BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1017
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1017 (Portantino and Brownley)
As Amended June 1, 2009
Majority vote
PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 14-0
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|Ayes:|Solorio, Hagman, |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, Charles |
| |Furutani, Gilmore, Hill, | |Calderon, Davis, Duvall, |
| |Ma, Skinner | |Fuentes, Hall, |
| | | |John A. Perez, Price, |
| | | |Skinner, Solorio, Audra |
| | | |Strickland, Torlakson, |
| | | |Krekorian |
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SUMMARY : Requires every law enforcement agency responsible for
taking or processing rape evidence annually report, by July 1 of
each year, to the Department of Justice (DOJ) the total number
of rape kits received and tested during the preceding calendar
year, the total number of untested rape kits in its possession
as of January 1 of the reporting year, and the total number of
rape kits destroyed during the preceding calendar year.
Specifically, this bill :
1)States the initial report to the DOJ, as specified above,
shall include available statistics for the previous five
years.
2)Mandates each law enforcement agency annually report to the
DOJ the total number of sexual assault crimes reported in its
jurisdiction that would require registration as a sex
offender, as specified. The report shall be provided to the
DOJ in a form that reports the crimes by the code section
violated.
3)States these requirements shall only be in effect until July
1, 2015, and be repealed in January 1, 2016 unless extended.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States that upon the request of a sexual assault victim the
law enforcement agency investigating a violation of specified
AB 1017
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violent sex offenses, may inform the victim of the status of
the DNA testing of the rape kit evidence or other crime scene
evidence from the victim's case. The law enforcement agency
may, at its discretion, require that the victim's request be
in writing. The law enforcement agency may respond to the
victim's request with either an oral or written communication,
or by electronic mail, if an electronic mail address is
available. Nothing in this subdivision requires that the law
enforcement agency communicate with the victim or the victim's
designee regarding the status of DNA testing absent a specific
request from the victim or the victim's designee.
2)Provides, notwithstanding any other limitation of time
described in this chapter, a criminal complaint may be filed
within one year of the date on which the identity of the
suspect is conclusively established by DNA testing if both of
the following conditions are met:
a) The crime is one that is described in the sex offense
registration statute; and,
b) The offense was committed prior to January 1, 2001, and
biological evidence collected in connection with the
offense is analyzed for DNA type no later than January 1,
2004; or the offense was committed on or after January 1,
2001, and biological evidence collected in connection with
the offense is analyzed for DNA type no later than two
years from the date of the offense.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor reimbursable mandated local law enforcement
reporting costs to provide backlog statistics to DOJ.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Last year, it was
discovered that law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles City and
County had thousands of rape kits in their evidence freezers
that had not been tested. There were even some kits that had
been held in excess of the 10-year statute of limitations for
the crime of rape. Since that time, both the City and County of
Los Angeles have committed themselves to opening and testing of
every rape kit in their evidence rooms.
"A rape kit is the physical evidence, often including DNA, that
is collected after a sexual assault. Timely testing of rape
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kits is essential in identifying and convicting perpetrators who
are frequently repeat offenders. A representative of women's
issues has been quoted as saying, 'When a rape is committed, the
victim's body is the crime scene. They consent to its search in
the same way that a person who has suffered a property crime
consents to a search of their home, though it's themselves these
victims are opening to inspection.' To treat evidence gathered
at that excruciating moment in their lives by not testing it,
she said, 'betrays the victim's faith in the criminal justice
system.'
"It is vital that evidence of these crimes be processed. The
New York City Police Department in 1996 had over 17,000 untested
rape kits in its possession. At this time, they only had a
capacity to test 100 to 150 rape kits a year while they were
getting about 1,600 new kits each year. They made the
commitment to test the backlog of rape kits and all kits
received in the future. After their backlog of kits were
tested, they discovered 2,000 'hits' - or DNA matches - leading
to the solving of 154 cold rape cases, including the heinous
attacks on two teenagers by a serial rapist."
Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this
bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Horiuchi / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
FN: 0001293