BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2121
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Date of Hearing: April 22, 2014
Counsel: Sandy Uribe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 2121 (Gray) - As Amended: April 21, 2014
SUMMARY : Requires a sex-registrant parolee to report to his or
her parole agent within one working day of release to have a
Global Positioning System (GPS) device affixed to his or her
person. Specifically, this bill :
1)Clarifies that a parolee who is required to register as a sex
offender must report to his or her parole agent to have a GPS
device affixed within one working day of release from custody,
or as instructed by a parole agent.
2)States that a parolee who is required to register as a sex
offender is prohibited not only from removing or disabling the
GPS device, but also from rendering it inoperable or knowingly
circumventing its operation.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires all persons paroled before October 1, 2011 to remain
under the supervision of the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) until jurisdiction is
terminated by operation of law or until parole is discharged.
(Pen. Code, � 3000.09.)
2)Requires the following persons released from prison on or
after October 1, 2011, be subject to parole under the
supervision of CDCR:
a) A person who committed a serious felony listed in Penal
Code section 1192.7, subdivision (c);
b) A person who committed a violent felony listed in Penal
Code section 667.5, subdivision (c);
c) A person serving a Three-Strikes sentence;
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d) A high risk sex offender;
e) A mentally disordered offender;
f) A person required to register as a sex offender and
subject to a parole term exceeding three years at the time
of the commission of the offense for which he or she is
being released; and,
g) A person subject to lifetime parole at the time of the
commission of the offense for which he or she is being
released. (Pen. Code, � 3000.08, subds. (a) & (i).)
3)Requires all other offenders released from prison to be placed
on post-release community supervision (PRCS) under the
supervision of a county agency, such as a probation
department. (Pen. Code, � 3000.08, subd. (b).)
4)Authorizes CDCR to utilize continuous electronic monitoring,
including GPS, to electronically monitor the whereabouts of
persons on parole. (Pen. Code, � 3010.)
5)Provides that every inmate who has been convicted for any
felony violation of a registerable sex offense or any attempt
to commit any of the above-mentioned offenses and who is
committed to prison and released on parole shall be monitored
by GPS for the term of his or her parole, or for the duration
or any remaining part thereof, whichever period of time is
less. (Pen. Code, � 3000.07, subd. (a).)
6)Provides, as enacted by Proposition 83 of 2006, that every
inmate who has been convicted for any felony violation of a
registerable sex offense or any attempt to commit (one of the
enumerated sex offenses) and who is committed to prison and
released on parole shall be monitored by GPS for life. (Pen.
Code, � 3004, subd. (b).)
7)Prohibits a person who is required to register as a sex
offender and who is subject to parole supervision from
removing or disabling a GPS device affixed as a condition of
parole. (Pen. Code, � 3010.10, subd. (a).)
8)Authorizes the court, upon revocation of parole, to do any of
the following:
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a) Reinstate parole with modification of conditions, if
appropriate, including a period of incarceration;
b) Revoke parole and order the parolee to serve time in the
county jail; or,
c) Refer the parolee to a reentry program or other
evidence-based program. (Pen. Code, � 3000.08, subd. (f).)
9)Limits confinement in the county jail for up to 180 days of
incarceration per revocation. (Pen. Code, �� 3000.08, subd.
(g), and 3056, subd. (a).)
10)Requires a mandatory 180-day term of incarceration in the
county jail for a sex offender on parole who removes or
disables a GPS device. (Pen. Code, � 3010.10, subd. (d).)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "AB 2121
addresses a dangerous oversight in the current statutes
relating to paroled sex offenders. Last year, SB 57 was
enacted to require that parolees who remove their GPS
monitoring device face a mandatory 180-day incarceration.
However, there is no statue that provides for any recourse
should a parolee fails to report to have the monitoring device
affixed in the first place or if the parolee willfully renders
the device inoperable without physically removing the device.
"AB 2121 provides a uniform deterrent across the board
consistent with SB 57. Any of these actions, which impede the
ability of law enforcement to adequately monitor paroled sex
offenders, shall result in the same mandatory 180-day
incarceration. These actions share the same result, which is
to render the GPS monitor useless as a tool of law
enforcement. The bill recognizes this fact and applies an
equal deterrent accordingly, to ensure that law enforcement
has the tools they need to adequately protect and maintain
public safety."
2)Changes to Parole As a Result of Criminal Justice Realignment :
Prior to realignment, individuals released from prison were
placed on parole and supervised in the community by parole
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agents of CDCR. If it was alleged that a parolee had violated
a condition of parole, he or she would have a revocation
proceeding before the Board of Parole Hearings (BPH). If
parole was revoked, the offender would be returned to state
prison for violating parole.
Realignment shifted the supervision of some released prison
inmates from CDCR parole agents to local probation
departments. Parole under the jurisdiction of CDCR for
inmates released from prison on or after October 1, 2011 is
limited to those defendants whose term was for a serious or
violent felony; were serving a Three-Strikes sentence; are
classified as high-risk sex offenders; who are required to
undergo treatment as mentally disordered offenders; or who,
while on certain paroles, commit new offenses. (Pen. Code, ��
3000.08, subds. (a) & (c), and 3451, subd. (b).) All other
inmates released from prison are subject to up to three years
of post release community supervision (PRCS) under local
supervision. (Pen. Code, �� 3000.08, subd. (b), and 3451,
subd. (a).)
