BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 419|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 419
Author: Block (D)
Amended: 5/8/13
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/30/13
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Block, De León, Knight, Liu, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Supervised persons: flash incarceration
SOURCE : Chief Probation Officers of California
DIGEST : This bill extends, until January 1, 2018, the
authority for flash incarceration where a parole agent or
probation officer can order the detention of certain supervised
persons in jail for up to 10 consecutive days for violating a
condition of release, and includes persons subject to probation
supervision and mandatory probation, as specified.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Authorizes the use of a penalty known as "flash incarceration"
for felons who have been released from prison, are subject to
supervision by state parole or county probation, and are
believed to have violated a condition of their supervision.
2.Authorizes county agencies responsible for supervising persons
subject to postrelease community supervision (PRCS) to
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determine and order appropriate responses to alleged
violations, which can include, but shall not be limited to,
immediate, structured, and intermediate sanctions up to and
including referral to a reentry court, or flash incarceration
in a county jail. Periods of flash incarceration are
encouraged as one method of punishment for violations of an
offender's condition of postrelease supervision.
3.Defines "Flash incarceration" as a period of detention in
county jail due to a violation of an offender's conditions of
postrelease supervision. The length of the detention period
can range between one and 10 consecutive days. Flash
incarceration is a tool that may be used by each county agency
responsible for postrelease supervision. Shorter, but if
necessary more frequent, periods of detention for violations
of an offender's postrelease supervision conditions shall
appropriately punish an offender while preventing the
disruption in a work or home establishment that typically
arises from longer term revocations.
4. Provides if any probation officer, parole officer, or peace
officer has probable cause to believe that a supervised
person is violating any term or condition of his/her
supervision, the officer may arrest the person without a
warrant at any time and bring the person before the court for
further disposition such as modification, revocation or
termination of the person's supervision, as specified.
The statute enumerating this authority concerning supervised
persons who are believed to be violating any term or
condition of his/her supervision expressly states that
nothing in its provisions "affects the authority of the
supervising agency to impose intermediate sanctions,
including flash incarceration, to persons supervised on
parole . . . or postrelease community supervision."
5. Authorizes this use of flash incarceration on parolees, who
are supervised by state parole.
6. Authorizes courts to suspend a felony sentence and order the
conditional and revocable release of an offender in the
community to probation supervision.
7. Authorizes courts to impose what is known as a "split
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sentence" on persons convicted of a felony for which any
custodial time will be served locally (not in state prison),
and where the court imposes a sentence comprised of both time
in custody and time subject to what is termed "mandatory
supervision" in the community by probation.
This bill:
1. Authorizes the use of flash incarceration on persons subject
to probation supervision and mandatory probation.
2. Defines, for purposes of this bill, "flash incarceration" as
a period of detention in the county jail due to a violation
of an offender's conditions of probation or mandatory
supervision. The length of the detention period may range
between one and 10 consecutive days. Flash incarceration is
a tool that may be used by each county agency responsible for
probation or mandatory supervision. Shorter, but if
necessary more frequent, periods of detention for violations
of an offender's probation or mandatory supervision shall
appropriately punish an offender while preventing the
disruption in a work or home establishment that typically
arises from longer term revocations.
3. Provides that in any case where the court grants probation or
imposes a sentence that includes mandatory supervision, the
court shall authorize the agency responsible for that
probation or mandatory supervision to use flash incarceration
for any violation of the conditions of probation or mandatory
supervision if, at the time of granting probation or ordering
mandatory supervision, the court obtains from the defendant a
waiver to a court hearing prior to the imposition of a period
of flash incarceration.
4. Provides that Penal Code (PEN) Section 1203.35 pertaining to
"flash incarceration" does not apply to any defendant
sentenced to PEN Section 1210.1 relating to persons convicted
and on probation for a nonviolent drug possession offense, as
specified.
5. Sunsets the provisions of this bill on January 1, 2018.
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Background
The "2011 Realignment Legislation Addressing Public Safety"
fundamentally altered how convicted felons are handled under
California law. Two provisions in realignment critically
altered the responsibilities of probation. First, realignment
provided that some inmates released from state prison would be
subject to "postrelease community supervision" instead of
parole. This has meant that probation, not parole, now
supervises some felons coming out of prison. Second,
realignment provided that certain persons convicted of felonies
would not go to prison, but instead would be sentenced to local
punishment which could include jail time, mandatory community
supervision, or both (a "split sentence"). Mandatory
supervision as part of a "split sentence" is done by probation.
With the creation of PRCS, probation was authorized by
realignment to employ "flash incarceration" as an "intermediate
sanction" for responding to both parole and PRCS violations.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/8/13)
Chief Probation Officers of California (source)
California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/8/13)
American Civil Liberties Union of California
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Public Defenders Association
Drug Policy Alliance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Chief Probation Officers of
California, the sponsor of this bill, states, "Without (flash
incarceration) authority a probation department's only choice in
dealing with a violation of a court ordered condition is to
initiate revocation proceedings. Not only does this create more
work on an overburdened court system, it is also not productive
for the rehabilitation of an offender because a revocation
results in breaking any ties to the community, job, family and
programming."
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ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California Public Defenders
Association (CPDA) states, "CPDA is concerned that while flash
incarceration, as used prior to Realignment, had minimal due
process protections for individuals, under Realignment the use
of flash incarceration does not have that protection. A jail
term is imposed without input from anyone, and is not imposed by
a judge. It is left up to each probation department, what, if
any, process is put in place for a supervised person to object,
and have reviewed, the reason for, and length of a period, of
flash incarceration. Anecdotally, we have heard that some
probation officers are using only the maximum period of
incarceration, ten (10) days."
JG:k 5/8/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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