State Is Ordered to Screen Sex Offenders Before Parole

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday ordered the state corrections department to create a prerelease program for sex offenders, a move designed to ensure that those convicts considered high risk are not housed near schools upon their release.

In issuing his executive order, the governor also said he wants the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to notify local police and sheriff’s departments 45 days before a high-risk sex offender is paroled in their communities.

Under current practice, prison officials attempt to give police a week’s notice before an offender is released. Sometimes, however, notification takes place the same day a convict is paroled, a time frame that has angered some local authorities.

“This order is intended to ensure that, when these sex offenders are released from prison at the end of their sentences, they will be under the highest level of scrutiny and in compliance with state law at all times,” Schwarzenegger said. He added that he has a “zero-tolerance policy when it comes to sexual predators.”

Under the order, the department must immediately conduct a risk assessment of more than 1,400 sex offenders scheduled for release within the next three months. The review will determine which are required to abide by a new law, which took effect in January, that requires most child molesters to live more than half a mile from any public or private K-12 school.

In some counties, the new restrictions have created severe difficulties for parolees seeking housing. One group of ex-convicts in Solano County, for instance, have been housed on cots in a parole office because no other housing compliant with the law could be found.

The housing crunch was among several problems that prompted the governor to establish a task force to come up with suggestions for better management of high-risk sex offenders. A task force recommendation led to the order Schwarzenegger issued Friday.

The task force, chaired by Assemblymen Todd Spitzer (R-Orange) and Rudy Bermudez (D-Norwalk), will deliver a final report by Aug. 1.

Statewide, about 100,000 sex offenders are required to register in cities where they live and work. Only about 7,500 of those -- about 2,500 classified as high risk -- are on parole, and thereby under supervision by a state parole agent for three years.

A November ballot initiative, dubbed Jessica’s Law, would add more residency limits for such parolees, including barring them from living within 2,000 feet of a park. Local governments could add prohibited sites.