"My single greatest priority as governor is to protect the safety and well being of all Californians. High risk sex offenders pose a threat to public safety and we must take every necessary step to eliminate that threat," said Schwarzenegger.
"Up to 730 new sex offenders are released from state prison every month and about one-third of them are high-risk. And the law says they must be returned to the counties they came from. So for the safety of our communities we must know where these predators live and what they are doing. We cannot allow them to re-offend."
Schwarzenegger established the High Risk Sex Offender Task Force on May 15, 2006 to make improvement recommendations for the state's paroled sex offender monitoring program. The task force includes representatives from local law enforcement, local government, victims' rights organizations, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
The recommendations of the task force included requiring the CDCR to notify local law enforcement 60 days before offenders are released. The task force also developed statewide guidelines for offender placement and supervision.
The governor also directed the CDCR to institute a pre-release program that was recommended to keep high risk sex offenders a safe distance from schools and children upon release from prison and to complete a risk assessment of sex offenders in state prisons within six months of scheduled completion of their sentences.
To protect Californians from sex offenders and implement Jessica's Law, the governor proposed $59 million in the 2006-07 budget and $178 million in the 2007-08 budget for the CDCR, the Department of Mental Health (DMH), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to implement Jessica's Law. Details include:
Jessica's Law
- CDCR: $30.4 million in 2006-07 and $75.6 million in 2007-08, and ongoing, for CDCR to:
- Screen inmates to determine if they should be categorized as Sexually Violent Predators.
- Provide Global Positioning System monitoring for paroled sex offenders.
- Reduce Parole caseloads through additional hires, so that agents can more closely monitor sex offenders.
- DMH: $28.9 million in 2006 and $53.9 million in 2007-08, and ongoing, for DMH to:
- Provide state mental hospitals the resources for an increase in Sexually Violent Predators as patients
- Manage increased Sexually Violent Predator evaluations and court testimony.
- Offset increased administrative costs at Department headquarters at Coalinga State Hospital.
- Make $500 million in lease revenue bonds available to construct additional mental health facilities.
High Risk Sex Offenders
- $47.2 million in 2007-08 and ongoing funding for CDCR to implement the High Risk Sex Offender Task Force recommendations, including:
- Training for Parole Agents on the Sex Offender Containment Model, risk assessment tools, and polygraph testing.
- HRSO parolee treatment and biannual polygraph testing.
- Dedicated Parole Agents for statewide Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Teams, and staff to liaison with communities and local law enforcement.
- Creation of a Sex Offender Management Board.
