BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 986
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 7, 2013
Counsel: Stella Choe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 986 (Bradford) - As Amended: February 22, 2013
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : Authorizes a person on postrelease community
supervision (PRCS) or on parole to serve a period of flash
incarceration in a city jail.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the following persons released from prison on or
after October 1, 2011, be subject to parole under the
supervision of the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR):
a) A person who committed a serious felony listed in Penal
Code Section 1192.7(c);
b) A person who committed a violent felony listed in Penal
Code Section 667.5(c);
c) A person serving a Three-Strikes sentence;
d) A high-risk sex offender;
e) A mentally disordered offender;
f) A person required to register as a sex offender and
subject to a parole term exceeding three years at the time
of the commission of the offense for which he or she is
being released; and,
g) A person subject to lifetime parole at the time of the
commission of the offense for which he or she is being
released. [Penal Code Section 3000.08(a) and (c).]
2)Requires all other offenders released from prison on or after
October 1, 2011, to be placed on PRCS under the supervision of
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a county agency, such as a probation department. [Penal Code
Section 3000.08(b).]
3)Requires PRCS to include all of the following conditions:
a) The person shall be informed of the conditions of
release;
b) The person shall obey all laws;
c) The person shall report to the supervising county agency
within two working days of release from custody;
d) The person shall follow the directives and instructions
of the supervising county agency;
e) The person shall report to the supervising county agency
as directed by that agency;
f) The person, and his or her residence and possessions,
shall be subject to search at any time of the day or night,
with or without a warrant, by an agent of the supervising
county agency or by a peace officer;
g) The person shall waive extradition if found outside
California;
h) The person shall inform the supervising county agency of
the person's place of residence, employment, education, or
training;
i) The person shall inform the supervising county agency of
any pending or anticipated changes in residence,
employment, education, or training;
j) If the person enters into new employment, he or she
shall inform the supervising county agency of the new
employment within three business days of that entry;
aa) The person shall immediately inform the supervising
county agency if he or she is arrested or receives a
citation;
bb) The person shall obtain the permission of the
supervising county agency to travel more than 50 miles from
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the person's place of residence;
cc) The person shall obtain a travel pass from the
supervising county agency before he or she may leave the
county or state for more than two days;
dd) The person shall not be in the presence of a firearm or
ammunition, or any item that appears to be a firearm or
ammunition;
ee) The person shall not possess, use, or have access to any
of the specified weapons;
ff) Except as provided, the person shall not possess a knife
with a blade longer than two inches;
gg) The person may possess a kitchen knife with a blade
longer than two inches if the knife is used and kept only
in the kitchen of the person's residence;
hh) The person may use a knife with a blade longer than two
inches, if the use is required for that person's
employment, the use has been approved in a document issued
by the supervising county agency, and the person possesses
the document of approval at all times and makes it
available for inspection;
ii) The person shall waive any right to a court hearing
prior to the imposition of a period of "flash
incarceration" in a county jail of not more than 10
consecutive days for any violation of his or her
postrelease supervision conditions;
jj) The person shall participate in rehabilitation
programming as recommended by the supervising county
agency; and,
aaa) The person shall be subject to arrest with or without a
warrant by a peace officer employed by the supervising
county agency or, at the direction of the supervising
county agency, by any peace officer when there is probable
cause to believe the person has violated the terms and
conditions of his or her release. (Penal Code Section
3453.)
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4)Specifies that if PRCS is revoked, the offender may be
incarcerated in the county jail for a period not to exceed 180
days for each custodial sanction. [Penal Code Section
3455(d).]
5)Provides for intermediate sanctions for violating the terms of
PRCS, including flash incarceration for up to 10 days. (Penal
Code Section 3454.)
6)Authorizes intermediate sanctions, including flash
incarceration, to be available for state parolees supervised
by state parole after July 1, 2013. [Penal Code Section
3000.08(d), effective July 1, 2013.]
7)Defines "flash incarceration" as a period of detention in
county jail due to a violation of a person's conditions of
parole or postrelease supervision. The length of the
detention period can range between one and 10 consecutive days
in a county jail. [Penal Code Sections 3000.08(d) and (e),
and 3455(c).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "With the influx
of individuals realigned from state prisons to county jails
under AB 109, the Criminal Justice Realignment Act of 2011,
tools that were once available to manage individuals on
postrelease supervision, such as flash incarceration, are no
longer. County jails simply don't have enough beds.
"This bill would allow city jails to be used for flash
incarceration in cases where an offender violates conditions
of his/her postrelease supervision."
2)Flash Incarceration : Realignment shifted the supervision of
some released prison inmates from CDCR parole agents to local
probation departments. Parole under the jurisdiction of CDCR
for inmates released from prison on or after October 1, 2011
is limited to those defendants whose term was for a serious or
violent felony; were serving a Three-Strikes sentence; are
classified as high-risk sex offenders; who are required to
undergo treatment as mentally disordered offenders; or who,
while on certain paroles, commit new offenses. [Penal Code
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Sections 3000.08(a) and (c), and 3451(b).] All other inmates
released from prison are subject to up to three years of PRCS
under local supervision. [Penal Code Sections 3000.08(b) and
3451(a).] This means that probation, not parole, now
supervises some felons coming out of prison.
