October 12, 2007
CCPOA: State Memo Opens Loophole for Sex Offenders
October 12, 2007 - MEMO
Contact: Ryan Sherman 916-716-1400
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STATE MEMO OPENS LOOPHOLE FOR SEX OFFENDERS
Parole agents warn that legal enforcement of Jessica's Law is jeopardized
SACRAMENTO - A California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation memo issued yesterday directs parole agents to advise parolees who do not meet the new Jessica's Law residency requirement - which prohibits them from living within 2,000 feet of schools, playgrounds, etc. - "to immediately provide a compliant residence or [give them the option to] declare themselves transient" - otherwise, they'll be sent back to prison.
"As parole agents and correctional officers, we understand more than most how dangerous sex offenders can be when unsupervised," said Mike Jimenez, President of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. "But the state is now making it a policy to have sex offenders go undetected. It will be impossible for parole agents to enforce Jessica's Law in certain areas - and encouraging 'transient' living arrangements just allows sex offenders to avoid it altogether."
Penal Code Section 3003 states that all parolees are required to live in the county of their commitment. Yet at least one county, San Francisco, currently has NO available housing that meets the Jessica's Law criteria.
"So the state is requiring parolees to find eligible housing in San Francisco, knowing full-well that there isn't any," said Jimenez. "Then they issue a memo that appears to direct sworn peace officers to advise sex offenders that the only way to avoid returning to prison for violating Jessica's Law's residency requirements is by declaring themselves homeless."
"When I approve a law named in memory of my daughter, I have only one goal - to protect other children and families from enduring the nightmare Jessie and our family has endured," said Mark Lunsford, father of Jessica Lunsford. "The purpose of Jessie's Law is to keep sex offenders in prison longer and to carefully watch and monitor those offenders we are forced to have in our communities. Allowing sex offenders to fly under the radar by claiming they are homeless in no way meets that purpose. It is unconscionable that Jessica's Law would be interpreted in any way other than the people of California intended."
"The state's actions are shameful, and dangerous," said Jimenez. "I know they want to reduce overcrowding - so do we. But risking public safety is definitely NOT the way to do it."
