Page 6 - MidWeek Honolulu - Sep 7 2022

6 SEPTEMBER 7, 2022
Now that COVID re- strictions have been lifted, crime rates appear to be climbing.
STATE SEN. KARL RHOADS
Legislature Addresses Rise In Crime In 2022 Session
State Sens. Glenn Wakai, Karl Rhoads, Donna Mercado Kim, Kurt Fevella and Mike Gabbard attend a hearing of the state Senate Judiciary Committee. Rhoads is the committee chair. PHOTO COURTESY HAWAI‘I STATE SENATE
cases to claim they owned the car. This defense is sometimes raised late in the proceeding and can lead to incorrect not guilty verdicts.
Victims of criminals bear the physical, emotional and financial scars. Often crimes that are not considered “se- rious” tear at the fabric of a community.
The most important mea- sure was House Bill 1541, which overruled a court de- cision that made it harder to prosecute crimes and re- versed long-standing pros- ecutorial practice. It was fast-tracked through the Legislature and Gov. David Ige signed it into law on March 28 as Act 2, which means it was the second bill approved this year.
HB 2213 makes theft of items delivered to your house a separate crime and applies it to all common car- riers not just the U.S. Post- al Service. Federal law has long prohibited interfering with mail delivery.
To learn more about these bills, visit capitol.hawaii.gov. From there go to “Reports and Lists” near the bottom right and then to “Acts” near the bottom of the next page.
To address this, the state Legislature passed a number of bills during the 2022 regu- lar session that either make it easier to prosecute criminals, increase penalties or create new crimes to address evolv- ing criminal behavior. I sup- ported all of these measures and they all were approved
HB 2074 prohibits giving credit for time served if the crime was committed while you were already in custody. Thus, if you commit a crime
while in prison, you do not get to count the time you were in prison against the sentence for the new crime.
Finally, SB 2279 makes all thefts of catalytic con- verters felonies and insti- tutes reporting requirements for those purchasing cata-
Contact Sen. Karl Rhoads (District 13 — Dowsett Highlands, Pu‘unui, Nu‘ua- nu, Pacific Heights, Pauoa, Punchbowl, Pālama, Lili- ha, Iwilei, Chinatown and Downtown) at 808-586- 6130 or senrhoads@capitol. hawaii.gov.
by the Senate Judiciary Com- mittee, which I chair.
the fines for setting off ille- gal fireworks. More work is needed on this issue, but this bill raises the stakes for those who choose to terror- ize their neighbors’ pets and risk human injury.
lytic converters. Honolulu Prosecutor Steven Alm has already charged at least one person under this new law.
HB 1469 makes it harder for a defendant in car theft
Senate Bill 2923 increases
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