SB 325

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law requires every person required to register as a sex offender to be subject to assessment by the State-Authorized Risk Assessment Tool for Sex Offenders (SARATSO) . Existing law establishes the SARATSO Review Committee, which consists of representatives of the State Department of Mental Health, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the Attorney General, and is staffed by the State Department of Mental Health. Existing law directs the committee to ensure that the SARATSO reflects the most reliable, objective, and well-established protocols for predicting sex offender risk of recidivism, has been scientifically validated and cross validated, and is widely accepted by the courts. Existing law also requires the SARATSO Training Committee to develop a training program for persons authorized to perform the risk assessments. Under existing law, this training is required to be conducted by experts in the field of risk assessment and the use of actuarial instruments in predicting sex offender risk. This bill would instead provide for the SARATSO Review Committee to be staffed by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The bill would provide a protocol for an agency that scores the SARATSO and believes that a score does not represent the person's true risk level to submit the case to certain experts for possible override. Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the State Department of Mental Health to perform a risk assessment of every eligible person under their jurisdiction, as specified. This bill would require those departments to each maintain a database to record the risk assessment scores of those persons, and to send those scores to the Department of Justice, to be maintained by the Sex Offender Tracking Program. Existing law requires specified persons who administer the SARATSO to have access to all relevant records concerning a person on whom a risk assessment is being performed. This bill would require any person acting under authority from the SARATSO Review Committee as an expert to also have access to those records. Existing law requires probation officers to include in their probation reports information on the results of the SARATSO performed on any person required to register as a sex offender pursuant to certain provisions of law. This bill would require probation officers to include that information on additional persons, including certain juveniles. By requiring additional SARATSO assessments by county probation officers, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Under existing law, after adjudging a minor to be a ward of the court, the court is required to hear evidence on the proper disposition of the minor. The court is required to receive in evidence the social study of the minor made by the probation officer, and other relevant and material evidence, as specified. This bill would also require the court to receive in evidence the risk assessment score of the minor, if applicable. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.