Police Reforms Improve Policing, Criminal Justice System

Jul 16, 2020 by AFP

CONCORD, NH – Americans for Prosperity-New Hampshire (AFP-NH) on Thursday celebrated HB 1645 becoming law following Governor Sununu signing the criminal justice reform bill today. The grassroots group was at the forefront of advocating for the bill and ran a statewide digital campaign that enabled Granite Staters to contact their legislators and Governor Sununu in support of the bill.

The package includes the following reforms:

Requires law enforcement officers to report misconduct by other law enforcement officers.
Establishes a new fund for psychological stability screening for candidates for certification as law enforcement officers; transfers money from the drug forfeiture fund to the psychological stability screening fund, and allows the police standards and training council to reimburse the state or a political subdivision for psychological stability screening for candidates for certification as law enforcement.
Strengthens our existing bail reform law to make clearer who should be held pre-trial.

AFP-NH Deputy Director Ross Connolly released the following statement:

“By signing this bill into law, our state took needed steps to increase accountability and transparency for policing practices. This bill recognizes that good policing and protecting public safety aren’t mutually exclusive and seeks to improve policing while ensuring our communities are safe.

“While these reforms alone do not address every injustice, this is a starting point to respect equal justice for every Granite Stater. We commend Governor Sununu and the legislature for improving our state’s criminal justice system and encourage them to continue making our system smarter on crime.”