S-1883.2  _______________________________________________

 

                    SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5759

          _______________________________________________

 

State of Washington      55th Legislature     1997 Regular Session

 

By Senate Committee on Human Services & Corrections (originally sponsored by Senators Long, Hargrove, Zarelli, Franklin, Winsley, Oke and Roach)

 

Read first time 02/26/97.

Changing sex offender risk level classification and public notification procedures.


    AN ACT Relating to sex offender risk level classification and public notification procedures; amending RCW 4.24.550, 13.40.217, 70.48.470, and 9.95.145; adding a new section to chapter 72.09 RCW; and creating new sections.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

 

    Sec. 1.  RCW 4.24.550 and 1996 c 215 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) Public agencies are authorized to release ((relevant and necessary)) information to the public regarding sex offenders ((to the public when the release of the information is necessary for public protection)) when the agency determines that disclosure of the information is relevant and necessary to protect the public and counteract the danger created by the particular offender.  This authorization applies to information regarding: (a) Any person adjudicated or convicted of a sex offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030; (b) any person under the jurisdiction of the indeterminate sentence review board as the result of a sex offense; (c) any person committed as a sexually violent predator under chapter 71.09 RCW or as a sexual psychopath under chapter 71.06 RCW; (d) any person found not guilty of a sex offense by reason of insanity under chapter 10.77 RCW; and (e) any person found incompetent to stand trial for a sex offense and subsequently committed under chapter 71.05 or 71.34 RCW.

    (2) The extent of the public disclosure of relevant and necessary information shall be rationally related to:  (a) The level of risk posed by the offender to the community; (b) the locations where the offender resides, expects to reside, or is regularly found; and (c) the needs of the affected community members for information to enhance their individual and collective safety.

    (3) Local law enforcement agencies shall consider the following guidelines in determining the extent of a public disclosure made under this section:  (a) For offenders classified as risk level I, the agency shall share information with other appropriate law enforcement agencies and may disclose, upon request, relevant and necessary information to any victim or witness to the offense and to any individual community member who lives near the residence where the offender resides, expects to reside, or is regularly found; (b) for offenders classified as risk level II, the agency may also disclose relevant and necessary information to public and private schools, child day care centers, family day care providers, businesses and organizations that serve primarily children, women, or vulnerable adults, and neighbors and community groups near the residence where the offender resides, expects to reside, or is regularly found; and (c) for offenders classified as risk level III, the agency may also disclose relevant and necessary information to the public at large.

    (4) Local law enforcement agencies ((and officials who decide to release)) that disseminate information pursuant to this section shall:  (a) Review available risk level classifications made by the department of corrections, the department of social and health services, and the indeterminate sentence review board; (b) assign risk level classifications to all sex offenders about whom information will be disseminated; and (c) make a good faith effort to notify the public and residents at least fourteen days before the sex offender is released from confinement or, where an offender moves from another jurisdiction, as soon as possible after the agency learns of the offender's move, except that in no case may this notification provision be construed to require an extension of an offender's release date.  ((If a change occurs in the release plan, this notification provision will not require an extension of the release date.  The department of corrections and the department of social and health services shall provide local law enforcement officials with all relevant information on sex offenders about to be released or placed into the community in a timely manner.  When a sex offender under county jurisdiction will be released from jail and will reside in a county other than the county of incarceration, the chief law enforcement officer of the jail, or his or her designee, shall notify the sheriff in the county where the offender will reside of the offender's release as provided in RCW 70.48.470.

    (3))) (5) An appointed or elected public official, public employee, or public agency as defined in RCW 4.24.470 is immune from civil liability for damages for any discretionary ((decision to release)) risk level classification decisions ((and the)) or release of relevant and necessary information, unless it is shown that the official, employee, or agency acted with gross negligence or in bad faith.  The ((authorization and)) immunity in this section applies to risk level classification decisions and the release of relevant and necessary information regarding((:  (a) A person convicted of, or juvenile found to have committed, a sex offense as defined by RCW 9.94A.030; (b) a person found not guilty of a sex offense by reason of insanity under chapter 10.77 RCW; (c) a person found incompetent to stand trial for a sex offense and subsequently committed under chapter 71.05 or 71.34 RCW; (d) a person committed as a sexual psychopath under chapter 71.06 RCW; or (e) a person committed as a sexually violent predator under chapter 71.09 RCW)) any individual for whom disclosure is authorized.  The decision of a local law enforcement agency or official to classify a sex offender to a risk level other than the one assigned by the department of corrections, the department of social and health services, or the indeterminate sentence review board, or the release of any relevant and necessary information based on that different classification shall not, by itself, be considered gross negligence or bad faith.  The immunity provided under this section applies to the release of relevant and necessary information to other public officials, public employees ((or officials)), or public agencies, and to the general public.

