HARRISBURG – Sen. Lisa Boscola of Lehigh & Northampton Counties plans to reintroduce “Robin’s Law,” legislation to establish a statewide domestic violence offender registry in PA. The proposal is designed to identify repeat domestic violence offenders, improve victim safety, and provide law enforcement and the public with critical information about persons with documented patterns of domestic abuse. Too often, individuals repeatedly engage in violent conduct against intimate partners or family members, escalating in severity over time. While PA maintains robust criminal penalties for domestic violence offenses, there is currently no statewide mechanism to track and publicly identify persistent domestic violence offenders once they reenter the community. The bill is named in honor of Robin Shaffer, a Quakertown woman who was murdered by her estranged husband on June 15, 2004. The bill would establish a publicly accessible domestic violence offender registry maintained by the PA State Police. Individuals convicted of qualifying domestic violence–related offenses and who demonstrate a documented pattern of repeat abuse would be required to register. It would also impose criminal penalties for failure to register or update required information, and would require notification to victims and law enforcement upon initial registration and any subsequent changes of address.
SEN. LISA BOSCOLA