remain within the SAFE-T Act.
“Alarmingly, in addition to the positive changes and clarification, this bill makes unnecessary and unwanted changes to the original law, including making it harder for the media and public to know if an arrested individual was on pre-trial release for another offense. This lack of transparency makes it appear that supporters of this legislation are trying to prevent the public from finding out the dangers this new criminal justice system could have on their communities.
“Instead of passing a flawed fix for a flawed law so it can be implemented at the beginning of the year, we could’ve at the very least delayed or staggered its implementation so that to avoid completely changing our state’s criminal justice system overnight with potentially disastrous results.
“It is our duty as a governmental body to provide a fair criminal justice system that also keeps the public safe. Ultimately, I cannot confidently say that these changes to the SAFE-T Act will actually make our communities safer today than they were yesterday.”