    (((4))) (6) Except as may otherwise be provided by ((statute)) law, nothing in this section shall impose any liability upon a public official, public employee, or public agency for failing to release information ((as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of)) authorized under this section.

    (((5))) (7) Nothing in this section implies that information regarding persons designated in subsection((s (2) and (3))) (1) of this section is confidential except as may otherwise be provided by ((statute)) law.

    (8) When a local law enforcement agency or official classifies a sex offender differently than the offender is classified by the department of corrections, the department of social and health services, or the indeterminate sentence review board, the law enforcement agency or official shall notify the appropriate department or the board and submit its reasons supporting the change in classification.

 

    Sec. 2.  RCW 13.40.217 and 1990 c 3 s 102 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) In addition to any other information required to be released under this chapter, the department is authorized, pursuant to RCW 4.24.550, to release relevant information that is necessary to protect the public concerning juveniles adjudicated of sex offenses.

    (2) In order for public agencies to have the information necessary for notifying the public about sex offenders as authorized in RCW 4.24.550, the secretary shall issue to appropriate law enforcement agencies narrative notices regarding the pending release of sex offenders from the department's juvenile rehabilitation facilities.  The narrative notices shall, at a minimum, describe the identity and criminal history behavior of the offender and shall include the department's risk level classification for the offender.  For sex offenders classified as either risk level II or III, the narrative notices shall also include the reasons underlying the classification.

    (3) For the purposes of this section, the department shall classify as risk level I those offenders whose risk assessments indicate a low risk of reoffense within the community at large.  The department shall classify as risk level II those offenders whose risk assessments indicate a moderate risk of reoffense within the community at large.  The department shall classify as risk level III those offenders whose risk assessments indicate a high risk of reoffense within the community at large.

 

    Sec. 3.  RCW 70.48.470 and 1996 c 215 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) A person having charge of a jail shall notify in writing any confined person who is in the custody of the jail for a conviction of a ((sexual [sex])) sex offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030 of the registration requirements of RCW 9A.44.130 at the time of the inmate's release from confinement, and shall obtain written acknowledgment of such notification.  The person shall also obtain from the inmate the county of the inmate's residence upon release from jail and, where applicable, the city.

    (2) ((If an inmate convicted of a sexual offense will reside in a county other than the county of incarceration upon release, the chief law enforcement officer, or his or her designee, shall notify the sheriff of the county where the inmate will reside of the inmate's impending release.  Notice shall be provided at least fourteen days prior to the inmate's release, or if the release date is not known at least fourteen days prior to release, notice shall be provided not later than the day after the inmate's release)) When a sex offender under local government jurisdiction will reside in a county other than the county of conviction upon discharge or release, the chief law enforcement officer of the jail or his or her designee shall give notice of the inmate's discharge or release to the sheriff of the county and, where applicable, to the police chief of the city where the offender will reside.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4.  A new section is added to chapter 72.09 RCW to read as follows:

    (1) In addition to any other information required to be released under this chapter, the department is authorized, pursuant to RCW 4.24.550, to release relevant information that is necessary to protect the public concerning offenders convicted of sex offenses.

    (2) In order for public agencies to have the information necessary to notify the public as authorized in RCW 4.24.550, the secretary shall establish and administer an end-of-sentence review committee for the purposes of assigning risk levels, reviewing available release plans, and making appropriate referrals for sex offenders.  The committee shall assess, on a case‑by‑case basis, the public risk posed by sex offenders who are:  (a) Preparing for their release from confinement for sex offenses committed on or after July 1, 1984; and (b) accepted from another state under a reciprocal agreement under the interstate compact authorized in chapter 72.74 RCW.

    (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the committee shall have access to all relevant records and information in the possession of public agencies relating to the offenders under review, including police reports; prosecutors' statements of probable cause; presentence investigations and reports; complete judgments and sentences; current classification referrals; criminal history summaries; violation and disciplinary reports; all psychological evaluations and psychiatric hospital reports; sex offender treatment program reports; and juvenile records.  Records and information obtained under this subsection shall not be disclosed outside the committee unless otherwise authorized by law.

