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Legislation Document
SPONSOR:
Rep. Gorman & Rep. Burns & Sen. Sturgeon & Sen. Cruce
Reps. Morrison, Romer, Berry, Phillips, Griffith, Snyder-Hall; Sens. Hansen, Hoffner, Seigfried
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 367
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT IDENTIFICATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1.
Amend Part V, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
Chapter 85B. Clear Identification of Law Enforcement Act
§ 8501B. Definitions.
For purposes of this chapter:
(1) “Law-enforcement agency” means any agency, department, or other entity that employs a law-enforcement officer.
(2) “Law-enforcement officer” means as defined in § 222 of this title, as well as any officer or agent of a federal law enforcement agency or any person acting on behalf of a federal law enforcement agency.
(3) “Undercover operation” is a planned act authorized by supervising agents, agencies, or a court warrant that uses an undercover operative to intentionally interact with a suspected criminal violator or others, or to obtain evidence of criminal activity.
(4) “Undercover operative” means a law-enforcement officer using an assumed name or cover identity to interact with a suspected criminal violator or others, or to obtain evidence of criminal activity.
§ 8502B. Agency policy requiring visible display of identification.
(a) Beginning [6 month after the effective date of this Act], a law-enforcement agency operating in Delaware must maintain and publicly post a written policy on the visible identification of sworn personnel. The policy shall include, at minimum, the following:
(1) A requirement that all sworn personnel visibly display identification that includes their agency and either a name or badge number, or both name and badge number, when performing enforcement duties.
(2) A list of narrowly tailored exemptions for the following:
a. Officers engaged in active undercover operations.
b. Officers wearing personal protective equipment that prevents display.
c. Exigent circumstances, involving an imminent danger to persons or property, or the escape of a perpetrator, or the destruction of evidence.
d. When there is a specific, articulable, and particularized reason to believe identification would pose a significant danger to the physical safety of the law enforcement officer.
§ 8503B. Display of identification required.
(a) Except as provided under subsection (b) of this section, a law-enforcement officer operating in Delaware must visibly display identification that includes their agency and either a name or badge number or both a name and a badge number when performing enforcement duties.
(b) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) An active undercover operation.
(2) An officer wearing personal protective equipment that prevents display.
(3) Exigent circumstances, involving an imminent danger to persons or property, the escape of a perpetrator, or the destruction of evidence.
(4) When there is a specific, articulable, and particularized reason to believe identification would pose a significant danger to the physical safety of the law enforcement officer.
(c) Failure to display identification in accordance with this section is a violation. A second or subsequent violation of this section is an unclassified misdemeanor. The Superior Court has exclusive original jurisdiction over all violations of this section.
Section 2. The provisions of this Act are severable. If any provision of this Act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
SYNOPSIS
This Act requires every law enforcement agency in Delaware to adopt and publicly post a written policy requiring officers to display identification while performing enforcement duties. Identification must include the officer’s agency and a name, a badge number, or both.
This Act also recognizes that there are circumstances where identification cannot or should not be displayed. It creates exceptions for:
• Officers engaged in active undercover operations.
• Officers wearing personal protective equipment (such as gas masks or respirators) that prevents identification from being visible.
• Exigent circumstances, including imminent threats to people or property, an escape in progress, or the destruction of evidence.
• Cases where there is a specific and articulable threat to the physical safety of the officer if identification is displayed.
To ensure accountability, this Act makes failure to display identification a violation. Repeated violations may result in an unclassified misdemeanor, underscoring the seriousness of the requirement.
This Act serves to empower Delaware law enforcement officers to intervene and verify the identity of any person claiming or otherwise acting as law enforcement but who fails to display clear identification, but nothing in this Act diminishes the discretion of law enforcement officers to determine whether it is appropriate to stop or charge any person. This Act also strikes a balance by giving the public confidence that law enforcement officers can be identified and held accountable while also preserving officer safety and operational effectiveness.