Form revised March 16, 2004

FISCAL NOTE FOR NON-CAPITAL PROJECTS

Department:	Contact Person/Phone:	DOF Analyst/Phone:
Law  / Executive	Thom Carr 684-8288	Amanda Allen  684-8894

Legislation Title:

AN ORDINANCE relating to the criminal code; amending Seattle Municipal Code (SMC)  adding a new section to chapter 12A.08 by making unlawful the making or possessing auto theft burglary tools.

· Summary of the Legislation:

This legislation amends Chapter 12 of the Seattle Municipal Code to make it unlawful to make or possess tools that are typically used for the purposes of burglary or vehicle related theft.  The legislation designates it as a gross misdemeanor to make or possess these types of tools.

· Background: (Include brief description of the purpose and context of legislation and include record of previous legislation and funding history, if applicable):

In the state of Washington tools used for burglaries of residences or businesses are defined and made unlawful to possess.  Similarly, this ordinance defines and makes tools used for the burglary of an automobile unlawful to possess.  Auto thieves often work in groups.  Currently, when an officer catches an auto thief driving a car and there are passengers in the car, the Officer can only arrest the driver of the car.  This ordinance would allow an Officer to arrest the passengers in the car if they are carrying any of the tools outlined in the ordinance.  As such, the City will be more likely to arrest auto thieves.

___X_ This legislation has no financial implications. (Please complete all relevant sections that follow.)

Passage of this legislation may result in prosecuting approximately 150 additional cases by the Law Department. The expected number of cases added to the caseload for the Law Department, public defense agencies and the Seattle Municipal Court are minor and will be absorbed within existing budgets. Additionally, the jail budget will not be impacted by this legislation due to the jail population cap in the King County Jail.