Creates class E felony of false personation at a transportation facility or public place for the knowing misrepresentation of personal information to gain access

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of this bill would amend § 190.00 of the penal law to define "public place" and "transportation facility." § 2 would add a new 190.24 to establish a new class E felony of false personation at a transportation facility or public place. A person would be guilty of this offense when he or she knowingly misrepresents his or her actual name, date of birth or address to another person with the intent to obtain admittance into or upon that part of a transportation facility or public place which requires proof of identity to enter.

§ 3 of the bill would amend § 190.26 of the penal law to include within the class E felony of criminal impersonation in the second degree, a person who impersonates another and does an act in such assumed character with intent to obtain admittance into or upon that part of a transportation facility or public place which requires proof of identity to enter.

Section 4. amends § 155.35 of the penal law to include within Grand Larceny in the Third Degree stolen property which consists of an official law enforcement or fire department identification issued by a federal, state or municipal law enforcement agency or fire department.

Section 5. amends § 190.25 of the penal law by adding a new subdivision 4, which would include within Criminal Impersonation in the Second Degree persons pretending to be a pilot, or flight or ground crew member, while upon an aircraft or in an airport.

Section 6. Is the effective date.

Justification

Since the tragedy of September 11th, 2001 security at airports has been dramatically heightened to increase the safety of the passengers and our nation. With nearly 34.8 million passengers traveling through New York airports in 1999 and that figure steadily increasing, it is important to ensure that the credentials of the people with access to

the most secure areas of airliners and airports are authentic. While federal agencies exercise jurisdiction over many aspects of air travel, the security of the airports and grounds are largely the responsibility of state and local law enforcement personnel. For people stopped at the airport with fake pilot or crew uniforms or ID, there is no appropriate charge. Thus, in order to effectively deter pilot or crew impersonation, the penal law should be updated to reflect the recognized risk of pilot or crew impersonation.

Also, the maximum penalty under current law for use of false identification to obtain entrance to an airport or public building, where proof of identification is required, is a class A misdemeanor. The need for heightened security at our airports and public buildings has brought about a corresponding need to increase the severity of penalties for offenses involving the use of false identification document to obtain entrance to these places. Current law penalties have not been increased to reflect the more serious nature of these fraudulent acts. This bill will increase the penalty from the current level of a class A misdemeanor to a class E felony.

In addition, What is a police badge worth to someone who is not a police officer? In the current climate of heightened security and awareness of safety issues, it is a critical question. Hundreds of police and fire department badges and IDs are stolen across the country each year. These forms of identification can become a tremendous danger to society if obtained for nefarious use.

These government issued IDs could allow a person to impersonate legitimate law enforcement and public safety personnel and gain access to certain high security areas and effectively avoid close scrutiny in many secure situations.

Currently, there is no value enhancement to these IDs, so they may only be charged based upon their nominal monetary value, not their actual value. The New York State Penal Law recognizes value enhancements when the stolen item is of far greater import than its nominal cost, but does not currently address police and fire identification.

In addition, psychologists have shown that people often accept the authority of a person in uniform without question, which obviously presents a problem if the person wearing a uniform is doing so fraudulently. Given the widespread, limited oversight access to equipment that could be used to damage property or cause loss of life that legitimate personnel have, it is clear that we must ensure that legitimate, properly credentialed personnel alone are permitted to enter secure areas.

Legislative history

2011-2012 Passed the Senate (S.5232) 2013: Passed the Senate (S. 759)

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

November 1 after enactment.