Bill to Protect Communities from Sexually Violent Predators Gets Backing of L.A. County Board of Supervisors

A bill aimed at increasing public safety scrutiny during the placement of released Sexually Violent Predators (SVP) received the backing of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors this week, further cementing bipartisan support of the bill.

Senate Bill 379, authored by Senator Brian Jones (R-San Diego), would require the California Department of State Hospitals (DSH) to ensure department vendors consider public safety in the placement of a conditionally released sexually violent predator and approve a potential placement before a department employee or vendor signs a lease or rental agreement for the placement of a sexually violent predator.

In layman’s terms, the bill, also known as the the Sexually Violent Predator Accountability, Fairness, and Enforcement (SAFE) Act, requires Department of State Hospitals to ensure department vendors consider public safety in the placement of SVPs following their release. In addition, SB 379 requires Department of State Hospitals to take ownership in the placement process by approving any placements before a department employee or vendor can sign any leases for placement locations. In addition, because of the sensitive nature of the placements, this bill has an urgency clause to take effect immediately.

Senator Jones wrote the bill because of the current minimum standards of the SVP placement process. When SVPs are released through the Forensic Conditional Release Program (CONREP), there are some current guidelines in law – including Jessica’s Law, which prohibits registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park. However, as noted in the SB 379 fact sheet, DSH has almost completely removed itself from the SVP placement process while claiming zero accountability and deferring all questions and concerns to Liberty Healthcare. As a result, there have been several botched placement efforts where Liberty Healthcare has attempted to place SVPs in sensitive and in appropriate locations, leading to public outcry.

Support for the bill since the beginning of the year has been virtually unanimous, with Democrats and Republicans coming together through every vote so far. This includes a 39-0 Senate vote last month, and the recent 8-0 Assembly Public Safety Committee vote. However, as Jones himself has noted, the SAFE Act is currently on it’s fourth attempt, as it had been previously either voted down or vetoed. Needing more outside Sacramento support, Jones turned to county support for further backing.

Support from L.A. County

One of these counties was Los Angeles County. While usually liberal, many L.A. area lawmakers have become big supporters of the bill. This is largely because of growing concerns over the pattern of Sexually Violent Predators being placed in the rural Antelope Valley under current state law. As that area of L.A. County is very rural, there are numerous concerns of the growing number of Predators being placed there, including delayed emergency response, isolated locations lacking infrastructure, and heavy burden on law enforcement. Wanting a better system in place, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to support both SB 379 and the sister bill SB 380, which would require the Department of State Hospitals to conduct a feasibility study of utilizing Transitional Housing facilities for SVPs with conditional release.

“Today’s vote sends a clear message: Los Angeles County is taking action to protect rural Antelope Valley neighborhoods from becoming the default destination for Sexually Violent Predator placements without meaningful consideration for community safety,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “Counties are limited in their ability to change state requirements, so we need these new laws to establish stronger safeguards. These bills will help ensure that predators receive proper supervision and support while also prioritizing the safety and well-being of our communities.”

“We are thankful that the Committee understands the need to protect our communities from Sexually Violent Predators and moved these important measures forward,” added Leader Jones. “We also greatly appreciate the LA County Board of Supervisors’ support on these critical bills, which are the first step towards fixing this broken, alarming, and dangerous predator release program.

“State Hospital officials have repeatedly shirked their responsibility, allowing their vendor, East Coast-based Liberty Healthcare, to target unsuspecting communities with little oversight. This reckless practice must end. Our SB 380 will help ensure SVPs are housed in state-run transitional facilities—not dropped into residential neighborhoods where they threaten public safety.”

SB 379 is expected to continue to garner unanimous or near unanimous support through the rest of the Assembly votes, with a critical signing decision by the Governor likely to come in September.