Public opposition thwarts success of sexual predator placement program, state says – Orange County Register

Public opposition makes it difficult to reintroduce sexually violent predators into California communities, even though they have undergone post-prison treatment that makes them much less likely to reoffend, a new state audit shows.

The 57-page audit released last week said it could take months or even years to find community housing for SVPs, as sexually violent predators are called, after they complete treatment through California’s parole program.

The audit was requested by Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones, R-San Diego, who cited what he described as “public outcry” over the reckless release of SVPs into communities.

“It is clear that the current release program is not meeting expectations and safety standards,” Jones said in a statement.

The audit attributed some deficiencies to cost increases from the $11.5 million conditional release program overseen by the California Department of State Hospital and the inability to hold a third-party management vendor accountable.

DHS said in a statement that it will implement the audit’s recommendations.

Transition to community life

According to the audit, California designates as SVPs those convicted of specific sexually violent crimes who also have significant mental health issues.

When SVPs near the end of their prison sentence, a County Superior Court judge can civilly commit them indefinitely to a state mental health hospital and participate in the parole program. The program aims to allow SVPs to safely return to the community after a court determines they are eligible for treatment in a less restrictive outpatient setting.

Pennsylvania-based Liberty Healthcare Corp. manages the program on behalf of DSH. The company did not respond to calls and emails requesting comment on the audit.

Public opposition

Since the parole program began in 2003, only two of the 56 SVPs placed in communities have been convicted of subsequent crimes, according to auditors. In contrast, 24 of the 125 non-participating SVPs released unconditionally by the courts since 2006 have been convicted of new crimes, including seven sex crimes.

Despite the program’s apparent success in combating recidivism, the state faces significant barriers to placing SVPs in communities due to complex program requirements, a lack of property owners willing to provide rental housing, and public opposition.

On average, it takes the state 17 months to place SVP program participants in the community.

As of April, three SVP program participants in Los Angeles County had been waiting for placement for approximately eight months and one in Orange County had been waiting for nine months. Another SVP in Santa Cruz County has been waiting for community housing for 4 1/2 years.

“Sex offenders should never be released,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in an email. “Due to lax state laws, any sex offender release must always be supervised for life with a GPS monitor.”

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said it opposes the release of any SVP who continues to pose a threat to public safety.

“If courts order the release of SVPs under state law, their placement must be done in an equitable manner, without placing an undue burden of risk or fear on any particular community,” a statement from the Attorney General’s Office said.

In 2023, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution authored by Chairman Dawn Rowe opposing the local placement of sexually violent predators with no known ties to the county.

“We are not the dumping ground of California,” Rowe said at the time. “If the state and the courts insist on releasing dangerous criminals who should likely be locked up for the rest of their lives, they should do so where these people come from and where there are sufficient resources to monitor their every move .”

In 2019 and 2021, the supervisors, along with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s Office, successfully blocked the placement of SVPs in Joshua Tree and Newberry Springs.

Antelope Valley residents are currently fighting the placement of 74-year-old Christopher Hubbart, also known as the “Pillowcase Rapist,” in the community of Juniper Hills, south of Pearblossom.

Studies of residency restrictions for sex offenders, based on the idea of ​​”stranger danger,” have repeatedly shown that they have no impact on recidivism, Daniel Lambright, a senior staff attorney for the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in 2022.

In 86% of sex crime cases, the perpetrator and victims are family members, meaning residency restrictions would not have prevented the crime, Lambright noted.

Auditors recommended that DSH analyze the benefits and feasibility of establishing temporary housing for SVP participants, an idea that Jones supports.

“As we have said all along, SVPs must be housed on state property under constant supervision, as previous governors have directed,” he said. “The auditor’s suggestion for temporary housing – even under state supervision – is a step that DSH has stubbornly resisted, but one that deserves serious consideration.”

Deficiencies in the program

The cost of administering the SVP program has increased significantly, from $6.6 million in 2018-2019 to $11.5 million in 2022-2023.

Most of the spending is related to the state’s annual payments to Liberty Healthcare, which have increased from $5.3 million to $9.4 million in recent years, due to a rise in program participants and home prices .

DSH has been unable to obtain bids for program services from a vendor other than Liberty Healthcare despite four such attempts.

Auditors found that DSH has failed to monitor ongoing deficiencies in Liberty Healthcare’s administration of the program, which provides access to data to outside DHS personnel.

DSH does not have effective oversight of Liberty Healthcare’s implementation of recommendations resulting from assessments, the audit said.

Liberty Healthcare also had not updated its anti-trafficking policy since 2011 and had not consistently and adequately trained its staff to testify in court, the audit said.

“DSH’s contract with Liberty Healthcare requires DSH to set a deadline for Liberty Healthcare to correct any deficiencies that DSH identifies in its audits and reviews, noting that failure by Liberty Healthcare to correct deficiencies in a timely manner would be grounds for termination of the contract,” the audit said.