OLYMPIA—Rep. Lauren Davis (D-32nd District) is introducing a suite of reforms to help prevent crime and hold perpetrators accountable.
The Council on State Governments reported that Washington state had the second highest increase in violent crime in the nation from 2019-2022, with minimal decline since. And in 2023, our state experienced 810 traffic fatalities—the highest since 1990 and nearly twice as many as a decade ago.
“Half of those traffic deaths were caused by an impaired driver, and the average drunk driver gets behind the wheel 80 times before their first arrest,” Davis said.
Davis proposes three reforms: (1) hold people accountable for evading arrest or engaging in a vehicular pursuit, (2) provide meaningful supervision for individuals on community custody, and (3) create a proactive legal mechanism to prevent impaired driving.
“These bills recognize that most crime is not actually random,” Davis said. “It’s the same individuals doing the same things. And if we can predict something, we can prevent it.”
Pre-trial release
House Bill 1252 deals with the pernicious problem of suspects who elude a police vehicle, engage law enforcement in foot pursuits, resist arrest, and/or require a resource-intensive, expensive effort—K9’s, drones, air support—in order to apprehend them.
“This is a small group of individuals who have just demonstrated that they will not abide by the laws of this state or the commands of law enforcement,” Davis said. “In fact, they will recklessly endanger others, including bystanders and police officers, in order to avoid accountability. But then, these same people are released the next day on very low bail or on personal recognizance—their own promise to return to court. This is absurd.”
The bill would require judicial officers to document, in writing, their justification for releasing defendants on personal recognizance or low bail when that defendant attempted to evade arrest.
“My legislation creates a rebuttable presumption that this subset of defendants are at high risk of failing to appear at future court proceedings,” Davis said. “This, in turn, triggers the court rule that allows a judge to set bail.”
Meaningful supervision
House Bill 1668 relates to the approximately 14,000 individuals on Department of Corrections (DOC) community custody, primarily for violent crimes or sex offenses. Even if one of these individuals absconds from community custody for months or years, or commits a new felony, the maximum DOC sanction is 15 days in custody.
“My legislation allows a community corrections officer to request a sanction beyond 15 days,” she said, “when a person has willfully absconded for a long period or poses a substantial risk to public safety.”
This legislation:
- Forms intentional partnerships between DOC field offices and local law enforcement to apprehend individuals with DOC warrants,
- Increases sentence length for the crime of escape from community custody by increasing the seriousness level of the offense and the manner of calculating a defendant’s criminal history for this specific offense,
- Requires behavioral health agencies to update a person’s community corrections officer about their adherence to their treatment plan,
- Creates a tracking mechanism for missed polygraphs, and
- Requires DOC to utilize more advanced electronic monitoring technology for supervised individuals, including having the capability for real time GPS monitoring, transdermal alcohol monitoring, steel-reinforced ankle bracelets, ankle bracelets with fiberoptic cables that provide tamper alerts and the supervised individual’s location to local law enforcement, and electronic monitoring with victim notification (Tiffany Hill Act) for domestic violence perpetrators.
Impaired driving
In 2023, 410 Washington state residents were killed by an impaired driver, while 396 were victims of homicide. Fatalities involving an impaired driver rose 80 percent from 2014 to 2023.
“We spend a lot of money and attention solving homicides, which is unequivocally the right thing to do,” Davis said. “With impaired driving deaths, we know exactly what causes them. Smart reforms here can save a lot of lives.”
Davis introduced House Bill 1426 to create a first-in-the-nation civil protection order for DUI prevention.
“This is modeled after our state’s Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO),” Davis said, “which is used to prevent an individual from accessing a firearm when a court determines that their behavior presents a risk to public safety. By a similar token, my legislation would prevent an individual from having unfettered access to a motor vehicle when a court determines that their driving behavior presents a risk to community safety.”
The bill allows a judge in civil court to order, on a preponderance of the evidence, similar conditions as in a DUI criminal case: an ignition interlock device, an alcohol monitoring bracelet, substance use treatment, recovery support meetings, or 24/7 sobriety monitoring.
There will be a public hearing on House Bill 1426 at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in the House Committee on Civil Rights & Judiciary.
“There is no question that crime and lawlessness in this state have escalated substantially,” Davis said. “The public knows this. My constituents feel this. We are the state Legislature and it is our obligation to respond. Apathy is unacceptable. These are not sweeping, ‘lock-em-up’ style reforms. These bills are targeted at a relatively small group of individuals who have demonstrated that they pose a substantial and ongoing threat to public safety. Intervention is not optional.”