Top cop slams Illinois SAFE-T Act – dubbed ‘Purge Law’ – as social experiment, hits out on 48 hour gap for missing perps
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A FORMER police chief said the controversial “Purge law” will put people’s lives at risk and doesn’t want it used as a social experiment for bail reform.
The Illinois law includes a state-wide end to cash bail starting January 1, 2023 and a provision that prevents cops from searching for missing offenders until 48 hours after they’re in violation.
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Both changes are part of sweeping, justice-reform law called the SAFE-T Act (Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today), which social media has referred to as “The Purge law.”
One hundred of Illinois’ 102 county prosecutors opposed the bill, and police were never consulted before it passed, former Riverside Police Chief Tom Wietzel told The U.S. Sun.
“We told them this wasn’t a good idea,” said Wietzel, who retired in May 2021 after nearly four decades in law enforcement that included surviving a shotgun blast to the chest.
“I think it was just a knee jerk reaction to what happened in Minneapolis, and the politicians want to say Illinois is the first state to end cash bail.”
A few cities across the US have implemented various degrees of bail reform, but this law is the most drastic because it’s statewide and includes violent crimes like murder and kidnapping.
Loyola University of Chicago and the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority will evaluate the changes made by the Act.
“I don’t want Illinois to be a social experiment.”
Former police chief Tom Wietzel
“I don’t want Illinois to be a social experiment,” Weitzel said. “And you don’t experiment with criminal justice. Lives are risk.”
Weitzel noted that law enforcement feedback is again excluded from the study and shows “disrespect” towards the cops who make the arrests and are directly impacted by the law.
“If they don’t include police officers themselves and/or police chiefs, in my opinion, the report and analysis would be flawed,” Riverside’s retired top cop said.
The evaluation summary doesn’t mention specific benchmarks to determine the provision’s success or failure.
PENDULUM SWING
Since the world watched George Floyd’s murder under the knee of a disgraced former cop, the pendulum drastically swung towards police reform.
The result has brought about some positive changes, which Weitzel noted is included in the legislation, such as body cameras and new training.
But the downside has been a more hands-off approach towards crime, which has surged in most major cities across the US in recent years.
In Chicago, the number of murders jumped from 361 in 2019 to 536 in 2020 to 565 in 2021, according to Chicago police’s last crime stats. So far in 2022, there are 479 murders.
“The pendulum always swings from one extreme to the other and then swings back,” Wietzel said.
“But if we don’t take action, the pendulum might not swing back to public safety.”
48 HOUR HEAD START
The other issue Weitzel sees with the 800-page legislation is the changes to the electronic monitoring system, which is already in effect.
Suspects with GPS ankle monitors are not considered to be in violation until they’re missing for 48 hours, which starts after police confirm they’re unaccounted for.
“That can be a week or more before police realize someone is gone. And then the 48 hour clock starts,” Weitzel said.
“All three of my sons are police officers, and they’ve made more arrests for serious crimes to DUIs where the suspect has the electronic bracelet on their ankles,” he said.
“It shows they’re still committing crimes.”
CWB Chicago, a local outlet, has been cracking the number of shootings committed by defendants while in the electronic monitoring placement program.
On Thursday, the outlet reported that a suspect accused of murder is the “37th person accused of killing or shooting—or attempting to kill or shoot—someone in Chicago while awaiting trial for a felony this year.”
The U.S. Sun filed a public information request for data pertaining to the electronic monitoring placement program throughout the state.
THE SAFE-T ACT DIVIDE
Supporters and opponents of the law have generally been divided along political party lines.
Many Republicans have argued that it will increase the number of crimes; while Democrats argue the current bail system discriminates against people of color.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker addressed the law’s opponents in a Wednesday morning tweet.
“Misinformation spreads like wildfire, and there are ugly lies making the rounds about the SAFE-T Act,” he said.
“This law does not mandate the release of defendants or create ‘non-detainable offenses.’ Defendants are eligible for pre-trial release based on their risk, not their bank accounts. Learn more.”
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