Media

Sheriff Mark Luttrell Joins Other Officials Across Tennessee To Support Community Safety Initiatives

Release Date: February 10, 2005

The Tennessee Public Safety Coalition (TPSC), a statewide group created by the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference, the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Tennessee Sheriffs' Association, is pushing for enactment of specific legislation by this year's Tennessee General Assembly to curb crime and increase support to law enforcement officers across the state.

Sheriff Luttrell served as President of the Coalition last year and is helping promote the 2005 legislative initiatives.

The TPSC will actively urge the Tennessee General Assembly to (1) strengthen the existing child sexual exploitation and solicitation laws to protect minors from predators, specifically over the internet; (2) expand statewide the pawnshop thumbprint legislation currently in Knox and Shelby Counties to increase the number of solved burglary cases; (3) create special legislation that would make an assault on a law enforcement officer a felony and increase the punishment for an aggravated assault on an officer; (4) support the Governor's proposed legislation to strengthen existing criminal laws dealing with the manufacturing or distribution of methamphetamine and help insure that offenders are adequately held accountable; and (5) pass two bills that will increase the permissive length of probation for domestic violence offenders and make violation of an order of protection a crime.

“As Sheriff of Shelby County, I heartily endorse the issues being proposed by the Tennessee Public Safety Coalition. We in Shelby County believe it is vital we partner with other law enforcement agencies across the state to ask our representatives in Nashville to strengthening these specific laws. The proposed changes will be vital to keep our community safe.”

The Coalition held a press conference at the state capitol today to convey the serious need for legislative action. Members of the Coalition are also holding meetings with newspaper editorial boards in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, and the Tri-Cities area to stress the importance of getting public support for these proposals.

Currently, Tennessee has some of the weakest child sexual exploitation and solicitation laws in the country. The Coalition supports proposed legislation that would tighten the existing laws by making it a crime to electronically violate the sexual exploitation of children laws, specifically by the use of electronic mail or over the internet. The proposed bill would also increase the punishment for possession or distribution of large quantities of child pornography; allow authorities to use adult law enforcement officers, working undercover, who the defendant believes are minors; and extend the criminal responsibility to those outside of Tennessee who attempt to distribute child pornography or solicit a minor within Tennessee.

Members of the Coalition from Knox and Shelby Counties have experienced first hand the successes of the current law that requires individuals who pawn items in those counties to leave a thumbprint on file with the pawnshop. The current law is increasing the number of solved burglary cases in Knox and Shelby Counties. Expanding the current law throughout the state would not only aid law enforcement in solving burglary cases, but would send a message to would-be burglars that theft of property will be handled aggressively be law enforcement.

In an effort to better protect those who protect the public, the Coalition supports proposed legislation that would make it a felony charge to assault a law enforcement officer performing his or her duties. The proposed bill also makes it a felony to remove handcuffs or a weapon from a law enforcement officer and increases the punishment for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice's National Drug Intelligence Center, methamphetamine production, distribution, and abuse are frequently associated with violent crime in Tennessee. The Coalition will stand behind Governor Phil Bredesen's legislation that creates stiffer penalties for the manufacturing and distribution of methamphetamine in Tennessee, makes it a greater offense for creating meth in front of a child, and restricts the sales of meth making products.

The Coalition also supports two bills that would address the continuous problem of domestic violence across Tennessee by creating greater deterrents. The first proposed bill would give a judge the authority to increase the length of probation for a domestic assault violator to up to two years as opposed to the current 11 months, 29 days. The second bill would make violation of an order of protection a Class A misdemeanor. Currently, if an individual violates such an order, he or she can be held in contempt of court, for which the maximum sentence is 10 days in jail.

The Coalition is emphasizing the impact these legislative proposals can have on the safety and security of communities and law enforcement officers across the state.

“It is our respective duties to protect the citizens of Tennessee. Those of us in law enforcement, whether we are district attorneys, police chiefs or sheriffs, need the support of our legislators. We need the framework provided by these proposed bills to do our jobs more effectively and in turn reduce crime across the state,” said Davidson County District Attorney General Victor S. Johnson, chairman of the Tennessee Public Safety Coalition.

 

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