There’s a general consensus that our current crime laws are not current at all.
That’s certainly the belief of State Representative John H. Rogers of Norwood, who has recently demanded that the Massachusetts House of Representatives pass a crime reform bill. This bill is meant to update and reform existing Massachusetts laws, and would, according to its supporters, allow public safety officials and prosecutors to better solve cases and better perform their jobs.
The bill would address Massachusetts parole, Massachusetts sex offenses, Massachusetts gun and firearms violations, Massachusetts domestic violence charges, and Massachusetts wiretaps.
For example, in terms of Massachusetts domestic violence charges, the new bill would create a new statute in which a particular kind of conduct would be prosecuted. This “conduct” is defined as the suffocation or strangulation of the victim to the point of loss of consciousness.
As it relates to Massachusetts sex crimes, the new bill would require sex offenders to register with their local police department, upon release from incarceration, within two days. It would also demand that the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board classify sex offenders expeditiously.
With regard to Massachusetts gun and firearms violations, the bill would create new crimes that would address felons who possess firearms, for example.
Mr. Rogers commented that, as criminals have created and developed new tools in which to commit crimes, our laws need to be updated in order to combat crime. As a Norfolk County Massachusetts criminal defense attorney, when I hear someone speak of “new tools” that criminals use to commit crime, I believe that terms like that should apply to new technologies that have been developed to commit crime, such as electronic theft and fraud. Otherwise, we run the risk of widening the definition of existing crimes. Any process that expands the definition of what a crime is, needs to be carefully conducted, to ensure that any “new” crimes created by act of the Legislature are not vague or poorly defined.