    (4) The committee shall review each sex offender under its authority before the offender's release from confinement or start of the offender's term of community placement or community custody in order to:  (a) Classify the offender into a risk level for the purposes of public notification under RCW 4.24.550; (b) where available, review the offender's proposed release plan in accordance with the requirements of RCW 72.09.340; and (c) make appropriate referrals.

    (5) The committee shall classify as risk level I those sex offenders whose risk assessments indicate a low risk of reoffense within the community at large.  The committee shall classify as risk level II those offenders whose risk assessments indicate a moderate risk of reoffense within the community at large.  The committee shall classify as risk level III those offenders whose risk assessments indicate a high risk of reoffense within the community at large.

    (6) The committee shall issue to appropriate law enforcement agencies, for their use in making public notifications under RCW 4.24.550, narrative notices regarding the pending release of sex offenders from the department's facilities.  The narrative notices shall, at a minimum, describe the identity and criminal history behavior of the offender and shall include the department's risk level classification for the offender.  For sex offenders classified as either risk level II or III, the narrative notices shall also include the reasons underlying the classification.

 

    Sec. 5.  RCW 9.95.145 and 1990 c 3 s 127 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) In addition to any other information required to be released under this chapter, the indeterminate sentence review board may, pursuant to RCW 4.24.550, release information concerning inmates under the jurisdiction of the indeterminate sentence review board who are convicted of sex offenses as defined in RCW 9.94A.030.

    (2) In order for public agencies to have the information necessary for notifying the public about sex offenders as authorized in RCW 4.24.550, the board shall issue to appropriate law enforcement agencies narrative notices regarding the pending release from confinement of sex offenders under the board's jurisdiction.  The narrative notices shall, at a minimum, describe the identity and criminal history behavior of the offender.  For sex offenders being discharged from custody on serving the maximum punishment provided by law or fixed by the court, the narrative notices shall also include the board's risk level classification for the offender and the reasons underlying the classification.

    (3) For the purposes of this section, the board shall classify as risk level I those offenders whose risk assessments indicate a low risk of reoffense within the community at large.  The board shall classify as risk level II those offenders whose risk assessments indicate a moderate risk of reoffense within the community at large.  The board shall classify as risk level III those offenders whose risk assessments indicate a high risk of reoffense within the community at large.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6.  (1) By December 1, 1997, the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs shall develop a model policy for law enforcement agencies to follow when they disclose information about sex offenders to the public under RCW 4.24.550.  The model policy shall be designed to further the objectives of providing adequate notice to the community concerning sex offenders who are or will be residing in the community and of assisting community members in developing constructive plans to prepare themselves and their children for residing near released sex offenders.

    (2) In developing the policy, the association shall consult with representatives of the following agencies and professions:  (a) The department of corrections; (b) the department of social and health services; (c) the indeterminate sentence review board; (d) the Washington state council of police officers; (e) local correctional agencies; (f) the Washington association of prosecuting attorneys; (g) the Washington public defender association; (h) the Washington association for the treatment of sexual abusers; and (i) victim advocates.

    (3) The model policy shall, at a minimum, include recommendations to address the following issues:  (a) Procedures for local agencies or officials to accomplish the notifications required under RCW 4.24.550(8); (b) contents and form of community notification documents, including ways of protecting the privacy of victims of the offenders' crimes; (c) methods of distributing community notification documents; (d) methods of providing follow-up notifications to community residents at specified intervals and of disclosing information about offenders to law enforcement agencies in other jurisdictions if necessary to protect the public; (e) methods of educating community residents at public meetings on how they can use the information in the notification document in a reasonable manner to enhance their individual and collective safety; (f) procedures for educating community members regarding the right of sex offenders not to be the subject of harassment or criminal acts as a result of the notification process; and (g) other matters the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs deems necessary to ensure the effective and fair administration of RCW 4.24.550.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7.  (1) The department of corrections, the department of social and health services, and the indeterminate sentence review board shall jointly develop, by September 1, 1997, a consistent approach to risk assessment for the purposes of implementing this act, including consistent standards for classifying sex offenders into risk levels I, II, and III.

    (2) The department of social and health services, the department of corrections, and the indeterminate sentence review board shall each prepare and deliver to the legislature, by December 1, 1998, a report indicating the number of sex offenders released after the effective date of this section and classified in each level of risk category.  The reports shall also include information on the number, jurisdictions, and circumstances where the risk level classification made by a local law enforcement agency or official for specific sex offenders differed from the risk level classification made by the department or the indeterminate sentence review board for the same offender.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8.  If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

 


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