Lawmakers to Battle High-Tech Crime
The Legislature is preparing to take on high-tech thieves next year, as lawmakers are drafting a series of bills to address everything from old-fashioned holdups and computer chip heists to increasingly prevalent crimes such as identity theft and electronic invasion of privacy.
The Legislature is in recess until Jan. 5, but lawmakers this week convened an informational hearing on high-tech crime, attended by two dozen legislators and top-ranking law enforcement officials.
“These are the crimes of the 21st century,” said Assemblyman Robert Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks), chairman of the Assembly Public Safety Committee. “We need to be proactive in stopping the meteoric rise of this kind of crime.”
The growing high-tech crime wave in areas like Silicon Valley coincides with the emergence of high-tech firms as an affluent, growing political constituency in California politics. Lawmakers in both parties will be eager to back up their promises with legislation and state dollars.
An estimate from the Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. puts the annual cost of high-tech crime at more than $8 billion worldwide. John O’Loughlin, director of corporate security at Sun Microsystems Inc., cautioned that the figure was just an estimate.
In an effort to better peg the cost of the crimes, the International Electronics Security Group, an association of 19 high-tech firms that includes Sun, IBM Corp. and Intel Corp., has commissioned Santa Monica-based Rand Corp. to attach an exact dollar figure to the cost of the crime. Initial results from the $600,000 study are due in January, when lawmakers can begin introducing a new round of bills into the Legislature.
Among the legislative changes envisioned by Hertzberg are increased penalties for high-tech theft and funding to train law enforcement officials to keep pace with high-tech criminals.
“In some respects, our job in all this is really limited,” Hertzberg said of the Legislature. “But what we can do is help facilitate efforts for law enforcement to coordinate their efforts.”
Among the likely bills will be a measure to establish a new division within the state Department of Justice to deal specifically with computer-based crime. Other bills could provide money to train police officers and to furnish law enforcement officials with state-of-the-art electronics equipment to keep pace with cutting-edge criminals.
Hot Bills
Mortgage Loan Reporting
Bottom Line: Tens of millions of dollars are lost annually through mortgage loan scams, especially those in recent years targeting seniors. This bill will increase the number of mortgage loan brokers who must make annual reports to the Department of Real Estate by lowering reporting threshold requirements to 10 transactions, from 20, and to $1 million in total loans per year, from $2 million. The bill seeks to extend state oversight of brokers. Only 250 to 300 brokers statewide do enough business to come under current reporting standards.
Chances: Gov. Pete Wilson signed the bill into law last week.
Next Step: Takes effect Jan. 1.
Details: SB 795 author Quentin Kopp (I-San Francisco) can be reached at (916) 445-0503 or by e-mail at senator.kopp@sen
.ca.gov
Locks Required on Rentals
Bottom Line: Tenants, especially single mothers and their children, are especially vulnerable in high-crime areas when landlords do not provide adequate locks on outside doors, argued this bill’s supporters. This bill will require the landlord of a rental unit to install and maintain deadbolt locks on all exterior doors, except for sliding doors. It also requires locks on windows within 12 feet of the ground.
Chances: The bill had well more than 100 listed supporting organizations, including labor, housing and senior-citizen advocates, but it barely squeaked through the Legislature with narrow margins in both the Assembly and Senate and solid Republican opposition. Still, the bill won Wilson’s signature last week.
Next Step: Takes effect Jan. 1.
Details: SB 548 author Hilda Solis (D-El Monte) can be reached at (916) 445-1418.
