Sex Offense Registration.
Any adult or juvenile residing in Washington who has been found to have committed any sex offense or kidnapping offense must register with the county sheriff for the county of the person's residence, or the place where the person works or attends school.
The sex offenses requiring registration include:
The following offenses also require sex offense registration:
Persons who are required to register based on a sex offense must give notice to the county sheriff within three business days:
Persons required to register based on a sex offense must provide the following information when registering:
Persons required to register based on a sex offense must provide additional information to the county sheriff when planning to travel outside the country.
If someone required to register based on a sex offense intends to move or ceases to have a fixed address, the person must provide notice to the county sheriff.
Risk levels for individuals required to register based on committing a sex offense are determined by the law enforcement agency where the sex offender resides. Individuals classified as level 1 are considered at low risk to reoffend. Individuals classified as level 2 are considered a moderate risk to reoffend. Individuals classified as level 3 are considered a high risk to reoffend.
The Washington State Patrol (WSP) maintains a central registry of individuals required to register based on a sex offense. County sheriffs must forward registration information, including the offender's risk level and notice of any address changes to the WSP for inclusion in the registry. Information about individuals classified as level 2 and 3 are published on a public website.
Failure to Register.
If a person fails to register or fails to comply with any of the sex offense registration requirements, the person commits the crime of Failure to Register. The first Failure to Register conviction for an underlying felony is a class C felony. If someone is convicted of felony Failure to Register on two or more prior occasions, the offense is a class B felony. If the underlying offense requiring registration is a gross misdemeanor, the offense of Failure to Register is also a gross misdemeanor.
Length of Sex Offender Registration.
For a person required to register as a sex offender for a class A conviction or if the person has one or more prior convictions requiring registration, the registration requirement continues indefinitely.
Someone required to register for a class B felony, who does not have a previous conviction requiring registration, must register for 15 years following the last date of release from confinement, if any.
For a person required to register for a class C felony or gross misdemeanor, who does not have a previous conviction requiring registration, the registration requirement ends 10 years after the last date of release from confinement, if any.
Relief from Registration based on Juvenile Offense.
If a person has a duty to register for a sex offense committed when the person was a juvenile, when the person has not been determined to be a sexually violent predator, the person may petition the superior court to be relieved from the duty to register as follows:
Juvenile Court Jurisdiction.
In Washington, juvenile courts are a division of the state's superior court system. Juvenile courts have jurisdiction over persons under age 18 who are alleged to have committed a crime. However, there are several exceptions to that jurisdiction where state law requires youth to be tried in adult courts. There are three situations where adult criminal courts may have jurisdiction over persons under age 18:
The juvenile court has jurisdiction over the disposition of any remaining charges in any case in which the juvenile is found not guilty in the adult criminal court of the charge or charges for which he or she was transferred, or is convicted in the adult criminal court of an offense that is not also an offense over which the adult court has exclusive jurisdiction.
Juvenile sex offender registration is limited to juveniles (where the offense was committed while under age 18 and not sentenced for an offense in adult court due to decline of juvenile court jurisdiction) who:
The classification of failing to register as a sex offender is reduced to a gross misdemeanor (from a felony) if the person has a duty to register for an offense which occurred when the person was under age 18 and the person was not sentenced for the offense in adult court due to decline of juvenile court jurisdiction.
The time period that a juvenile (where the offense was committed while under age 18 and not sentenced for an offense in adult court due to decline of juvenile court jurisdiction) must register as a sex offender (if required) is reduced to two years, except for persons age 15 to 17 required to register for a class A offense, who must register for three years.
The requirement to register as a sex offender is extinguished for juveniles (where the offense was committed while under age 18 and not sentenced for an offense in adult court due to decline of juvenile court jurisdiction) who would no longer be required to register under the terms of the bill on November 1, 2023. For those juveniles who are still required to register under the terms of the bill, the legal obligation extinguishes two or three years after the last date of release from confinement.
Sheriffs must remove all persons from the sex offender registry who no longer have an obligation to register.
The Washington State Patrol must notify registered sex offenders of the extinguishing of the legal obligation to register created by the bill.
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) must develop and implement a grant program that allows defense attorneys and counties to apply for funding for sex offender evaluation and treatment programs.
The DCYF must provide funding to counties for process mapping, site assessment, and training for sex offender treatment modalities.
