Northhampton News

Legislation that would increase protections for the rights of corrections officers and forensics officers under investigation recently passed the Pennsylvania State Senate.

Introduced by Pennsylvania State Sen. David Argall (R-29), SB Bill 569 or the Correctional and Forensic Employees Investigation Procedure Act is an act providing for guidelines and procedures governing certain investigations and interrogations of correctional and forensic employees, according to the text of the bill.

“Last week, my bill ensuring the constitutional rights of corrections officers & forensic employees passed w/ bipartisan support in the Senate Labor & Industry Committee,” Argall wrote in a Feb. 16 Twitter post.

The guidelines cover where meetings can be held, how soon they should be held, how and when the accused is to be notified and that no retaliation or unjust termination can take place.

If any complaint is unfounded, it is completely expunged from personnel records.

"I strongly believe that any officer or employee found guilty of a crime should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Argall said at a recent Senate Labor & Industry Committee meeting. "However, this legislation will guarantee and preserve the constitutional rights of the accused, so they are not punished without due process."