“This legislation fulfills our commitment to protect our law enforcement and gain public trust by promoting uniformity, clarity and transparency,” said Governor McCrory. “We are also taking action to curb violence among public safety officials and keep our citizens and law enforcement personnel safe through needle exchange programs.”

The Law Enforcement Omnibus Bill (House Bill 1044) signed by Governor McCrory helps protect our police by establishing the Blue Alert System to aid in the apprehension of suspects who kill or inflict serious bodily injury on a law enforcement officer. This legislation will help curtail violence against our police officers by engaging the community to help capture suspects who seek to harm an officer.

Governor McCrory also signed House Bill 972. The bill seeks to gain public trust while respecting the rights of public safety officers by establishing clear and distinct procedures and standards by which a law enforcement agency may disclose or release a recording from a body-worn or dashboard camera. The law allows any person whose image or voice is captured in the recording, or his or her personal representative, to submit a written request for disclosure and, unless the agency can demonstrate a legitimate reason not to disclose the recording, it must be disclosed as promptly as possible. If a law enforcement agency fails to disclose the recording within three business days of the request, the requester is entitled to an expedited hearing in Superior Court.

The bill also protects the health and safety of law enforcement and citizens by authorizing the establishment of needle exchange programs by local governments. This will help prevent the spread of HIV, hepatitis and other diseases in our state. Other states where these programs operate have seen HIV transmission among injection drug users drop by 80 percent, Hepatitis C reduced by 50 percent and needle-stick injury to law enforcement drop by 66 percent. Additionally, studies show that people who participate in needle exchange programs are five times more likely to enter drug treatment than non-participants, building on Governor McCrory’s commitment to combating drug use.

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