AB 1475, as amended, Cooper. Sexual assault response team.
Existing law authorizes any county to establish and implement a sexual assault felony enforcement (SAFE) team program for the purpose of reducing violent sexual assault offenses in the county through proactive surveillance and arrest of habitual sexual offenders and strict enforcement of registration for sex offenders, and to provide community education about ways to protect individuals and families from sexual assault.
This bill would authorize each county to establish an interagency sexual assault response team (SART) program for the purpose of providing a forum for interagency cooperation and coordination to effectively address the problem of sexual assault. The members of the team would be representatives of specified public and private agencies and organizations. The bill would require each SART to, among other things, evaluate the effectiveness of individual agency and interagency protocols and systems by conducting case reviews involving sexual assault.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 13898)
2is added to Title 6 of Part 4 of the Penal Code, to read:
3
(a) Each county may establish and implement an
8interagency sexual assault response team (SART) program for the
9purpose of providing a forum for interagency cooperation and
10coordination, to assess and make recommendations for the
11improvement in the local sexual assault intervention system, and
12to facilitate improved communication and working relationships
13to effectively address the problem of sexual assault in California.
14(b) Each SART program shall be established and implemented
15pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
(a) Each SART may consist of representatives of the
17following public and private agencies or organizations:
18(1) Law enforcement agencies.
19(2) County district attorneys’ offices.
20(3) Rape crisis centers.
21(4) Local sexual assault forensic examination teams.
22(5) Crime laboratories.
23(6) University and college Title IX coordinators.
end delete24(7) University and college police departments.
end delete
25(b) Dependent upon local needs and goals, each SART may
26include representatives of the following public and private agencies
27or organizations:
28(1) Child protective services.
29(2) Local victim and witness assistance centers.
30(3) County public health departments.
31(4) County mental health services departments.
32(5) Forensic interview centers.
begin insert33(6) University and college Title IX coordinators.
end insertbegin insert34(7) University and college police departments.
end insertThe program established pursuant to this chapter shall
2have the following objectives:
3(a) Review of local sexual assault intervention undertaken by
4all disciplines to promote effective intervention and best practices.
5(b) Assessment of relevant trends, including drug-facilitated
6sexual assault, the incidence ofbegin delete predatorend deletebegin insert predatoryend insert date rape, and
7human sex trafficking.
8(c) Evaluation of the
cost-effectiveness and feasibility of a per
9capita funding model for local sexual assault forensic examination
10teams to achieve stability for this component of the SART program.
11(d) Evaluation of the effectiveness of individual agency and
12interagency protocols and systems by conducting case reviews of
13cases involving sexual assault.
14(e) Plan and implement effective prevention strategies and
15collaborate with other agencies and educational institutions to
16address sexual assault perpetrated by strangers, sexual assault
17perpetrated by persons known to the victim, including, but not
18limited to, a friend, family member, or general acquaintance of
19the victim, predatory date rape, risks associated with binge alcohol
20drinking, and drug-facilitated sexual
assault.
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