Bill to study transitional housing for sexually violent predators advances

Deputies went door to door in Jacumba Hot Springs to notify the population about a sexually violent predator living in the neighborhood in File photo courtesy of the San Diego County Sheriff s Department Senate Minority Leader Brian W Jones on Wednesday publicized the passage of Senate Bill which would force a assessment of housing for those who are deemed sexually violent predators It will now head to Gov Gavin Newsom s office for approval The bill directs the Department of State Hospitals DSH to assessment the feasibility of placing SVPs in state-run transitional housing facilities upon conditional release I m confident it will earn his signature disclosed Jones R-San Diego Under current law SVPs can be conditionally disclosed directly into a neighborhood where they could pose a safety pitfall Results of an audit in October revealed that DSH spends an average of million per predator on conditional release Sexually violent predators are individuals who have been convicted of violent sexual crimes and also have a notable mental healthcare condition Once they have served their sentence a judge can either send them to a state hospital release them unconditionally or direct them into the conditional release operation The initiative has been run by the external contractor Liberty Healthcare Corp since The audit recommended that DHS conduct a feasibility examination to explore whether California should implement a state-run transitional housing model for SVPs The department elected not to carry out the recommendation which is not mandatory SB passed the Assembly on Monday and the Senate in June If signed the law will require DHS to carry out the examination State hospital representatives have repeatedly shirked their responsibility to the constituents by digging in and resisting recommendations from the auditor explained Jones The passage of SB will ensure we explore every workable alternative to a status quo that puts children and families at exposure Jones has advocated on the issue of SVPs since being elected as a member of the Santee City Council in The bill was supported by a coalition of local governments the District Attorney s Association law enforcement and casualties advocacy groups such as Crime Casualties United DSH personnel had expressed disagreement with the auditor s recommendation for a survey saying that transitional housing would not address the challenge of placing SVPs in the population Difficulties include finding locations for transitional state-run facilities especially given that the law mandates SVPs be conditionally disclosed to housing in the county where they lived before their arrest The cost of creating such state-run facilities could place an additional burden on taxpayers and SVPs would still need to be distributed into the area once deemed safe to do so by the transitional facility A inquiry is a good first step but it s just that stated Jones Once we develop a strong championship plan for a transitional housing scheme then we execute