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ORDINANCE: O-2006-21
SUBJECT: Amending Title 1 of the Lakewood Municipal Code pertaining to penalties for violations and amending Title 9 of the Lakewood Municipal Code pertaining to public peace and safety.
RECOMMENDATION: Mayor and City Council approve the proposed ordinance.
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
The criminal provisions contained in Title 9 of the Lakewood Municipal Code are periodically updated in order to reflect the legislative changes made to the state criminal laws. The proposed ordinance amends Title 1 pertaining to penalties for violations and Title 9, pertaining to public peace and safety, by making the following changes:
• Identity theft victims. The proposed addition mirrors state law, which creates a procedure for a person to clear court and police records when his/her name or other identifying information has been wrongfully associated with a criminal matter. The state procedure only pertains to prosecutions that occur in state court. This proposal would allow victims of criminal impersonation to have their names cleared in municipal prosecutions. If no case is pending, the victim files a motion with the municipal court upon notice to the prosecutor, or the municipal court can start the process on its own motion. If a criminal case is pending only the prosecutor can file such a motion. If the municipal court determines there is reasonable cause to believe the victim was not the person who committed the municipal offense, the court can issue an order certifying the victim is "factually innocent" and that all court files and other criminal justice records be labeled to show that the victim was impersonated. The proposed provision allows the court to vacate the finding of factual innocence if it was based upon a material misrepresentation or fraud.
• Illegal use or possession of blue or red lights. Both state law and the Lakewood Municipal Code prohibit the possession or use of blue or red lights on or in a vehicle that is not an authorized emergency vehicle. This legislation was passed in response to the 2003 abduction and murder of Lacy Miller. She was a 20-year-old student at the University of Northern Colorado who was murdered in Fort Collins by a man impersonating a police officer. The man used flashing red and blue lights to pull her over. The proposed amendment mirrors a recently enacted change to the state law, which adds collectors of fire engines, fire suppression vehicles, and ambulances to those allowed to use or possess red or blue lights when the lamps are for the vehicle's historical interest or as a collector's item.
• Unlawful possession of alcohol without liquid device. The proposed new penal offense copies the language contained in a new state statute. This new provision would make it illegal to possess, purchase, sell, offer to sell, or use an alcohol without liquid (AWOL) device. An AWOL device is defined as anything that mixes an alcohol beverage with oxygen to produce an alcohol vapor that someone can inhale or snort, but does not include devices designed to dispense medication. Research hospitals, state research institutions, colleges and universities, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are excluded from the requirements of the new law.
• Crime of abusing toxic vapors. The proposed new penal offense copies the language contained in a state statute that makes it illegal to smell or inhale the fumes of toxic vapors for such purposes as dulling of the senses or creating a sense of euphoria. Detectives assigned to the juvenile crime unit have requested that this provision be added to the Lakewood Municipal Code. Currently, in order to charge a juvenile with "glue sniffing," police detectives have to write a case filing for approval by the district attorney prior to the filing of charges against the juvenile. If patrol agents could issue municipal summonses to juveniles, these cases would take significantly less time to process.
• Unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. The proposed amendment updates this provision to mirror the statutory language contained in the Colorado Criminal Code.
• Prostitution violations. The proposed amendments clarify the prostitution provisions to specifically state that the conduct described in each section is a criminal act.
• Violation of probation for prostitution offense. This new provision would give police agents the authority to arrest persons convicted of municipal prostitution offenses who violate the terms and conditions of their court imposed probation. Currently, police agents do not have arrest authority unless the convicted prostitutes commit a new criminal offense. It is envisioned that the municipal court will impose area restrictions on persons convicted of prostitution offenses. These area restrictions will be defined by specific boundaries and will prohibit an offender from entering the designated area without a valid reason such as a medical appointment, an appointment with an attorney, or for a lawful employment purpose. It is anticipated that convicted prostitutes will be prohibited from entering the entire area between Sheridan Boulevard and Simms Street and from 13th Avenue to 17th Avenue. This area restriction probation condition will serve to keep convicted prostitutes from streetwalking on Colfax Avenue and the surrounding areas.
The municipal court personnel will enter persons who are the subject of area restrictions into the CCIC system. When a police agent contacts such a person and verifies that the area restriction is still valid, a determination must be made as to whether or not the subject has a lawful purpose for being within the restricted area's boundaries. Probationers will be required to formally request a pass issued by the court. Probationers will be required to have the court-ordered pass in their possession to avoid arrest. If the subject is physically located within the area of restriction without legal justification and the restriction is currently valid, the police agent will arrest the individual for the probation violation. The violator will be brought before the court if it is currently in session or will be required to post the mandated bond.
The cities of Denver and Aurora impose area restrictions on persons convicted of prostitution offenses. A significant number of prostitutes that are the subject of court imposed area restrictions in Denver are now frequently seen on Colfax Avenue in Lakewood. Granting police agents the authority to arrest for probation area restriction violations should help battle the chronic problem of prostitution on Colfax Avenue.
• Obstructing highway or other passageway. The proposed new penal offense mirrors the language contained in a state statute that makes it illegal for any person, without legal authority, to obstruct such places as a highway, street, sidewalk, building entrance, or hallway to which the public has access. It also makes it illegal to disobey an order by a peace officer, firefighter, or person in control of the use of the premises to move as to prevent the obstruction. Since the municipal code does not currently contain any penal provision that prohibits blocking a roadway, sidewalk, or entrance to a building, this provision is needed. The proposed provision includes language added by the legislature in the recently enacted, "Right to Rest in Peace Act;" it would also be unlawful to obstruct a highway or other passageway where a funeral procession is taking place.
• Interference with staff, faculty, or students of educational institutions. The proposed amendment reflects changes made during last year's legislative session to the state counterpart of this provision. It has been expanded to cover making a credible threat to cause death or bodily injury with a deadly weapon against a person that the defendant knows or believes to be a student, school official, invitee, or employee of an educational institution.
• Theft by receiving. This proposed new provision mirrors a state provision, which makes it illegal to receive, retain, loan money by pawn or pledge on or dispose of anything of value of another when the actor knows or believes that the thing of value has been stolen. The defendant must intend to deprive the lawful owner permanently of the use or benefit of the thing of value. This provision would not apply to goods, wares, or merchandise of a value of five hundred dollars or more; such offenses are classified as felonies. In the case of juvenile offenders, having a municipal charge of theft by receiving would be a more efficient use of police resources than pursuing the filing of a delinquency petition in state court against a juvenile. If patrol agents could issue municipal summonses to juveniles, these cases would take significantly less time to process.
DATE OF FIRST READING: September 11, 2006
DATE OF SECOND READING: September 25, 2006
ORIGINATED BY: Police Department
STAFF PERSON RESPONSIBLE: Janet Young, Deputy City Attorney, 303-987-7102
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED: Ordinance
O-2006-21
Redline Version
SUBMITTED BY:
Ronald R. Burns, Chief of Police
REVIEWED BY:
Joni Inman, Director Mayor and City Manager's Office
Michael J. Rock, City Manager
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