BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair S
2011-2012 Regular Session B
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SB 1047 (Alquist) 7
As Amended March 29, 2012
Hearing date: April 10, 2012
Government Code
SV:mc
EMERGENCY SERVICES:
"SILVER ALERT" NOTIFICATION SYSTEM
HISTORY
Source: California Senior Legislature
Prior Legislation: SB 839 (Runner) - Ch. 31, Stats. 2010
SB 38 (Alquist) - 2009, held in Assembly
Appropriations
AB 415 (Runner and Maddox) - Ch. 517, Stats. 2002
HR 8 (Runner) - adopted by the Assembly, 2001
SB 6 (Rainey) - Ch. 579, Stats. 1999
Support: Alzheimer's Association; Congress of California Seniors
Opposition:None known
KEY ISSUE
SHOULD A "SILVER ALERT" NOTIFICATION SYSTEM BE CREATED TO INFORM THE
PUBLIC WHEN A PERSON WHO IS 65 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER IS MISSING, AS
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SPECIFIED?
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to establish a "Silver Alert"
notification system designed to issue and coordinate alerts to
inform the public when a person who is 65 years or older is
missing, as specified. This program would remain in effect
until January 1, 2016, and would require the California Highway
Patrol (CHP) to prepare an evaluation report of the program by
September 1, 2014.
Existing law , commonly known as "Amber Alert," provides that if
an abduction has been reported to a law enforcement agency and
the agency determines that a child 17 years of age or younger,
or an individual with a proven mental or physical disability,
has been abducted and is in imminent danger of serious bodily
injury or death and there is information available that, if
disseminated to the general public, could assist in the safe
recovery of the victim, the agency, shall request the activation
of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) within the appropriate local
area. (Government Code � 8594 (a).)
Existing law provides that the CHP, in consultation with the
Department of Justice (DOJ) as well as a representative from the
California State Sheriffs' Association, the California Police
Chiefs' Association and the California Peace Officers'
Association, shall develop policies and procedures providing
instruction specifying how law enforcement agencies,
broadcasters participating in the EAS, and where appropriate,
other supplemental warning systems, shall proceed after a
qualifying abduction has been reported to a law enforcement
agency. (Government Code � 8594 (b).)
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Existing law generally provides that "Blue Alert" means a quick
response system designed to issue and coordinate alerts
following an attack upon a law enforcement officer. (Government
Code � 8594.5 (a).)
Existing law provides that upon the request of an authorized
person at a law enforcement agency that is investigating an
offense where a law enforcement officer has been killed, suffers
serious bodily injury, or is assaulted with a deadly weapon, and
the suspect has fled the scene of the offense, the CHP shall
activate the EAS and issue a Blue Alert if all of the following
conditions are met:
(1) A law enforcement officer has been killed, suffers
serious bodily injury, or is assaulted with a deadly
weapon, and the suspect has fled the scene of the offense.
(2) A law enforcement agency investigating the offense has
determined that the suspect poses an imminent threat to the
public or other law enforcement personnel.
(3) A detailed description of the suspect's vehicle or
license plate is available for broadcast.
(4) Public dissemination of available information may help
avert further harm or accelerate apprehension of the
suspect.
(5) The CHP has been designated to use the federally
authorized EAS for the issuance of blue alerts.
(Government Code � 8594.5 (b).)
This bill provides that a "Silver Alert" means a notification
system designed to issue and coordinate alerts with respect to a
person who is 65 years of age or older who is reported missing.
Specifically, this bill provides that if a person is reported
missing to a law enforcement agency, that law enforcement agency
shall request the CHP to activate a "Silver Alert" if that
agency determines that the following requirements are met:
1. The missing person is 65 years of age or older;
2. The investigating law enforcement agency has
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utilized all available local resources;
3. The law enforcement agency determines that the
person has gone missing under unexplained or suspicious
circumstances;
4. The law enforcement agency believes that the person
is in danger because of age, health, mental or physical
disability, environment or weather conditions, that the
person is in the company of a potentially dangerous
person, or that there are other factors indicating that
the person may be in peril; and
5. There is information that, if disseminated to the
public could assist in the safe recovery of the missing
person.
This bill provides that the CHP shall activate a Silver Alert
within the geographical area requested by the investigating law
enforcement agency.
This bill provides that upon activation of a Silver Alert, the
CHP shall assist the investigating law enforcement agency by
issuing a be-on-the-lookout, an Emergency Information Service
message, or an electronic flyer.
This bill provides that radio, television, and cable and
satellite systems are encouraged to, but not required to,
cooperate with disseminating the information contained in a
Silver Alert.
This bill provides that the Silver Alert program shall remain in
effect until January 1, 2016, unless a later enacted statute,
that is enacted before January 1, 2016, deletes or extends that
date.
