Senate Approves Regola’s Booking Center Bill

measure would fund “one-stop” booking centers for local police

The Senate today overwhelmingly approved Senate Bill 397, legislation sponsored by Senator Bob Regola (R-39) to help counties cover the costs of regional police “booking centers.” 

The bill now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.  The Senate approved a similar bill last year, but the measure was not passed by the House prior to the end of the 2005-06 Legislative Session. 

“I am pleased that my colleagues have again supported this proposal to give our law enforcement agencies an important tool in their crime fighting efforts,” Senator Regola said.  “I hope the House will move it through this time.  This is too important of an issue to let it to disappear.  I hope the House will agree and send it on to the Governor’s desk.” 

SB 397 would specifically allow courts to impose a booking fee on someone who is convicted of a crime.  He said regional booking centers use new technology to provide fast and efficient processing for criminals and can make communities safer by allowing police to know who they have in their possession more rapidly. 

“These ‘one stop shop’ regional booking centers are an important tool in crime fighting,” said Senator Regola.  “They are cost effective because they are shared by many different departments and they provide local police departments with access to state of the art equipment and national databases.”  

The Westmoreland County Chiefs of Police Association approached Senator Regola last year about problems the encountered in trying to implement regional police booking centers in the county.  They were advised by the County Criminal Justice Advisory Board that the county did not have the statutory authority to impose that fee. 

Booking centers, proposed for New Kensington, Murrysville, Greensburg and Rostraver in Westmoreland County, would each contain a “Live Scan” hand scanning device.  This device takes a digital image of a defendant’s palm and fingerprints and is able to transfer that information electronically to the Pennsylvania State Police. 

“The State Police can take that information and enter it into a number of databases nationwide to determine the defendant’s background,” Senator Regola said.  “Astoundingly, this transfer of information takes only 7 minutes to complete and when it comes to law enforcement and public safety, that speed is a vital factor.”

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Contact:  Nate Silcox    (717) 787-6063