By Steve Gillespie
Two bills to better combat computer crimes and identity theft have been signed into law by Gov. Haley Barbour.
HB 1362 will expand the Attorney General's administrative subpoena power to include computer crimes.
HB 1357 expands the definition of identity theft victims to include businesses and other entities.
Both bills were sponsored by State Rep. Brandon Jones D-Pascagoula. HB 1357 also was sponsored by State Rep. Russ Nowell, D-Louisville.
Jones said the bill that expands subpoena powers, coupled with new technology used by the Attorney General's office, will lead to the arrest of "hundreds of child abusers across Mississippi."
"The bottom line," Jones said, "is that this bill will allow law enforcement officials to learn the actual address of child predators and bring them in."
In a statement about the new law issued by Attorney General Jim Hood, he said: "When we begin using these administrative subpoenas along with the new, cutting edge Operation Fairplay technology, we will be arresting perverts at a record pace."
Hood also applauded the Legislature and Barbour for expanding the definition of identity theft victims.
"A criminal will often times create a fake check using a business's legitimate information and draw on their banks and their credit. This can have a devastating impact, particularly on small businesses," Hood said. "Before the bill was enacted, we could charge these criminals with embezzlement or a similar crime, but now we can prosecute these offenders for identity theft, like we can when it involves an individual."
