| Updated: 3:23 p.m.
A new bill under consideration in the Utah Legislature seeks to rein in the use of controversial “no-knock” warrants that allow police to burst into someone’s home without warning in order to make an arrest or search for evidence of crimes.
The proposal from Rep. Craig Hall, R-West Valley City, wouldn’t go so far as to eliminate no-knock warrants, which are typically used for drug crimes but it would restrict them to instances when there is an “existing, imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death to a person inside the building.”
In other circumstances, Hall’s bill would require police to knock loudly at least three times, identify themselves as officers, demand admission to the building and then wait at least 30 seconds before they could forcibly enter. Under Utah law, officers are already required to identify themselves as law enforcement and to explain the reason why they need admission as part of these “knock-and-announce” warra
Deseret News
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Forty-four candles line the Capitol steps to represent the number of deaths in 2017 associated with domestic violence. A proposed bill in Utah would enhance the penalty for domestic violence on the third offense, which lawmakers hope will decrease domestic violence deaths in the state.
Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY The Utah Senate is poised to pass a bill to enhance the penalty for third-time domestic violence offenders in the hope of lowering the state’s high rate of domestic violence deaths.
“Domestic violence is cyclical in nature and escalates over time. Also, there is a risk of lethality that is always attached to domestic violence. Statistically looking at the number of fatalities in Utah, an overwhelming amount of them are related to domestic violence,” bill sponsor Sen. Jani Iwamoto, D-Holladay, said Tuesday.
Lawmakers are considering a task force to look at redesigning the state flag for Utah, though not everyone thinks it’s something that needs to be done.
In one of the first significant moves in the chambers, the Senate unanimously passed SB11, a bill that would use about $43 million out of the $80 million already set aside for tax cuts to reduce income taxes for Utahns on Social Security and military retirement.