This bill provides that no later than September 1, 2014, the CHP
shall prepare and submit to the Legislature a report evaluating
the Silver Alert program and includes the following elements:
1. The total number of Silver Alerts requested and
activated, and the number of persons recovered as a
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result of a Silver Alert activation;
2. Any identified costs related to implementation of
the Silver Alert program; and
3. A recommendation as to whether this section shall be
repealed or extended.
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
("ROCA")
In response to the unresolved prison capacity crisis, since
early 2007 it has been the policy of the chair of the Senate
Committee on Public Safety and the Senate President pro Tem to
hold legislative proposals which could further aggravate prison
overcrowding through new or expanded felony prosecutions. Under
the resulting policy known as "ROCA" (which stands for
"Receivership/Overcrowding Crisis Aggravation"), the Committee
has held measures which create a new felony, expand the scope or
penalty of an existing felony, or otherwise increase the
application of a felony in a manner which could exacerbate the
prison overcrowding crisis by expanding the availability or
length of prison terms (such as extending the statute of
limitations for felonies or constricting statutory parole
standards). In addition, proposed expansions to the
classification of felonies enacted last year by AB 109 (the 2011
Public Safety Realignment) which may be punishable in jail and
not prison (Penal Code section 1170(h)) would be subject to ROCA
because an offender's criminal record could make the offender
ineligible for jail and therefore subject to state prison.
Under these principles, ROCA has been applied as a
content-neutral, provisional measure necessary to ensure that
the Legislature does not erode progress towards reducing prison
overcrowding by passing legislation which could increase the
prison population. ROCA will continue until prison overcrowding
is resolved.
For the last several years, severe overcrowding in California's
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prisons has been the focus of evolving and expensive litigation.
On June 30, 2005, in a class action lawsuit filed four years
earlier, the United States District Court for the Northern
District of California established a Receivership to take
control of the delivery of medical services to all California
state prisoners confined by the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation ("CDCR"). In December of 2006,
plaintiffs in two federal lawsuits against CDCR sought a
court-ordered limit on the prison population pursuant to the
federal Prison Litigation Reform Act. On January 12, 2010, a
three-judge federal panel issued an order requiring California
to reduce its inmate population to 137.5 percent of design
capacity -- a reduction at that time of roughly 40,000 inmates
-- within two years. The court stayed implementation of its
ruling pending the state's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
On May 23, 2011, the United States Supreme Court upheld the
decision of the three-judge panel in its entirety, giving
California two years from the date of its ruling to reduce its
prison population to 137.5 percent of design capacity, subject
to the right of the state to seek modifications in appropriate
circumstances. Design capacity is the number of inmates a
prison can house based on one inmate per cell, single-level
bunks in dormitories, and no beds in places not designed for
housing. Current design capacity in CDCR's 33 institutions is
79,650.
On January 6, 2012, CDCR announced that California had cut
prison overcrowding by more than 11,000 inmates over the last
six months, a reduction largely accomplished by the passage of
Assembly Bill 109. Under the prisoner-reduction order, the
inmate population in California's 33 prisons must be no more
than the following:
167 percent of design capacity by December 27, 2011
(133,016 inmates);
155 percent by June 27, 2012;
147 percent by December 27, 2012; and
137.5 percent by June 27, 2013.
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This bill does not aggravate the prison overcrowding crisis
described above under ROCA.
COMMENTS
1. Stated Need for This Bill
According to the author:
Despite the fact that vulnerable people, especially those with
Alzheimer's disease or related dementia, go missing every day,
there is no statewide protocol to help find them. Without a
consistent alert system implemented by law enforcement to
quickly recover these individuals who are at risk of
disorientation and harm, they may fall prey to depraved
individuals, exposure, or other environmental factors.
It is estimated that over 500,000 individuals in California
have Alzheimer's, and that number is expected to rise steadily
as Baby Boomers live longer. Sixty percent of these
individuals will wander at some point in their lives. The
first 24 hours are critical. If not found within 24 hours, up
to half of wandering seniors with dementia suffers serious
injury or death, according to the Alzheimer's Association.
While most seniors who have wandered are found before it is
too late, SB 1047 would ensure that a safety net exists for
those who are not so quickly recovered.
2. Existing Alert Systems for Missing Children and Law
Enforcement Officers
Existing law creates an EAS for law enforcement to alert the
public when a child has been abducted and is believed to be in
imminent danger. This is commonly known as the "Amber Alert"
system. CHP along with DOJ and law enforcement groups create
the policies that set forth how and when the alert system is
activated.
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According to the CHP Web site:
AMBER ALERT empowers law enforcement, the media and the
public to combat abduction by sending out immediate,
up-to-date information that aids in the child's safe
recovery. Using radio, television, the Internet,
highway information signs, and even cell phone
networks, AMBER ALERT gives the public the information
needed to locate abducted children.
