1     
COLD CASE DATABASE

2     
2018 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Todd Weiler

5     
House Sponsor: Michael K. McKell

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill requires that the Department of Public Safety develop and maintain a database
10     of cold cases.
11     Highlighted Provisions:
12          This bill:
13          ▸     defines "cold case";
14          ▸     requires the Criminal Investigations and Technical Services Division to develop and
15     maintain a secure database of certain unsolved crimes and missing persons
16     investigations;
17          ▸     allows the division to determine what information to collect, maintain, and allow
18     the public to access by rule; and
19          ▸     makes technical and conforming corrections.
20     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
21          None
22     Other Special Clauses:
23          None
24     Utah Code Sections Affected:
25     AMENDS:
26          53-10-104, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2006, Chapter 137
27     ENACTS:

28          53-10-115, Utah Code Annotated 1953
29     

30     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
31          Section 1. Section 53-10-104 is amended to read:
32          53-10-104. Division duties.
33          The division shall:
34          (1) provide and coordinate the delivery of support services to law enforcement
35     agencies;
36          (2) maintain and provide access to criminal records for use by law enforcement
37     agencies;
38          (3) publish law enforcement and statistical data;
39          (4) maintain dispatch and communications services for public safety communications
40     centers and provide emergency medical, fire suppression, highway maintenance, public works,
41     and law enforcement communications for municipal, county, state, and federal agencies;
42          (5) analyze evidence from crime scenes and crime-related incidents for criminal
43     prosecution;
44          (6) provide criminalistic laboratory services to federal, state, and local law enforcement
45     agencies, prosecuting attorneys' and agencies, and public defenders, with the exception of those
46     services provided by the state medical examiner in accordance with Title 26, Chapter 4, Utah
47     Medical Examiner Act;
48          (7) establish satellite laboratories as necessary to provide criminalistic services;
49          (8) safeguard the public through licensing and regulation of activities that impact
50     public safety, including concealed weapons, emergency vehicles, and private investigators;
51          (9) provide investigative assistance to law enforcement and other government agencies;
52          (10) collect and provide intelligence information to criminal justice agencies;
53          (11) investigate crimes that jeopardize the safety of the citizens, as well as the interests,
54     of the state;
55          (12) regulate and investigate laws pertaining to the sale and distribution of liquor;
56          (13) make rules to implement this chapter;
57          (14) perform the functions specified in this chapter;
58          (15) comply with the requirements of Section 11-40-103; [and]

59          (16) comply with the requirements of Sections 72-10-602 and 72-10-603[.]; and
60          (17) develop and maintain a secure database of cold cases within the Utah Criminal
61     Justice Information System pursuant to Section 53-10-115.
62          Section 2. Section 53-10-115 is enacted to read:
63          53-10-115. Cold case database.
64          (1) As used in this section, "cold case" means an investigation into any crime listed in
65     Subsections 76-1-301(2)(a) through (g), or regarding a missing person, that remains unsolved
66     at least three years after the crime occurred or the individual went missing.
67          (2) The division shall develop a secure database within the Utah Criminal Justice
68     Information System that contains information related to each cold case that is open in any
69     jurisdiction in the state.
70          (3) The division shall adopt rules in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah
71     Administrative Rulemaking Act, to specify:
72          (a) the information to be collected and maintained in the database; and
73          (b) what information may be accessed by the public.
74          (4) Each law enforcement agency in the state shall provide the information required by
75     the division for inclusion in the database for each open investigation. The law enforcement
76     agency shall maintain the physical evidence and investigation file for each case unless
77     otherwise agreed to by the law enforcement agency and the division.
78          (5) The division shall maintain the information on a cold case indefinitely.






Legislative Review Note
Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel