Crime victims should never hesitate to call for help. But many are afraid to call police for fear of being evicted for making some could consider a nuisance call emergency services. This week I joined my House colleagues in unanimously passing House Bill 1796 to prohibit the adoption of a municipal ordinance to penalize a resident or landlord if police or emergency assistance was dispatched in response to an individual needing intervention or emergency help. While the bill would preserve a municipality’s ability to combat nuisance properties and false alarms, the Pennsylvania Coalition of Domestic Violence reports that at least 23 municipalities in Pennsylvania have ordinances that would penalize a victim for simply calling for help. The bill moves to the Senate for consideration.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 19:00:00 +0000