AN ACT Relating to the
department of corrections; and reenacting and amending RCW 9.94A.155.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 9.94A.155 and 1992 c
186 s 7 and 1992 c 45 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(1) At the earliest
possible date, and in no event later than ten days before release except in the
event of escape or emergency furloughs as defined in RCW 72.66.010, the
department of corrections shall send written notice of parole, release,
community placement, work release placement, furlough, or escape about a
specific inmate convicted of a violent offense, a sex offense as defined by RCW
9.94A.030, or a felony harassment offense as defined by RCW 9A.46.060 or
9A.46.110, to the following:
(a) The chief of police
of the city, if any, in which the inmate will reside or in which placement will
be made in a work release program; and
(b) The sheriff of the county
in which the inmate will reside or in which placement will be made in a work
release program.
The sheriff of the
county where the offender was convicted shall be notified if the department
does not know where the offender will reside. The department shall notify the
state patrol of the release of all sex offenders, and that information shall be
placed in the Washington crime information center for dissemination to all law
enforcement.
(2) The same notice as
required by subsection (1) of this section shall be sent to the following if
such notice has been requested in writing about a specific inmate convicted of
a violent offense, a sex offense as defined by RCW 9.94A.030, or a felony
harassment offense as defined by RCW 9A.46.060 or 9A.46.110:
(a) The victim of the
crime for which the inmate was convicted or the victim's next of kin if the
crime was a homicide;
(b) Any witnesses who
testified against the inmate in any court proceedings involving the violent
offense; and
(c) Any person specified
in writing by the prosecuting attorney.
Information regarding
victims, next of kin, or witnesses requesting the notice, information regarding
any other person specified in writing by the prosecuting attorney to receive
the notice, and the notice are confidential and shall not be available to the
inmate. Whenever the department of corrections mails notice pursuant to
this subsection and the notice is returned as undeliverable, the department
shall attempt alternative methods of notification, including a telephone call
to the person's last known telephone number.
(3) If an inmate
convicted of a violent offense, a sex offense as defined by RCW 9.94A.030, or a
felony harassment offense as defined by RCW 9A.46.060 or 9A.46.110, escapes
from a correctional facility, the department of corrections shall immediately
notify, by the most reasonable and expedient means available, the chief of
police of the city and the sheriff of the county in which the inmate resided
immediately before the inmate's arrest and conviction. If previously
requested, the department shall also notify the witnesses and the victim of the
crime for which the inmate was convicted or the victim's next of kin if the
crime was a homicide. If the inmate is recaptured, the department shall send
notice to the persons designated in this subsection as soon as possible but in
no event later than two working days after the department learns of such
recapture.
(4) If the victim, the
victim's next of kin, or any witness is under the age of sixteen, the notice
required by this section shall be sent to the parents or legal guardian of the
child.
(5) The department of
corrections shall send the notices required by this chapter to the last address
provided to the department by the requesting party. The requesting party shall
furnish the department with a current address.
(6) The department of
corrections shall keep, for a minimum of two years following the release of an
inmate, the following:
(a) A document signed
by an individual as proof that that person is registered in the victim or
witness notification program; and
(b) A receipt showing
that an individual registered in the victim or witness notification program was
mailed a notice, at the individual's last known address, upon the release or
movement of an inmate.
(7) For purposes
of this section the following terms have the following meanings:
(a) "Violent
offense" means a violent offense under RCW 9.94A.030;
(b) "Next of
kin" means a person's spouse, parents, siblings and children.
(((7)))
(8) Nothing in this section shall impose any liability upon a chief of
police of a city or sheriff of a county for failing to request in writing a
notice as provided in subsection (1) of this section.
