BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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                                   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  








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          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;







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             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.







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          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  







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               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







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          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


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