Reporting crimes.

Existing law, subject to exceptions, provides that any person who reasonably believes that he or she has observed the commission of a murder, rape, or lewd and lascivious act committed by use of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person, where the victim of any of these crimes is under 14 years of age, shall notify a peace officer. Violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,500 or incarceration not exceeding 6 months in a county jail, or both the fine and incarceration. This bill would expand those provisions to apply when the victim of the offense observed is under 18 years of age, and would specify that this obligation to report crimes to a peace officer applies to sodomy, oral copulation, and sexual penetration, as specified, where those crimes are accomplished by use of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person, and rape in concert. The bill would provide additional exceptions to the reporting requirement for domestic partners, for children under 12 years of age, and for victims of the offenses that are subject to reporting. The bill would provide that a violation of these reporting obligations may also be punished as an infraction by a fine of $250. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.