HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 8.2 AB1495 ParolePlacemts CITY CLERK
AGENDA STATEMENT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: May 20, 2003
SUBJECT: Consideration of Assembly Bill 1495 (Chavez) re: Parole
Placements for Sexual Offenders
Report Prepared by: Christopher L. Foss
Economic Development Director
ATTACHMENTS: 1. Assembly Bill 1495
2. Letter from Mayor Herfert of City of West Covina
RECOMMENDATION: ~g~e~ Receive report and provide Staff with the appropriate direction
relative to Assembly Bill 1495.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT: None.
DESCRIPTION: Existing California Penal law provides that an inmate released on parole for
any violation of child molestation or continuous sexual abuse of a child shall not be placed or reside, for
the duration of parole, within one-quarter mile of any school including any or all of Grades K-6 inclusive.
Assembly Bill 1495 (Chavez) makes several modifications to the existing California law (Section 3003 of
the California Penal Code), including the siting of parolees (see Attachment 1). AB 1495 proposes to,
among other things, expand the "safety-zone" in which convicted sexual offenders are prohibited to live
and/or work to one-quarter mile from any elementary or middle school.
At the May 6, 2003 City Council meeting, Mayor Lockhart indicated that she has recently received a letter
from Mayor Herfert of West Covina encouraging the City's support as AB 1495 (see Attachment 2). At
the above-mentioned meeting, Mayor Lockhart asked that staff place Assembly Bill 1495 on this agenda
for discussion and consideration of support.
The proposed legislation was passed out of the Assembly Public Safety Committee on May 1, 2003 and
was amended on May 5, 2003.
This legislation has been reviewed by Dublin Police Services.
RECOMMENDATION: Receive report and provide Staffwith the appropriate direction relative to
Assembly Bill 1495.
COPIES TO:
ITEM NO. ___~0 ~
H/c¢-forms/agdastmt. doc
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 5, 2003
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE--2003~34 REGULAR SESSION
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 1495
Introduced by Assembly Member Chavez
February 21, 2003
An act to amend Sections 290.6 mhd Section 3003 of the Penal Code,
relating to .....cc~_~_, parole placement
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1495, as amended, Chavez.~,,..~ .... ,,~,..,~orc^~'~^~ Parole placement.
Existing law provides that an inmate who is released on parole shall
not be returned to within 35 miles of the residence of a victim of, or
witness to, specified felonies, if the victim or witness requests the
additional distance, and the Board of Prison Terms or the Department
of Corrections finds that there is a need to protect the life, safety, or well
being of the victim or witness.
The bill would extend this 35-mile exclusion distance to 50 miles.
Existing law provides that persons released on parole for specified
sex offenses involving children victims may not be placed or reside, for
the duration of parole, within 1/4 mile of a school including any or all
of kindergarten or grades 1 to 6, inclusive.
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Attachment 1
AB 1495 2
This bill ould ~,,t-~.-1 .1.,~ ,-1; ....... C .... 1..~i ....... ;~-1~:~ I l_ ~;1~ AC
a ;¢hoo! aa ......... specify that the 1/4 mile exclusion applies to public
or private schools, and wouM expand the exclusion to cover schools that
include 7th or 8th grade.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
27 SEC. 2. Section 3003 of the Penal Code is mnended to read:
28 3003. (a) Except as othe~ise provided in this section, an
29 imate who is released on p~ole shall be returned to the co~W
30 that was the last legal residence of ~e imate prior to his or her
31 incarceration.
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3 AB 1495
1 For purposes of this subdivision, "last legal residence" shall not
2 be construed to mean the county wherein the inmate committed an
3 offense while confined in a state prison or local jail facility or while
4 confined for treatment in a state hospital.
5 (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), an inmate may be
6 returned to another county if that would be in the best interests of
7 the public. If the Board of Prison Terms setting the conditions of
8 parole for inmates sentenced pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section
9 1168, as determined by the parole consideration panel, or the
10 Department of Corrections setting the conditions of parole for
11 inmates sentenced pursuant to Section 1170, decides on a return to
12 another county, it shall place its reasons in writing in the parolee's
13 permanent record and include these reasons in the notice to the
14 sheriff or chief of police pursuant to Section 3058.6. In making its
15 decision, the paroling authority shall consider, among others, the
16 following factors, giving the greatest weight to the protection of
17 the victim and the safety of the community:
18 (1) The need to protect the life or safety of a victim, the parolee,
19 a witness, or any other person.
20 (2) Public concern that would reduce the chance that the
21 inmate's parole would be successfully completed.
22 (3) The verified existence of a work offer, or an educational or
23 vocational training program.
24 (4) The existence of family in another county with whom the
25 inmate has maintained strong ties and whose support would
26 increase the chance that the inmate's parole would be successfully
27 completed.
28 (5) The lack of necessary outpatient treatment programs for
29 parolees receiving treatment pursuant to Section 2960.
30 (c) The Department of Corrections, in determining an
31 out-of-county commitment, shall give priority to the safety of the
32 community and any witnesses and victims.
33 (d) In making its decision about an inmate who participated in
34 a joint venture program pursuant to Article 1.5 (commencing with
35 Section 2717.1) of Chapter 5, the paroling authority shall give
36 serious consideration to releasing him or her to the county where
37 the joint venture program employer is located if that employer
38 states to the paroling authority that he or she intends to employ the
39 inmate upon release.
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AB 1495 4
1 (e) (1)The following information, if available, shall be
2 released by the Department of Corrections to local law
3 enforcement agencies regarding a paroled inmate who is released
4 in their jurisdictions:
5 (A) Last, tn:st, and middle name.
