Bill to Increase Scrutiny for Placement of Sexually Violent Predators Passes First Committee

A bill aimed at increasing public safety scrutiny during the placement of released Sexually Violent Predators (SVP) unanimously passed the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday.

Senate Bill 379, authored by Senator Brian Jones (R-San Diego), would require the California Department of State Hospitals (DSH) to ensure department vendors consider public safety in the placement of a conditionally released sexually violent predator and approve a potential placement before a department employee or vendor signs a lease or rental agreement for the placement of a sexually violent predator.

In layman’s terms, the bill, also known as the the Sexually Violent Predator Accountability, Fairness, and Enforcement (SAFE) Act, requires DSH to ensure department vendors consider public safety in the placement of SVPs following their release. In addition, SB 379 requires DSH to take ownership in the placement process by approving any placements before a department employee or vendor can sign any leases for placement locations. In addition, because of the sensitive nature of the placements, this bill has an urgency clause to take effect immediately.

Senator Jones wrote the bill because of the current minimum standards of the SVP placement process. When SVPs are released through the Forensic Conditional Release Program (CONREP), there are some current guidelines in law – including Jessica’s Law, which prohibits registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park. However, as noted in the SB 379 fact sheet, DSH has almost completely removed itself from the SVP placement process while claiming zero accountability and deferring all questions and concerns to Liberty Healthcare. As a result, there have been several botched placement efforts where Liberty Healthcare has attempted to place SVPs in sensitive and in appropriate locations, leading to public outcry.

“In just one example, Liberty Healthcare placed an SVP diagnosed with sexual sadism and convicted of child molestation across the street from a family with two deaf children, forcing them to relocate due to the public safety threat given their children’s disability,” reads the fact sheet. “In many cases, the courts have intervened to deny placements, but Liberty Healthcare has often already started the leasing process. This wastes resources and causes delays in the placement process. When Liberty Healthcare charges the taxpayer $400,000 per SVP per year, it should be able to effectively place SVPs while keeping public safety a top priority.”

SB 379 unanimously passed through committee

With such an urgent situation on hand with the placement of SVPs, little opposition has formed against SB 379. This was seen in the unanimous Senate Public Safety Committee vote on Tuesday, as well as the warm reception the bill has gotten in the Senate as a whole.

“We are thankful that the Senate Public Safety Committee understands the need to protect our communities from Sexually Violent Predators,” said Leader Jones on Tuesday. “Together, these bills are the first step towards fixing this broken and frightening predator release program. SVPs have committed crimes so heinous, I argue they should never be released from prison. If the state is ordered by a court to release SVPs and has no choice but to do so, the state has the responsibility to do it in a manner that best protects the public. The SAFE Act will require transparency in the SVP placement process, force state officials to own up to these decisions, and make public safety a priority.”

In a Globe interview on Tuesday, Senator Jones also responded to questions if the DSH would need to investigate or look into the areas for SVP placement even more if SB 379 is passed, as well as if the DSH needed to implement greater scrutiny .

“Yes, DSH will need to be more involved in the process if it passes,” Jones told the Globe. “Situations that threaten public safety, such as the one with the deaf children living near an SVP, could be avoided in the future because of greater scrutiny from DSH.

“SB 379 will ensure that the state, not a third-party vendor, is approving site suitability before taxpayer dollars are wasted and communities are put at risk. We’ve seen time and again that this privatized placement process is failing our communities and the Director of State Hospitals needs to step up and get involved to prevent future unsafe placements. This bill will finally bring that to fruition.”