BILL NUMBER: AB 1919	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 2, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 20, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member V. Manuel Pérez

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2014

   An act to add Section 1210.17 to the Penal Code, relating to
inmates.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1919, as amended, V. Manuel Pérez. Inmates: assessment.
   Existing law generally requires felons to be incarcerated in state
prison or county jails and generally requires those inmates to be
supervised by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or
county probation agencies upon release. Existing law authorizes a
variety of programs for inmates who are on postrelease supervision,
including parole, postrelease community supervision, and mandatory
supervision.
   This bill would encourage all actors in the criminal justice
system to use  a validated   an evidence-based
 risk and needs assessment, as defined, to help make
determinations at all stages of the judicial process, as prescribed.

   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 1210.17 is added to the Penal Code, immediately
following Section 1210.16, to read:
   1210.17.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (1) According to research by the Washington State Institute for
Public Policy, combining supervision based on the risk level of an
individual in the criminal justice system with evidence-based
programming to address the specific needs of that individual yields
the greatest reduction in recidivism rates.
   (2) According to a 2010 study, entitled "The Role of Offender Risk
Assessment: A Policy Maker Guide," the mismatch of higher
supervision and inappropriate services can actually increase the
recidivism rate of a low-risk individual, thereby decreasing public
safety and wasting valuable funding.
   (3)  Validated   Evidence-   based
 risk and needs assessments are an important tool that can
provide decisionmakers with data to help predict an individual's
likelihood of committing a crime and engaging in harmful behavior,
such as substance abuse, and can help determine which interventions
or services will have the most impact on the individual.
   (4)  Validated   Evidence-   based
   risk and needs assessments can be used at many
different times in the criminal justice process, including in
determining who should be detained while awaiting trial, on
probation, before release from incarceration, and while on
postrelease supervision, such as parole, postrelease community
supervision, or mandatory supervision.
   (b) For purposes of this section, "risk and needs assessment"
means a set of measures and questions that are used to measure the
risk of an individual to commit another offense, miss future court
 appearance   appearances  or other
appointments, engage in substance abuse, and determine what unmet
needs the individual has.
   (c) All actors in the criminal justice system  , including
police officers, probation officers, sheriffs deputies, and other law
enforcement personnel,  are encouraged to use  a
validated   an evidence-   based  risk and
needs assessment to help make determinations at all stages of the
judicial process, including in making the determination of who should
be detained while awaiting trial, and determining supervision level
and service referrals while on probation, before release from
incarceration, and while on postrelease supervision, such as parole,
postrelease community supervision, or mandatory supervision.