Priorities and Initiatives - Public Safety
Governor Lynch works to continue to work to keep New Hampshire one of the safest states in the nation.
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Protecting Children from Sexual Predators
Governor Lynch worked collaboratively with the Department of Justice, county prosecutors and the state's law enforcement community to develop and pass the Online Child Safety Act and the Child Protection Act, among the nation's toughest and most comprehensive laws to protect children from sexual predators.
The Child Protection Act increases registration and monitoring requirements for sex offenders, provides the public more information and toughens sentences on child predators. The Act establishes a presumption that a criminal who preys sexually on a child under 13 will receive a sentence of 25 years; a second offense would carry a mandatory life sentence. The law also establishes a presumption of a 25-year sentence for knowingly causing permanent bodily injury to a child. It also makes the second-degree murder of a child subject to a sentence of 35 years.
In addition to tougher penalties, this new law gives parents and law enforcement new tools to protect children - by increasing registration and monitoring requirements. - Online Safety
The Online Child Safety Act modernizes state laws to help parents better protect their children from on-line predators. It strengthens the penalties in existing law for enticing a child over the Internet, and provides enhanced penalties for repeat offenders; it overhauls and expands existing child pornography laws to better reflect the victimization that occurs every day when images of sexually abused children are created and distributed; and it closes a loophole so that sex offenders using web cams can be held accountable. more... - Cold Case Unit
Governor Lynch worked with the state departments of Justice and Safety to create a Cold Case Unit, which has dedicated investigators to look into crimes that have long gone unsolved, giving these cases the time, resources and attention they need and deserve. more...