CALCASA adds victims voice to GPS Taskforce

November 16, 2010 |
Valor

Cover of Sex Offender Supervision and GPS Monitoring Task Force Report

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation released the “Sex Offender Supervision and GPS Task Force Report” that lists nine recommendations on how the department can reform it’s GPS monitoring and supervision of registered sex offenders.
Over the last 120 days, the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault has served on CDCR’s Task Force. The group was convened in the aftermath of two highly publicized murders in the San Diego area by a registered sex offender.
The task force included victim organization representatives, parole and probation officers, local police and sheriffs, department administrators, and sex offender treatment professionals. The mission of this multidisciplinary task force was to comprehensively evaluate California’s protocols and procedures surrounding GPS monitoring and its relationship to sex offender management. The Secretary of Corrections, Matthew Cate, asked the task force to provide short- and long-term recommendations to reform how the department can close loopholes and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of GPS monitoring and sex offender management.

Following the release of the report, Sandra Henriquez, CALCASA’s Executive Director issued the following statement:

“The California Coalition Against Sexual Assault was actively involved in the development of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s ‘Sex Offender Supervision and GPS Task Force Report’ that was released Friday afternoon and would like to applaud the department for working collaboratively in a multidisciplinary setting to include the input of victim/survivor’s advocates, as it relates to the rights of victims, and the insight of other stakeholders in the creation of these recommendations.”
“It is important to recognize, that while GPS technology is critical, it is only one tool in monitoring high-risk offenders. We must exercise caution around viewing this technology as the ‘end all’ solution for our sex offender management system and instead continue a multi-disciplinary exchange around identifying best practices in sex offender supervision. Of paramount importance is the inclusion of the voices of victims, survivors and their advocates around these systems, thereby ensuring a victim-focused approach to sex offender management. CALCASA and its members urge the Legislature and Governor-elect Jerry Brown to work with victim advocates and public safety officials to adopt and implement these recommendations, in order to improve how California supervises sex offenders and in order to increase public safety in our state.”

California voters approved Proposition 83, Jessica’s Law, in 2006 that mandated all registered sex offenders wear a GPS monitoring device for life. The law also included residency restrictions and other sex offender related laws.