Additionally, realignment changed the process for revocation
hearings. As of July 1, 2013, the trial courts assumed
responsibility for holding all revocation hearings for those
individuals who remain under the jurisdiction of CDCR.
Moreover, intermediate sanctions, including flash
incarceration, also became available for state parolees on
July 1, 2013. (Pen. Code, � 3000.08, subd. (d).) Despite the
new authority to impose terms of flash incarceration upon
state-supervised parolees, the Division of Adult Parole
Operations (DAPO) has made a policy decision not to utilize
flash incarceration. (See Valdivia v. Brown, Response to May
6 Order, filed 05/28/13, p. 17.)
Realignment also changed where an offender is incarcerated for
violating parole or PRCS. Most individuals can no longer be
returned to state prison for violating a term of supervision;
offenders serve the revocation term in county jail. (Pen.
Code, �� 3056, subd. (a), and 3458.) The only offenders who
are eligible for return to prison for violating parole are
life-term inmates paroled pursuant to Penal Code section
3000.1 (e.g., murderers, specific life term sex offenses).
There is a 180-day limit to incarceration for a parole
violation. (Pen. Code, �� 3056, subd. (a), and 3455, subd.
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(c).) However, when the violation involves the removal or
disabling of a GPS device, then the offender must be
incarcerated for 180 days.
3)Effectiveness of GPS Devices : A recent Los Angeles Times
article reported about the problems of GPS devices. It
reported, "One in every four GPS devices used to track serious
criminals released in Los Angeles County has proved to be
faulty, according to a probation department audit - allowing
violent felons to roam undetected for days or, in some cases,
weeks. The problems included batteries that wouldn't hold a
charge and defective electronics that generated excessive
false alarms."
(.)
On the other hand, an April 2012 report titled "Monitoring
High-Risk Sex Offenders With GPS Technology: An Evaluation of
the California Supervision Program, Final Report" comparing a
group of high risk sex offenders who were placed on GPS
monitoring with a control group of similar offenders who were
not placed on the GPS system over a one-year study period,
found that "the subjects in the GPS group demonstrate
significantly better outcomes for both compliance and
recidivism." (See abstract at p. vii,
.)
4)Argument in Support : The California District Attorneys
Association , a co-sponsor of this bill, writes, "Senate Bill
57 (Chapter 776, Statutes of 2013) requires a mandatory 180
days in custody for registered sex offenders on parole who
remove or disable their GPS device. However, a loophole exists
that allows these offenders to receive a much shorter sentence
if they never show up to have the device attached in the first
place. ?
"AB 2121 builds on the foundation established in SB 57 by
ensuring that these dangerous individuals are not able to game
the system and avoid the intent of SB 57 by never reporting to
their parole agents. Whether they never show up, or later cut
off their monitor, they will now receive the same mandatory
sentence.
"Electronic monitoring is an important tool for law enforcement
in the wake of realignment, and is often the only real way to
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keep track of these offenders when they are in the community.
Unfortunately, the penalty structure for violations, as it
exists today, is toothless and mostly ineffective. AB 2121 is
an important step in the direction of establishing penalties
that deter this high-risk population from violating their
parole, and truly holding them accountable when they do."
5)Argument in Opposition : According to Taxpayers for Improving
Public Safety , "TiPS objects to one portion of the bill as
amended, that being the provision providing that the parolee
must report "within one working day following release from
custody." Unlike many other CDCR divisions, DAPO operates on
a 24/7 basis. Thus the next working day may occur on a
weekend or holiday, making reporting to a DAPO office
problematic.
"TiPS asks that the language be amended to provide that 'report
to his or her parole officer on the next State recognized
business day (excluding holidays and weekends)'. This change
is requested based upon past negative experiences where DAPO
has rolled up inmates who did not report on weekends."
6)Current Legislation : AB 2477 (Gorell) requires any person on
parole for a conviction of a violent felony who removes or
disables GPS device, to serve a mandatory 180 day term of
incarceration. AB 2477 is pending hearing in this Committee.
7)Prior Legislation :
a) SB 57 (Leiu), Chapter, 776, Statutes of 2013, requires a
mandatory 180 day term of incarceration for a sex offender
on parole who removes or disables a GPS device.
b) AB 63 (Patterson), of the 2013-14 Legislative Session,
created an alternative felony/misdemeanor offense for
removal of a GPS monitoring device affixed as a condition
of post-release community supervision or parole. AB 63
failed passage in this Committee.
c) AB 2016 (Gorell), of the 2011-12 Legislative Session,
prohibits a person from willfully removing or disabling an
electronic, GPS or other monitoring device affixed to his
or her person or the person of another, knowing that the
device was affixed as a condition of a criminal sentence,
juvenile court disposition, parole, probation, post-release
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community supervision or mandatory supervision. AB 2016
was not heard by this Committee.
d) SB 566 (Hollingsworth), of the 2009-10 Legislative
Session, would have established a penalty scheme for
persons who have been lawfully ordered to submit to a GPS
or electronic monitoring device, and willfully interfered
with the device, with penalties ranging from misdemeanors
to felonies depending upon the offense underlying the GPS
sanction. SB 566 failed passage in the Senate Public
Safety Committee.
e) SB 619 (Speier), Chapter 484, Statutes of 2005,
authorized the use of GPS technology to supervise persons
on probation and parole.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California District Attorneys Association (Co-Sponsor)
San Diego County District Attorney (Co-Sponsor)
Opposition
Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
Analysis Prepared by : Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744