1     
SEXUAL ASSAULT INVESTIGATION AMENDMENTS

2     
2024 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Angela Romero

5     
Senate Sponsor: Luz Escamilla

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill address sexual assault investigations by law enforcement agencies.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This bill:
12          ▸     requires the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council to establish a model
13     sexual assault investigation policy that can be used by law enforcement agencies;
14          ▸     requires a law enforcement agency to report to the State Commission on Criminal
15     and Juvenile Justice whether the law enforcement agency has complied with certain
16     statutory requirements regarding sexual assault investigations; and
17          ▸     makes technical and conforming changes.
18     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
19          None
20     Other Special Clauses:
21          None
22     Utah Code Sections Affected:
23     AMENDS:
24          53-6-107, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 182
25          53-6-109, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 316
26          53-24-102, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 158
27     

28     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
29          Section 1. Section 53-6-107 is amended to read:
30          53-6-107. General duties of council.
31          (1) The council shall:
32          (a) advise the director regarding:
33          (i) the approval, certification, or revocation of certification of any certified academy
34     established in the state;
35          (ii) minimum courses of study, attendance requirements, and the equipment and
36     facilities to be required at a certified academy;
37          (iii) minimum qualifications for instructors at a certified academy;
38          (iv) the minimum basic training requirements that peace officers shall complete before
39     receiving certification;
40          (v) the minimum basic training requirements that dispatchers shall complete before
41     receiving certification; and
42          (vi) categories or classifications of advanced in-service training programs and
43     minimum courses of study and attendance requirements for the categories or classifications;
44          (b) recommend that studies, surveys, or reports, or all of them be made by the director
45     concerning the implementation of the objectives and purposes of this chapter;
46          (c) make recommendations and reports to the commissioner and governor from time to
47     time;
48          (d) choose from the sanctions to be imposed against certified peace officers as
49     provided in Section 53-6-211, and dispatchers as provided in Section 53-6-309;
50          (e) establish and annually review:
51          (i) minimum use of force standards for all peace officers in the state;
52          [(f)] (ii) [establish and annually review] minimum standards for officer intervention
53     and the reporting of police misconduct based on Section 53-6-210.5; and
54          (iii) the best practices for investigating sexual assaults;
55          (f) in consultation with the Utah Victim Services Commission's subcommittee on rape
56     and sexual assault created in Subsection 63M-7-903(5)(b), create and, if necessary, annually
57     update a model sexual assault investigation policy based on the best practices established in
58     Subsection (1)(e)(iii) that can be adopted and used by a law enforcement agency; and
59          (g) perform other acts as necessary to carry out the duties of the council in this chapter.
60          (2) The council may approve special function officers for membership in the Public
61     Safety Retirement System in accordance with Sections 49-14-201 and 49-15-201.
62          Section 2. Section 53-6-109 is amended to read:
63          53-6-109. Mandatory compliance with minimum use of force standards.
64          Peace officers and the agencies that employ peace officers shall comply with, and
65     enforce compliance with, the minimum use of force standards described in Subsection
66     [53-6-107(1)(e)] 53-6-107(1)(e)(i).
67          Section 3. Section 53-24-102 is amended to read:
68          53-24-102. Sexual assault offense reporting requirements for law enforcement
69     agencies.
70          (1) As used in this section:
71          (a) "Commission" means the State Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice
72     created in Section 63M-7-201.
73          (b) "Sexual assault offense" means:
74          (i) rape, Section 76-5-402;
75          (ii) rape of a child, Section 76-5-402.1;
76          (iii) object rape, Section 76-5-402.2;
77          (iv) object rape of a child, Section 76-5-402.3;
78          (v) forcible sodomy, Section 76-5-403;
79          (vi) sodomy on a child, Section 76-5-403.1;
80          (vii) forcible sexual abuse, Section 76-5-404;
81          (viii) sexual abuse of a child, Section 76-5-404.1;
82          (ix) aggravated sexual abuse of a child, Section 76-5-404.3;
83          (x) aggravated sexual assault, Section 76-5-405; or
84          (xi) sexual battery, Section 76-9-702.1.
85          (2) (a) Beginning January 1, 2025, a law enforcement agency shall:
86          (i) annually, on or before April 30, submit a report to the commission for the previous
87     calendar year containing the number of each type of sexual assault offense that:
88          [(i)] (A) was reported to the law enforcement agency;
89          [(ii)] (B) was investigated by a detective; and
90          [(iii)] (C) was referred to a prosecutor for prosecution; and
91          (ii) submit a report to the commission on whether the law enforcement agency has
92     created and publicly posted on the law enforcement agency's website:
93          (A) the policy described in Subsection 53-24-101(1)(a); and
94          (B) the guide described in Subsection 53-24-101(2)(a).
95          (b) A law enforcement agency shall:
96          (i) compile the report described in Subsection [(2)(a)] (2)(a)(i) for each calendar year in
97     the standardized format developed by the commission under Subsection (3); and
98          (ii) publicly post the information reported in Subsection [(2)(a)] (2)(a)(i) on the law
99     enforcement agency's website.
100          (3) The commission shall:
101          (a) develop a standardized format for reporting the data described in Subsection (2);
102          (b) compile the data submitted under Subsection (2); and
103          (c) annually on or before August 1, publish a report of the data described in Subsection
104     (2) on the commission's website.
105          Section 4. Effective date.
106          This bill takes effect on May 1, 2024.