BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1475| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1475 Author: Cooper (D) Amended: 7/7/15 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/16/15 AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning, Stone SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/16/15 AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning, Stone [NOTE: This vote (Do pass) was granted a motion of reconsideration. This bill was subsequently passed with amendments.] ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 4/30/15 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Sexual assault response team SOURCE: California District Attorneys Association DIGEST: This bill authorizes each county to create a multi-agency Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) with the function or objective of coordinating responses to sexual crimes across various agencies and entities, including law enforcement, prosecution, victim services and public health; and 2) requires SART programs to investigate and employ best practices, assess trends and evaluate the effectiveness of related practices and protocols, as specified. Senate Floor Amendments of 7/7/15 correct a drafting error in AB 1475 Page 2 the amendments from the Senate Public Safety Committee as to what category of SART teams the new entities are placed into. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Authorizes counties to establish and implement a Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Team programs. (Pen. Code, § 13887.) 2)Provides that the mission of the SAFE Team program shall be to reduce violent sexual assault offenses in the county through proactive surveillance and arrest of habitual sex offenders, and by the strict enforcement of sex offender registration requirements. (Pen. Code §13887.1, subd. (a).) 3)States that the proactive surveillance and arrest authorized for SAFE Team programs shall be conducted within the limits of statutory and constitutional law. (Pen. Code §13887.1, subd. (b).) 4)Provides that the mission of the SAFE Team program shall also be to provide community education on sex offender registration requirements. The goal of community education requirements is to do all of the following: a) Provide information to the public about ways to protect themselves and families from sexual assault. b) Emphasize the importance of using the knowledge of the presence of registered sex offenders to enhance public safety. c) Explain that harassment or vigilantism against sex offender registrants may cause them to disappear and attempt to live without supervision, or to register as transients, which defeat the purpose of sex offender registration. (Pen. Code, § 13887.1, subd. (c)(1)-(3).) 1)States that the regional SAFE Teams may consist of officers and agents from the following law enforcement agencies: a) Police departments; AB 1475 Page 3 b) Sheriff's departments; c) The Bureau of Investigations of the Office of the District Attorney; and d) County probation departments. (Pen. Code, § 13887.2 subds (a)-(d).) 1)Provides to the extent that these agencies have available resources, SAFE Teams may consist of officers and agents of the following agencies: a) The Department of Justice; b) The Department of the California Highway Patrol; c) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; or d) The Federal Bureau of Investigation. (Pen. Code, § 13887.2, subd. (e)(1)-(4).) 1)Requires SAFE Team programs to have the following objectives: a) To identify, monitor, arrest, and assist in the prosecution of habitual sex offenders who violate the terms and conditions of their probation or parole, who fail to comply with sex offender registration requirements, or who commit new sexual assault offenses; b) To collect data to determine if the proactive law enforcement procedures of this program are effective in reducing violent sexual assaults; and, c) To develop procedures for operating a multi-jurisdictional task force. (Penal Code Section 13887.3.) This bill: 1)Authorizes each county to establish and implement a SART program for the purpose of providing a forum for interagency cooperation and coordination, to assess and make recommendations for the improvement in the local sexual assault intervention, and to facilitate improved communications and working relationships to effectively address the problem of sexual assault in California. AB 1475 Page 4 2)States that each SART may consist of representatives of the following public and private agencies or organizations: a) Law enforcement agencies; b) County district attorney's offices; c) Rape crisis centers; d) Local sexual assault forensic teams; and, e) Crime laboratories. 1)Provides that depending on local needs and goals, each SART may consist of representatives of the following public and private agencies or organizations: a) Child protective services; b) Local victim and witness service centers; c) County public health departments; d) County mental health service departments; e) Forensic interview centers; f) University and college Title IX coordinators; and, g) University and college police departments. 1)Requires SART programs to have the following functions or objectives: a) Review local sexual assault intervention undertaken by all disciplines to promote effective intervention and best practices; b) Assess relevant trends, including drug-facilitated sexual assault, the incidence of predatory date rape, and human sex trafficking; c) Evaluate the cost-effectiveness and feasibility of a per AB 1475 Page 5 capita funding model for local sexual assault forensic examination teams to achieve stability for this component; and, d) Evaluate the effectiveness of individual agency and interagency protocols and systems by conduction case reviews of cases involving sexual assault. Background Sexual assaults have become a major concern across the country. This bill adapts the collaborative, multi-agency response that has been successfully used to monitor registered sex offenders. The model has also been used in to address the problem of drug-endangered children. SART teams have law enforcement entities at their core and include a broader range of agencies - including public health, child protective service and other agencies to meet local needs. SART teams are also intended to create more consistent funding for the various agencies in the teams. Sexual assault on college campuses has received substantial media attention. This bill was amended to include college and university police and Title IX coordinators in SART teams based on local needs. The experience on college campuses has shown that the coordinated responses of many entities to sexual assault will result in more accurate and complete investigations, and will likely produce outcomes that are fair and just. Further, schools have implemented effective prevention techniques and programs that could be used in other contexts. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:NoLocal: No SUPPORT: (Verified 7/1/15) California District Attorneys Association (source) Association of Deputy District Attorneys AB 1475 Page 6 Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs California Association of Code Enforcement Officers California Association of Crime Laboratory Directors California Coalition against Sexual Assault California College and University Police Chiefs California Narcotics Officers Association California Police Chiefs Association California Sexual Assault Investigators Association California State Sheriffs' Association Los Angeles Police Protective League Riverside Sheriffs' Association OPPOSITION: (Verified7/1/15) None received ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 4/30/15 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Chávez, Gomez Prepared by:Jerome McGuire / PUB. S. / 7/8/15 16:33:52 **** END **** AB 1475 Page 7