BY-NC-SA The rape of a 16-year-old Richmond High student has led California politicians to take action, proposing bills that would revise the Witness Responsibility Act. Currently, the law requires people to report any violent crime committed against a person 14-years-old or younger.
To get both sides of the issue we spoke first with Pedro Nava, a Democratic Assemblyman from Santa Barbara wants to revise the Witness Responsibility Act making witnesses responsible for reporting crimes against a person regardless of age
First of all, if you’re a witness are you supposed to guess whether or not the person you see getting attack is 17 and a half, are you supposed to guess if they’re 18 or 19 and therefore you don’t have to make a call?- Pedro Nava, (D) Santa Barbara
We followed up with the American Civil Liberties Union's Senior Legislative Advocate. The ACLU opposes Nava’s proposal, and holds that the Witness Responsibility Act is a bad idea as a whole.
[It] makes it a crime to be at the wrong place at the wrong time if you fail to report what you have seen. This bill does not consider that people may have very good reasons not to report crimes. - Valerie Small Navarro, ACLU
Check out the full interviews with Assemblyman Pedro Nava and ACLU Senior Legislative Advocate Valerie Small Navarro
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