BILL REQ. #:  S-4206.1 

Read first time 01/16/08.   Referred to Committee on Human Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to civil liability in community supervision settings; adding new sections to chapter 4.24 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature has enacted various laws which require state and local government to supervise criminal offenders and other persons in the community after their release from correctional or treatment facilities. One purpose of these laws is to provide oversight of problem behavior through intermittent contact with the hope that the oversight will help reduce the problem behavior. Another purpose of these laws is to reduce populations in public institutions in order to save public funds and use those funds for more important programs.
     (2) Community supervision of offenders and others carries a high inherent risk that those persons might reoffend or engage in behaviors which harm others while under supervision. This risk cannot be eliminated or easily mitigated because community supervision is noncustodial and involves only intermittent contact with the persons under supervision and because human behavior is difficult to predict.
     (3) The legislature finds that broad liability for injuries caused by offenders, and others who are being supervised in the community, is not in the public interest. This liability causes expensive claim and legal costs and creates false expectations among members of the public concerning the reasons for community supervision programs and what those programs can be realistically expected to achieve. Moreover, broad liability for community supervision programs strongly discourages programs which the legislature views as desirable to promote overall public welfare and reduce the cost of confinement in correctional and treatment facilities.
     (4) Therefore, the legislature finds that it is in the public interest to limit the liability of state and local government for injuries caused by released offenders and other persons who are being supervised in the community or who are on a community-based treatment monitoring program. The legislature intends to limit both the class of supervised persons for whom state and local government can be held liable and the circumstances under which liability can be imposed. This act shall be liberally construed to accomplish the purposes of this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   For purposes of sections 3 through 7 of this act, "offender" or "offender being supervised in the community" includes anyone on community supervision, community placement, community custody, postrelease supervision, parole, probation, pretrial supervision, posttrial supervision pending the outcome of an appeal of a conviction, work release, or furlough.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   The state, local governments, and their agencies, officers, and employees, shall not be held liable for injuries to persons or property caused by any juvenile under the jurisdiction of the department of social and health services pursuant to Title 13 RCW or anyone subject to a commitment order under chapter 10.77, 70.96A, 71.05, 71.09, or 71.34 RCW, and conditionally released or on a less restrictive alternative.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   The state, local governments, and their agencies, officers, and employees, shall not be held liable for damages or injuries to persons or property caused by offenders who are being supervised in the community due to a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor conviction, or due to a charge or conviction of a nonviolent offense or any charge or conviction for a property crime or crime of dishonesty.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   The state, its agencies, officers, and employees, shall be liable under the provisions of section 6 of this act only for damages and injuries to persons caused by offenders under the department of corrections' jurisdiction who are classified in the two highest risk categories identified through the risk assessment done by the department of corrections pursuant to RCW 9.94A.500 and 9.94A.501.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   (1) Liability for injuries or deaths caused by offenders on supervision in the community may be imposed on the state, local governments, their agencies, officers, or employees only pursuant to the provisions of this section and subject to the limitations of sections 4 and 5 of this act. The state, local governments, and/or their agencies, officers, or employees may be found liable for personal injuries or deaths caused by offenders other than those identified in section 4 or 5 of this act only if the supervising officer failed to exercise reasonable care in supervising the offender and each of the following elements is present:
     (a) The injury-causing conduct of the offender is criminal;
     (b) The criminal act resulting in the injury or death is substantially identical to the criminal conduct resulting in the conviction for which the offender is being supervised;
     (c) The offender has violated a crime-related prohibition of supervision;
     (d) The supervising agency or employee knew of the violation of the crime-related prohibition; and
     (e) The offender would have been incarcerated on the date of the conduct resulting in personal injury or death if the violation of the crime-related prohibition had been reported to a judicial or quasi-judicial entity with the authority to incarcerate the offender.
     (2) For purposes of this section, crime-related prohibitions shall not include reporting requirements, employment or educational requirements, requirements to pay legal financial obligations, residency requirements, geographical restrictions on travel, a condition to obey all laws, curfews, or any standard conditions applicable to all offenders or a class of offenders under the jurisdiction of the supervising agency. Evidence of the violation of any of the aforementioned conditions, or sanctions that may be imposed as the result of such violations, shall not be admissible in any civil trial seeking to impose liability on a governmental agency or employee as the result of a personal injury or death caused by an offender being supervised in the community. Any immunity applicable to a past or present officer or employee shall be applicable to the employing governmental agency.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   Nothing in this section shall be construed to diminish any immunity or defense that may otherwise be applicable to the governmental entity and/or its past or present employees supervising authority.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   Sections 2 through 7 of this act are each added to chapter 4.24 RCW.