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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Frank Dermody |
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Dermody bill would add to Commission on Crime and Delinquency board
HARRISBURG, March 31 – State Rep. Frank Dermody, D-Oakmont, has introduced legislation that would add the executive director of the Commission on Sentencing to the board of the Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
"The primary focus of the Commission on Sentencing deals with sentencing practices and policies, but it is not represented on the Commission on Crime and Delinquency, which monitors and studies all aspects of our criminal justice system," Dermody explained. "Adding this person to the Commission on Crime and Delinquency will improve the work of both commissions and, as a result, the criminal justice policies of the Commonwealth will be better for it."
The Commission on Crime and Delinquency guides criminal justice policy in the Commonwealth, from the administration of justice to establishment of goals, objectives and standards for reducing crime and delinquency. Current members include the state police commissioner, attorney general, the state secretaries of Public Welfare and Corrections, state courts administrator, legislators, and representatives from county government and victims' services.
The Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, created in 1978, serves as a clearinghouse of information on the state's sentencing practices. Dermody chairs the 11-member board, which includes judges, attorneys and legislators. He also serves as chairman of the House Urban Affairs Committee.
The bill (H.B. 1145) has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
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