Hawley opposes legislation that he said puts more barriers on police making arrests

Press Release, Assemblyman Steve Hawley

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C-Batavia) voted against an initiative yesterday that would place additional burdens on police officers while they are conducting arrests.

The measure would require the New York State Police and local law enforcement to adopt child-sensitive arrest policies and procedures in situations where an individual being arrested is responsible for a child as a parent, guardian or legal caregiver.

The bill would require law enforcement officers to take measures to minimize the impact a child experiences under these situations. Despite this, there is no mention of how departments should fund the implementation of these policies and procedures.

While well-intentioned, Hawley believes this law will only create more problems by imposing further responsibilities on police officers and necessitating more spending for local departments that are already underfunded.

“While I believe this policy is well-intentioned, it provides a one-size-fits-all solution for an issue that varies so much with each case,” Hawley said. “From day one in the academy, our law enforcement officers are extensively trained to handle arrests of all kinds, including situations where families are involved. Adding extra training and more procedures will only make it harder and more expensive for our police officers to do their jobs.”