With the creation of PRCS, probation was authorized to employ
"flash incarceration" as an "intermediate sanction" for
responding to both parole and PRCS violations. (Penal Code
Section 3454.) The Legislative Analyst's Office explained the
context and reasoning behind "flash incarceration" as part of
realignment: "[T]he realignment legislation provided counties
with some additional options for how to manage the realigned
offenders. . . . [T]he legislation allows county probation
officers to return offenders who violate the terms of their
community supervision to jail for up to ten days, which is
commonly referred to as "flash incarceration." The rationale
for using flash incarceration is that short terms of
incarceration when applied soon after the offense is
identified can be more effective at deterring subsequent
violations than the threat of longer terms following what can
be lengthy criminal proceedings." [Legislative Analyst's
Office, The 2012-13 Budget: The 2011 Realignment of Adult
Offenders-An Update (Feb. 22, 2012), pp. 8-9.]
Starting July 1, 2013, flash incarceration will also be an
available intermediate sanction for offenders under state
supervision who violate a term of their parole. [Penal Code
Section 3000.08(d), effective July 1, 2013.]
3)City Jails : Existing law specifies which inmates must serve
their sentences in either county jail or state prison.
Counties with a large number of cities have a county jail and
several city jails. Typically, city jails are used as
short-term detention facilities to hold arrested persons until
they are either transferred to the county jail or released
from custody, either after interview and release or after
posting bail. However, some city jails are used by some
inmates to serve short sentences.
A recent article highlighted the efficiency of the Glendale city
jail and its ability to generate funds through its pay-to-stay
fees. "The Glendale Police Department jail has collected more
than $1.5 million in fees associated with inmates who opt to
pay to stay at the facility.
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"The $1.58 million in inmate fees generated by the pay-to-stay
program since it began in 2008 has helped offset operational
costs, according to a recent report presented to a police
advisory committee.
"'The savings gets rolled back, initially, to the taxpayer,'
Jail Administrator Juan Lopez said. 'The local taxpayers can
find confidence in the fact that their money is being
utilized.'
"In the past two years, more than 17,000 inmates have opted to
pay a fee of $85 per day to serve court-approved sentences in
the department's jail, which can be a major step up from
crowded Los Angeles County facilities.
"At the Glendale jail, pay-to-stay inmates get their own cells
that are separate from the cells used for daily bookings.
"While celebrities, including actor Kiefer Sutherland, and top
movie executives have paid to stay in the jail, they are not
given special treatment, he added.
"Judges in other states, including Arizona, Nevada and Utah,
have allowed some Los Angeles County residents to serve their
sentences in the Glendale jail, Lopez said. If an L.A. County
resident is arrested or convicted out of state, they can ask
the judge there for permission to stay in the Glendale jail.
"Pay-to-stay inmates are required to work in the jail during the
weekends, which Lopez said helps keep the facility clean.
"Inmates serve as few as four days in the jail and up to six
months, Lopez said, although most jail stays have been for
shorter sentences." [Rocha, Inmates pay to stay at city jail,
Glendale News Press <
http://articles.glendalenewspress.com/2012-02-15/news/tn-gnp-02
16-jail-program-adds-up-for-glendale-police_1_jail-administrato
r-juan-lopez-release-low-risk-inmates-city-jail> (as of May 1,
2013).]
Current law authorizes a person on PRCS to serve a period of
flash incarceration in county jail; and starting July 1, 2013,
persons on parole may also serve a period of flash
incarceration in county jail. This bill authorizes a period
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of flash incarceration to be served in city jail in order to
alleviate county jail overcrowding concerns. This committee
has been informed by the sponsor of this bill that there are
40 city jails in California that would be able to accommodate
persons serving a short sentence, such as a period of flash
incarceration.
4)Argument in Support : According to the California Police
Chiefs Association (the sponsor of this bill), "Existing law
defines flash incarceration as a period of detention in a
county jail, ranging from one to 10 days due to a violation of
an offender's conditions of postrelease supervision. The
decision as to whether or not to impose flash incarceration is
left to the discretion of the agency responsible for
postrelease supervision of the individual.
"Flash incarceration has proven to be an effective tool to
modify behaviors. In particular, this strategy has produced
historically positive outcomes when used by Drug Courts. The
current challenge, however, is that county jail capacities are
such that, as a practical matter, flash incarceration may not
be an option in some counties. Assembly Bill 986 will
increase the availability of this strategy by permitting
probation agencies to use city jail, thus retaining this
strategic tool. It is important to note that AB 986 does not
change any of the elements of flash incarceration, it just
permits its utility at a wider number of locations."
5)Related Legislation : SB 419 (Block) extends the authority for
flash incarceration to include persons subject to probation
supervision and mandatory probation, as specified, and
requires that persons subject to probation or mandatory
supervision "waive any right to a court hearing prior to the
imposition of a period of flash incarceration. SB 419 is
pending hearing by the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
6)Prior Legislation :
a) AB 109 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 15, Statutes of
2011, created the Postrelease Community Supervision Act,
which provides, among other things, that inmates released
from prison who are not required to be on parole are
subject to up to three years of local supervision.
b) AB 117 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 39, Statutes of
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2011, amended some provisions of the Postrelease Community
Supervision Act.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Police Chiefs Association
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744