STATE OF Washington — Law enforcement advocates plan to push for changes to the state law, which many say limits their ability to talk to children to help solve crimes and hinders some investigations.

Some say this prevents justice from being served in many cases.

The law has been in effect for nearly two years and requires law enforcement to provide access to an attorney before questioning minors.

Many people say this law was initially passed in good faith to protect the rights of minors when it comes to criminal investigations, but some say this law has unintended consequences and they would like to see change.

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“Unfortunately we’re seeing some sort of reduction in victims’ rights to justice because under this law it’s really difficult for detectives and police officers to understand what’s happening when more than one child is involved in a particular case,” Steve Strachan said. with Washington Sheriffs and Police Association Chiefs said.

An example of this occurred recently in Everett when three minors were taken into custody. regarding triple fatal crashbut police said they had to be released after officers’ ability to question the children was restricted.

Sen. Keith Wagoner (R-Sedro Wooley) said many agencies in the district he represents wanted to change the law after seeing the effects it would have on their investigations.

“I received a report from an agency that a young man’s mother overheard her son bringing a loaded firearm to school,” Wagoner said. “He was contacted by school officials, a loaded gun fell out of his waistband, and that was something like that.”

“The police chief there said, ‘Why did you think you had to carry a gun?’ He expressed his frustration at not being able to ask simple questions such as. Are you in danger? Do you feel like you’re in danger? Where did you find that?’ So all these questions were never answered because they were never asked.”

Law enforcement is planning some changes to the law that would require police officers to give children access to an attorney before being questioned.

“Having some sort of parental consent can go a long way when it comes to these types of cases,” said Marco Monteblanco of the Washington Fraternal Order of Police. “That’s why young people want to talk to us so badly, and after they talk to their parents, their parents want them to talk to us, but when it comes to contacting a lawyer right away, that puts them off. “It prevents progress from happening, and so only having parental consent can help in these situations.”

The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs also points to a 24% year-over-year increase in juvenile crimes statewide among its concerns about the change.

“I think we’ve seen an increase in the number of young people being trafficked for violent crimes because there’s a feeling among some that it’s going to be harder to charge and prosecute young people,” Strachan said.

There is also some confusion about whether this law applies to juvenile witnesses or just suspects, and advocates are calling for some clarification of the law to determine what is allowed.

Bills proposed by Democrats earlier this year aimed to change the law so young people could provide evidence that could clear them of any wrongdoing and make other changes to the law, but those bills haven’t seen much movement in the legislature.

A bill is expected to be introduced again in the upcoming legislative session, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed interest in working on the issue.

“Nobody wants to see someone’s rights violated or a young person get hurt,” Wagoner said. “But what we want to see is a way for police officers to feel more empowered to get vital life-saving information and make our communities safer.”