The AMBER ALERT Program has helped in successfully
recovering over one hundred children since it was
established statewide in California on July 31, 2002.
(http://www.chp.ca.gov/amber/index.html#Guidelines)
In addition to the Amber Alert system, existing law creates a
similar EAS known as the "Blue Alert" system. Law enforcement
issues a Blue Alert to notify the public when a law enforcement
officer has been attacked and the suspect has fled the scene of
the offense.
According to the CHP Web site:
The purpose of the Blue Alert Program is to establish a quick
response system designed to issue and coordinate alerts
following a violent attack upon a law enforcement officer.
The goal of a Blue Alert is to provide immediate information
to the public about violent suspects via media broadcasts, and
other notification resources to solicit help from the public
in the safe and swift apprehension of the suspect.
( http://www.chp.ca.gov/blue/)
The CHP has not received a Blue Alert request since it was
established in January 2011.
3. Missing Persons that Do Not Qualify for Amber Alert
The Amber Alert program started in 1997 in Texas and after the
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passage of federal legislation, The Prosecutorial Remedies and
Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today (PROTECT)
Act, has evolved to a national network of law enforcement
coordination and partnership. In order to maintain the
credibility and integrity of the Amber Alert program and the use
of the EAS, the criteria to activate the Amber Alert is very
narrow.
In 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recognized the gap
in the safe recovery of missing children and persons who do not
meet the strict requirements to issue an Amber Alert and
established the Endangered Missing Advisory Project. This
project helped develop a nationwide plan to provide guidelines
and encouraged the use of Endangered Missing Advisory (EMA).
According to the U.S. DOJ Guide for Implementing or Enhancing an
Endangered Missing Advisory (2011):
The EMA is a tool that gives law enforcement and other key
partners a formal action plan to safely recover missing
children who do not fit the AMBER Alert criteria. It also
provides a way to help recover missing adults in cases where
no systematic recovery plan exists?.
The EMA is designed to provide a rapid response to safely
recover missing persons who may be in danger. Issuance of an
EMA can help raise awareness of the dangers that missing
persons face and reduce the pressure on police to issue an
AMBER Alert in cases that do not fit the criteria. More
important, the EMA provides a strategy for law enforcement to
notify the public and save lives.
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Currently, 34 states have formal EMA plans to help recover
missing persons who fall outside the scope of the Amber Alert
program. Sixteen states have EMA programs without age
restrictions and 18 states have EMA programs that include age
restrictions, most of them involving senior citizens.
This proposal establishes a coordinated statewide plan to
quickly respond to missing individuals 65 years and older.
Members of the Committee may wish to discuss the current
practices of law enforcement agency for cases that do not
qualify for the issuance of the Amber Alert. According to the
CHP, 356 Amber Alerts have been requested since the program was
established in 2002 that did not meet the requirements of the
Amber Alert. CHP has advised committee staff that since 2009,
the CHP has issued some level of notification for missing
persons who do not meet current Amber Alert statutory criteria.
Members of the Committee may wish to consider a broader policy
that does not include age restriction and addresses the gaps in
the search and recovery efforts in California for cases that do
not fit the Amber Alert requirements.
4. Resources
The Silver Alert system proposed by this bill would use the same
resources required under the existing alert systems, except a
Silver Alert would not activate the EAS where the messages are
preceded and concluded with alert tones. According to the CHP,
190 Amber Alerts have been activated, which is an average of
about two Amber Alerts per month. Although the Silver Alert
system would not trigger the EAS, it would use the same types of
broadcasts and sign notifications. Members of the Committee may
wish to discuss with the CHP or the author how many Silver
Alerts could be activated if this program becomes law.
WOULD THE "SILVER ALERT" PROGRAM PROPOSED BY THIS BILL IMPACT
THE EXISTING AMBER ALERT SYSTEM?
WOULD THE "SILVER ALERT" PROGRAM PROPOSED BY THIS BILL IMPACT
THE CHP'S EXISTING RESOURCES?
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5. Report
This bill would require the CHP to prepare and submit to the
Legislature, by September 1, 2014, a report evaluating the
Silver Alert program. On December 12, 2011, the Governor issued
Executive Order B-14-11 to reduce the number of reports agencies
and departments are required to submit to the Legislature in an
effort to "eliminat�e] government inefficiencies and reduc�e]
costs." The order provides that each agency and department
report their findings to the Department of Finance (DOF), which
will review the findings and work with the Legislature to
determine whether specific reports have significant value or
should be discontinued.
Current law does not require the CHP to submit to the
Legislature reports evaluating existing emergency alert systems,
namely the Amber Alert and the Blue Alert. The CHP collects
data for the Amber Alert program and posts them on their Web
site. Members of the Committee and the author may wish to
discuss the need for codifying the report proposed by this bill,
and evaluate whether or not the CHP can provide the data and
information, as required by this proposal, without mandating a
report.
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