Senate Republican Leader-elect Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga) announced today that a measure to aid local law enforcement officials in their efforts to create safer neighborhoods received unanimous support on the Senate floor.
Senate Bill 1265 will allow local law enforcement officials to be notified when mentally disordered offenders are released into their neighborhoods.
Senator Dutton saw the urgent need for this legislation after learning about a homicide in the city of Upland earlier this year in which both the perpetrator, victim, and five other male offenders were living in an unsupervised group home as part of the Department of Mental Health’s Forensic Conditional Release Program (ConRep).
During the murder investigation, Senator Dutton learned that current law prohibits local law enforcement officials from being notified when a ConRep offender is placed in a local neighborhood.
“The safety of our neighborhoods is at risk because of a legal loophole that keeps local law enforcement in the dark,” Senator Dutton said. “SB 1265 is a common sense measure that will fix this problem and make California a safer place to live.”
SB 1265 must now make its way through the Assembly prior to being sent to Governor Schwarzenegger for his signature.
Press Release
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