SB 198 – AS INTRODUCED
2013 SESSION
04/09
SENATE BILL 198
AN ACT relative to the authority of county correctional officers.
SPONSORS: Sen. Forrester, Dist 2; Sen. Carson, Dist 14; Sen. Boutin, Dist 16; Rep. Shurtleff, Merr 11; Rep. Chandler, Carr 1; Rep. J. MacKay, Merr 14
COMMITTEE: Public and Municipal Affairs
This bill authorizes the county commissioners to organize a county transport and custody force consisting of county department of corrections personnel for the purpose of providing general security for county department of corrections roads, buildings, and grounds.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
13-1012
04/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Thirteen
AN ACT relative to the authority of county correctional officers.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Subdivision; County Departments of Corrections; County Transport and Custody Force; Powers and Duties. Amend RSA 30-B by inserting after section 24 the following new subdivision:
County Transport and Custody Force
30-B:25 County Transport and Custody Force. The county commissioners may organize a county transport and custody force, consisting of members of the county department of corrections line personnel, for the purpose of patrolling county department of corrections buildings, roads, and grounds, and providing for general security at the county correctional facility. If a transport and custody force is organized, the county commissioners shall adopt a written policy establishing rules relating to the control and responsibility of the transport and custody force. The policy shall include a requirement for training designed for the specific functions of the transport and custody force as prescribed in this subdivision.
30-B:26 Powers and Duties. All transport and custody officers shall be ex officio constables and shall possess limited powers of arrest which shall only extend to the confines of the grounds of the county correctional facility and only to the period during which such officers are on official active duty. The only 2 instances where the authority of the members of the transport and custody force shall extend beyond the county correctional facility grounds, and during which time the transport and custody officers may utilize blue lights on vehicles pursuant to RSA 266:78-b, are:
I. Where a member of the county transport and custody force is in hot pursuit of a person who has committed a crime or violation by interfering with the maintenance of custody and control; or
II. Where a member of the county transport and custody force is transporting or assisting in the transport of a committed inmate, including, but not limited to, medical transports and transports involving a committed inmate who is receiving services in a health care setting.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.