6 (B) Birth date.
7 (C) Sex, race, height, weight, and hair and eye colon
8 (D) Date of parole and discharge.
9 (E) Registration status, if the inmate is required to register as
10 a result ora controlled substance, sex, or arson offense.
11 (F) California Criminal Information Number, FBI number,
12 social security number, and driver's license number.
13 (G) County of commitment.
14 (H) A description of scars, marks, and tattoos on the inmate.
15 (I) Offense or offenses for which the inmate was convicted that
16 resulted in parole in this instance.
17 (J) Address, including all of the following information:
18 (i) Street name and number. Post office box numbers are not
19 acceptable for purposes of this subparagraph.
20 (ii) City and ZIP Code.
21 (iii) Date that the address provided pursuant to this
22 subparagraph was proposed to be effective.
23 (K) Contact officer and unit, including all of the following
24 information:
25 (i) Name and telephone number of each contact officer.
26 (ii) Contact unit type of each contact officer such as units
27 responsible for parole, registration, or county probation.
28 (L) A digitized image of the photograph and at least a single
29 digit fingerprint of the parolee.
30 (M) A geographic coordinate for the parolee's residence
31 location for use with a Geographical Information System (GIS) or
32 comparable computer program.
33 (2) The information required by this subdivision shall come
34 from the statewide parolee data base. The information obtained
35 from each source shall be based on the same timeframe.
36 (3) All of the information required by this subdivision shall be
37 provided utilizing a computer-to-computer transfer in a format
38 usable by a desktop computer system. The transfer of this
39 information shall be continually available to local law
40 enforcement agencies upon request.
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-- 5 -- AB 1495
1 (4) The unauthorized release or receipt of the information
2 described in this subdivision is a violation of Section 11143.
3 (f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an inmate who
4 is released on parole shall not be returned to a location within ~
5 50 miles of the actual residence of a victim of, or a witness to, a
6 violent felony as defined in paragraphs (1) to (7), inclusive, of
7 subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 or a felony in which the defendant
8 inflicts great bodily injury on any person other than an accomplice
9 that has been charged and proved as provided for in Section
10 12022.53, 12022.7, or 12022.9, if the victim or witness has
11 requested additional distance in the placement of the inmate on
12 parole, and if the Board of Prison Terms or the Department of
! 3 Corrections finds that there is a need to protect the life, safety, or
14 well-being of a victim or witness.
15 (g) Notwithstanding any other law, an inmate who is released
16 on parole for any violation of Section 288 or 288.5 shall not be
17 placed or reside, for the duration of his or her period of parole,
18 within z~nz ~r~!£ one-quarter mile of anypublic orprivate school
19 including any or all of kindergarten and grades 1 to 6 8, inclusive.
20 (h) Notwithstanding any other law, an inmate who is released
21 on parole for an offense involving stalking shall not be returned to
22 a location within 35 miles of the victim's actual residence or place
23 of employment if the victim or witness has requested additional
24 distance in the placement of the inmate on parole, and if the Board
25 of Prison Terms or the Department of Corrections finds that there
26 is a need to protect the life, safety, or well-being of the victim.
27 (i) The authority shall give consideration to the equitable
28 distribution of parolees and the proportion of out-of-county
29 commitments from a county compared to the number of
30 commitments from that county when making parole decisions.
31 (j) An inmate may be paroled to another state pursuant to any
32 other law.
33 (k) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Depar~ent of
34 Corrections shall be the agency primarily responsible for, and shall
35 have control over, the program, resources, and staff implementing
36 the Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS) in
37 conformance with subdivision (e).
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AB 1495 6
1 (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Department of Justice
2 shall be the agency primarily responsible for the proper release of
3 information under LEADS that relates to fingerprint cards.
O
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May 1, 2003
The Honorable Janet Lockhart
Mayor
City of Dublin
Dublin, CA 94568-2658
Re: AB 149S (Chavez) - Amendment to Megan's Law
Dear Mayor:
I write this letter to urge your city's support for AB 1495, a bill currently pending in the State
Assembly that the City of West Covina has authored and introduced with the assistance of
Assemblyman Ed Chavez.
Our city's action on AB 1495 arose out of the recent experience with a convicted serious sex
offender who was paroled into our city by State officials with very little prior contact and no
public input. This serious sex offender was released into a neighborhood full of children was an
outrage to our residents, and a violation of laws governing the parole of sex offenders.
AB 1495 is a first step in minimizing the potential threat to children and families by
strengthening the provisions of Megan's Law. Specifically, the 'safety-zone' in which convicted
sex offenders are prohibited from working or residing would be expanded to include middle
schools as well as elementary schools. In addition, distance restrictions on wb. ere sex offenders
may work and reside are extended in order to better protect victims and their families. These
amendments to Megan's Law will hopefully mark the beginning of future legal protections to
guard our children and families from convicted sex offenders. We hope that AB 1495 will
prevent other communities from experiencing what our city went through.
Please forward your letters of support to:
Assemblyman Ed Chavez Mayor Steve Herfert
State Capitol and City of West Covina
P.O. Box 942849 1444 West Gamey Avenue
Sacramento, CA 94249-0057 West Covina, CA 91790
Attachment 2
Please feel free to contact the West Covina City Attorney Arnold Alvarez-Glasman or Matt
Gorman with the Law Firm of Alvarez-Glasman & Colvin for further information. They can be
reached at (626) 858-9121.
Your support for AB 1495 is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Steve Herfert
Mayor