New criminal justice statutes take effect

Tim Bookwalter

The vast majority of the bills signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb after the most recent legislative session officially became law on July 1.

Some of these include:

SEA 167 – Theft of catalytic converters: Seemingly every county in Indiana has seen this issue pop up more and more in recent years. Catalytic converters contain extremely valuable metals that are relatively simple to remove from the bottom of a car with the right knowledge and tools.

Well-organized rings can hit a parking lot and come away with several converters in one night. For vehicle owners, the theft leaves the car inoperable, and repairs can be extremely costly.

In light of this, SEA 157 is a two-pronged approach, increasing the penalty for stealing a catalytic converter and also adding a penalty for purchasing stolen goods. This bill should hopefully discourage what has become an organized crime, with thieves grabbing multiple converters then selling them to metal dealers who are usually aware of what they are paying for.

SEA 197 – Protecting monuments, memorial and statues: This bill creates some new laws and punishments regarding rioting, something that became a little more common in 2020. The punishment for rioting can now be enhanced to a Level 6 felony or Level 5 felony depending on if there is injury and property damage that exceeds a certain amount.

The bill also mandates that Indiana State Police prioritize investigation regarding damage to monuments.

SEA 133 – Sentencing: This act finally closes a loophole prosecutors have been pushing for a while regarding drug dealers. The bill also mandates that sentences for Level 2 or 3 felony drug offenses can’t be suspended by a judge if the offender has a prior, unrelated felony.

This important legislation will ensure that drug dealers stay behind bars for an appropriate amount of time.

SEA 79 – Protective orders and domestic battery: Unfortunately, domestic violence cases are seen by our office far too often. SEA 79 was authored and signed as a way to increase penalties against offenders who commit domestic violence against someone who had a protective order against the offender.

The new law also goes after repeat offenders by increasing the penalty for domestic violence if the defendant has a previous conviction of battery or strangulation against that family member.

Strangulation is becoming more and more prevalent in our charging data and is a dangerous precursor to more violent crimes. We are thankful lawmakers are taking it seriously and adding a stiffer penalty to those who commit it.

These are just a few of hundreds of new laws that came into effect on July 1. Putnam County residents are encouraged to visit http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2021/bills/ for a complete list.