The beginning of 2015 is an opportune time to provide an update and overview of activities, plans and recommendations of the California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) and the State Authorized Risk Assessment Tool for Sex Offenders Committee (SARATSO).
The picture of sex offender management in the state is a complex one with many moving parts. This Report touches on many of those components. It is anticipated, however, that actions by the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of California government over the coming months will cause new issues to emerge and new policy decisions to come forward. Report
Also see: CASOMB Tiering Paper 2014
Excellent report from CASOMB
http://www.cce.csus.edu/portal/admin/handouts/CASOMB_End_of_Year_Report_to_Legislature_2014.pdf
“The Static-99R is the official risk assessment instrument adopted in California to measure risk of sexual re-offense based on static, unchanging criminal history factors. The Static-99R was found to be very accurate in predicting who would reoffend, accurately predicting which offenders would commit a new sex offense in about 82% of cases. High risk offenders had a sexual recidivism rate of over 29%, while low risk offenders had a recidivism rate of only 1.6%. The study will continue for an additional five years to further measure and refine the data on sex offender recidivism in California.”
Another good report, but California’s Congress is slow to act or reasonable recommendations, thereby keeping us under their thumb.
Registration – even though the courts have determined that it should not be classified as
“punishment” – does bring with it multiple unwelcome impacts on registered offenders and on their
families and children. These consequences include serious obstacles to finding appropriate
housing – or any housing; obstacles to finding employment; obstacles to developing positive
support systems; obstacles to developing close relationships; and obstacles to reintegrating
successfully into communities. Such consequences attach to the requirement to register as a sex
offender and can, in fact, exacerbate risk factors thereby actually increasing an offender’s level of
risk for re-offense. An effective registration system needs to carefully identify who should be subject
to these consequences for life, based on the risk of re-offense and risk of violence associated with
the individual offender.
What was left out in any detail is the overt acts of violence against registered citizens. The report fails to mention the murders, beatings, death threats, vandalism, denial to public services and freedom to travel. It would be interesting to survey California’s registered population and find out what percentage have had acts of violence and vandalism against them. Since registered citizens cannot access The all-inclusive website, it would be difficult to find out exactly. Perhaps we could develop our own actuarial tool that predicts which of us will have violent acts perpetrated against them. (Probably 90-95%)
This part of the report is scariest:
“If, as seems likely, the Court holds that the law applies to all sex offenders released from
custody since the law was enacted on November 7, 2006, instead of just to sex offenders who
are on parole, the law could be enforced against the majority of sex offenders in California.”
“As seems likely” I really hope that this is one part of the report that will be wrong. I live in a suburban community on the Bay Area peninsula but my home is actually beyond the 2000ft radius of any school (Thank goodness).
“To enable treatment providers and supervising officers to manage risk during supervision, the law requires offenders to waive any privilege against self-incrimination and agree to participate in polygraph examinations.”
It’s official: WE ARE IN NAZI GERMANY NOW. This is unf**king believable!!!!
Every representative in California should be required to read this report! Including law enforcement, judges, district attorneys, mayors, and city council members.
The CASOMB was created by Governor Schwarzenegger, who also signed Prop. 83 into law. The same governor who had sex with a minor when he was in his late 20’s.
What Hypocrites!
Yea; nicely written and hits on some key points, and it totally blows a sponsor couldn’t be found (big surprise there). But each time I’ve read a CASCOMB report I’ve always felt they could have done better, and gone a little more in depth about the collateral harm caused by the registry to parents, children of the registrants, the registrants siblings and their families, and of course the registrants spouses. And let’s not forget about the murders, assaults, harassment and property crimes, all facilitated by the registry.
My thoughts tell me this information is almost totally ignored because those who could make a difference would be forced to concede that these are bad laws (good laws don’t get people murdered, assaulted, homeless, trigger mob mentality in the public, etc). I also believe their moral compasses are defective.