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Sacramento - Senator Scott Wilk, R-Antelope Valley, announces the introduction of Senate Bill 1198 (SB 1198), a measure to improve the state’s ability to identify and manage high-risk repeat sex offenders.
“It is more important than ever that the organizations working to reduce sexual offender recidivism can do their job effectively,” said Wilk. “Knowing more about who is being released from prison will ensure communities have the appropriate treatment programs and resources available to keep those newly released from committing crimes. Improving access to risk assessment data will identify those most likely to reoffend and help communities take the appropriate precautions to ensure the safety of the community.”
SB 1198 requires the attorney general to furnish state summary criminal history information to members of the California Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB) and the State-Authorized Risk Assessment Tools for Sex Offenders (SARATSO) Committee. Both of these organizations are tasked with addressing issues, concerns and problems related to the community management of sex offenders. Information gathered by these boards is used to determine which offenders present a risk high enough to be placed on the sex offender registry for life.
SOMB was created in 2006 to address adult offenders but was expanded in 2017 to include juveniles. To address this change SB 1198 also expands SOMB’s board by two members with expertise in juvenile treatment and probation.
Being able to use data provided by the Department of Justice is an important step in identifying sex offenders at high risk of reoffending and protecting our communities,” said Wilk.