The definition of "certified affiliate sex offender treatment provider" is expanded to include a licensed mental health counselor associate, licensed independent clinical social worker associate, licensed advanced social worker associate, and licensed marriage and family therapist associate.
The substitute bill expands the circumstances in which a person who is not an adult must register as a sex offender to include:
The substitute bill increases the length of time that a person who is not an adult is required to register from two to three years when the person is required to register for a class A offense committed at age 15, 16, or 17.
The substitute bill eliminates the ability for the court to extend the registration period following a motion to extend registration from the prosecuting attorney.
The substitute bill restores current law requirements for "certified sex offender treatment providers" to include individuals who are licensed psychologists, licensed marriage and family therapists, licensed social workers, licensed mental health counselors, or psychiatrists certified to examine and treat sex offenders, instead of including licensed mental health counselor associates, licensed independent clinical social worker associates, licensed advanced social worker associates, and licensed marriage and family therapist associates.
(In support) In order to break the cycle, youth must be provided with appropriate treatment.
Treatment for sexual behavior results in lower recidivism rates. Registration requirements do not result in improved outcomes. In fact, sex offender registration results in mental health struggles, depression, anxiety, and homelessness.
Families often face a difficult choice of whether to welcome their child home and risk the stability of their housing.
The average sexual recidivism rate for juveniles going back to the 1930s is less than 5 percent. More recent data from 2000 indicates that it is under 3 percent.
The registration requirement does not have a deterrent effect. It does not seem to protect society. Registration disrupts a child's housing and school and has profound mental health effects. Research shows that youth who are required to register are 3.5 times more likely to commit suicide. These youth are five times more likely to be sexually approached by adults in the last year and twice as likely to have been sexually assaulted. These youth are particularly vulnerable.
Children have very low sexual recidivism rates. When individuals who were required to register are compared against people who were not but also committed a sex offense, there is no difference in the sexual recidivism rates.
Current state law provides a range of responses to youth who commit sex offenses. This bill does not change the responses to sexual offending but does provide additional resources for treatment and ends the harmful registration requirement. These youth have difficulty understanding the consequences that come with being required to register as a sex offender. However, the parents of these children know that this registration requirement brings with it housing and employment instability. This is a critical step to protect public safety by providing meaningful opportunities for rehabilitation.
Children as young as 12 are forced to find a new place to live because the child's parents could not remain in their housing if the child returned home based on the child's requirement to register as a sex offender.
It is known that the current registration system does not make the community safer; it creates harm.
Youth registration can isolate youth in their communities and subject them to stigma. Under the current system, children have access to a special sex offender disposition alternative. This bill would expand access to proven treatment options.
Children are capable of remorse and true empathy for those who were harmed by their behavior. These children have served time in prison, they have completed treatment, and the registration requirements remain.
There are some youth who are in foster care and are required to figure out the registration requirements on their own. This registration requirement can last for a long time.
There is a need to recruit and support new clinicians to work in the sex offender treatment field. The provisions that expand the credentials provided in this bill are appropriate.
Registration does not prevent sex offenses, but it does harm youth required to register. The label of a sex offender required by registration goes against treatment goals of building resilience.
(Opposed) The opposition to this bill is only related to the registration pieces included in this bill. Persons who are no longer required to register would include youth age 15. The current registration system is not perfect, and there is support for a better system that provides for public safety and reduces victimizations. Unfortunately, this bill does not provide a better system and reduces the only system that currently exists.
The single best thing the Legislature could do related to sex offense is to exempt sex offender registration information from public disclosure.
(Other) This bill addresses a lot of the concerns. The goal of prosecutors is to work with defense attorneys to try and prevent adult offenders. There needs to be a way to appropriately address the commission of serious juvenile sex offenses while not having a "one size fits all" approach to adults and juveniles who commit sex offenses.
There is support for the goal of limiting the group of young people who are required to register and the time they are required to register. The bill attempts to do this, but it may not be perfect. There will be continued efforts to strike the right balance.
In 2008 the Legislature established the Sex Offender Policy Board (Board). The Board consists of board members established in statute who represent the various stakeholders in the topic. What the Board attempts to do is to hear everyone, and those questions begin and end with victims.
There are fewer than 100 sex offender treatment providers in Washington. That number needs to increase, and the reforms that are included in this bill would expand the number of treatment providers that are sorely needed as there are growing needs.
The Failure to Register changes made by this bill are consistent with the Board's recommendations in the most recent 2022 report. This bill helps align the registration requirements with proven practices.