Source: ACSOL
The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) reported today that the total number of registrants continues to grow despite implementation of the petitioning process under the Tiered Registry Law. Specifically, the total number of registrants increased to 108,725 which is 365 more than reported in November 2021. Of that total, there are 19,479 registrants who are in violation for failure to register. The number of people in violation is 333 more than reported in November 2021. CASOMB also reported today that the total number of registrants on parole, all of whom are required to wear a GPS device is 7,242 which is an increase of 71 individuals.
During today’s meeting, CASOMB staff reported that there is “huge disparity” in the quality of treatment plans in which registrants are required to participate. According to CASOMB, additional staff is needed in order to conduct more audits of treatment plans and providers.
Also during today’s meeting, CASOMB discussed its role in the legislative process. According to Chair Nancy O’Malley, CASOMB’s mission includes reviewing and making recommendations regarding pending legislation or the need for future legislation. She noted, however, that some CASOMB members are prohibited from lobbying due to the rules of the agency where they are employed. This does not, however, prohibit CASOMB members from acting in the capacity of subject matter experts. CASOMB’s support for the Tiered Registry Law (SB 384) was cited as an example in which CASOMB and its members were actively involved. CASOMB was, in fact, a co-sponsor of that legislation.
CASOMB has prepared a draft end of the year report for 2021 that will be finalized later this month. The final version of the report will be sent to legislative offices February 1, 2022, and is expected to be made available to the public at about the same time. The report will include information regarding implementation of the Tiered Registry Law, including how many petitions for removal from the registry were filed in 2021.
Not sure why but CASOMB rushed through its meeting today. According to the agenda the meeting was scheduled from 9:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. and yet it ended around 11 a.m. Another interesting thing about the meeting is that many members were missing and many committees had nothing to report because they did not meet in the two months between meetings. Finally, CASOMB changed its “policy” and did not allow the public to self identify at any time or to speak before the meeting began.
Hopefully, they’ll be listened to when they recommend things to help registrants get off the registry as well as limiting all sorts of things that would be imposed on us, like everything SORNA. Right now, it absolutely feels like the legislature cherry picks CASOMB information for their own bullshit agendas and completely dismiss anything that would be in contradiction to it.
I’m also glad they’re acknowledging the disparity in treatment. People aside who think they don’t need any treatment at all, all lot of the comments here about what people have gone through with some of these treatment agencies is horrific. I’m glad the program I was part of was seemingly specific to my county and not related to the some of the larger organizations that are seemingly treated like a for-profit machine. The man that runs the program that I was part of genuinely cared about the people in the program, hates the registry in pretty much any form, often went to bat for some of the people who were having difficulties with their PO’s, fought against many mandatory things like polygraphs, and has kept the costs to participants as low as possible as profit was never the goal for him. I very much enjoyed my time with the program (stress aside due to supervision and the registry) and feel like it helped me a great deal in my life beyond my offense. More people like him and his program are very much needed.
More people would be able to get off the registry if it was a little easier to do it going through the Police Department then go through the DA then go to the judge and then not even for sure you’re going to get off it’s too hard they make it too hard should be simple , if you’ve done your time you get off simple as that
Can anyone explain what the number in violation means? Are these people who have ever had an FTR, or are these the current numbers of people absoconded because they’ve not kept their file current?
If this represents absocnders, these numbers are ridiculous. Florida has an even more outrageous number. Law enforcement have to admit that the current schema doesn’t work. People forget or are unable to report a change within the required time frame, leaving many with no perceived good choices, and thus they run.
If the state wants to have any sense of credibility in their intent on having a meaningful registry (accurate information and adequate compliance) they need to offer amnesty for absconders. This will hopefully encourage people to come out from the shadows and back into compliance and a more stable situation, which is better for society. I’m not advocating amnesty for actual sex crimes, but let’s be honest, these are arbitrary and trivial administrative infractions that provide no meaningful benefit to public safety. Setting the penalty for FTR so high gives those with issues in their file more incentive to abscond rather than come clean with reporting oversights.
In my opinion, a person on the run is a much greater risk to the community. I am hopeful one day we will see our land free from the cancerous stain of SORNA, but until then, maybe those in power can extend an olive branch to our community. We bear a heavy enough burden as it is. Why should honest human error cost people so much by way of loss of freedom and the stigma of another serious criminal charge?
So they are adding about 130 people to the registry per month, how comforting. And nearly 20,000 failing to register, well, that must mean their is a tremendous surge in sexual assaults right, since these 20,000 people aren’t able to be monitored, well, they must be out there causing havoc right? No!!! You mean they have just kind of disappeared and aren’t attracting any attention, just trying to live a normal life free from the stifling grip of the registry? If that many people are willing to risk years of incarceration for not registering then that must tell you how awful living life on the registry is. It is better to live on the run in the shadows then to live under the government treating yo like a leper in biblical times shunned and abused.
Is the release rate being increased of those who qualify to register? How many currently confined are to be released as registrants? That could be one way to explain the increase monthly?
Maybe if certain misdemeanors WERE NOT ASSIGNED TO TIER 3, then the total number of registrants might actually start going down!!!!!!