1. End of Sentence Review Committee Overview
Substitute House Bill 1147
Joint Task Force Meeting
August 30, 2005

2. Community Protection Act of 1990
Mandated state agencies with jurisdiction over the release of sex offenders to review all sex offenders prior to release.
Mandated the sharing of necessary and relevant information regarding sex offenders.
Created the authority to civilly commit Sexually Violent Predators at the end of their term of total confinement.
Enacted Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification.

3. Significant Changes since 1990
1995 Recent Overt Acts; Registration for offenders under federal jurisdiction and found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity.
1997 Risk Level Classification and Notification Process refined; Registration for Kidnapping offenses.
2001 Indeterminate Sentence Review Board Determinate Plus.
2002 Joint Forensic Unit established.

4. End of Sentence Review Committee
An administrative review committee established in 1990 as a result of the Community Protection Act.
Reviews all sex offenders releasing from the Department of Corrections, Department of Social and Health Services and the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board for assignment of sex offender notification levels and for civil commitment consideration.

5. Reviews sex offenders sentenced per RCW 9. 94A
Reviews sex offenders sentenced per RCW 9.94A.712 and makes a recommendation to the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board regarding the offender’s likelihood of sexual reoffense if released to the community.
Reviews all registerable kidnapping offenders for notification purposes.
Reviews all crimes against children and makes recommendation for law enforcement notification.

6. Recommends notification to non-law enforcement agencies, such as Department of Social and Heath Services Division of Developmental Disabilities and Children’s Administration Division.
Refers to other Department of Corrections Programs, such as Victim Services Unit and Dangerously Mentally Ill Offender Program.

7. End of Sentence Review Committee
The End of Sentence Review Sexually Violent Predator
Subcommittee includes the above committee members
with the addition of representatives from the
King County Prosecutor’s Office and the
Washington State Attorney General’s Office.

8. End of Sentence Review Committees
The End of Sentence Review Committee includes the primary committee and three distinct subcommittees:
End of Sentence Review Committee meets twice monthly with additional dates scheduled as needed.
Sexually Violent Predator Subcommittee meets once monthly.
Level I/Child Protective Services Subcommittee meets once monthly.
Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration Subcommittee meets once monthly.

9. End of Sentence Review Committee Process
For each offender being reviewed Committee members are provided with a summary of the offender’s history along with a packet of supporting documents.
Committee members review the provided file material, discuss and vote by a simple majority. If the vote results in a tie, then the End of Sentence Review Chair reviews the case and determines the final outcome.

10. End of Sentence Review Sexually Violent Predator Subcommittee
Reviews sex offenders who appear to meet the criteria of a Sexually Violent Predator as defined under RCW
Subcommittee cases are referred by the End of Sentence Review Committee, DSHS Mental Health Division, and DSHS Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration.

11. Department of Corrections’ Role Regarding Registerable Offenders
To gather all information available for offenders releasing from DOC confinement.
To compile information and risk assessments into a written format for End of Sentence Review Committee members and for future community notification.
To distribute notification bulletins and letters with a packet of necessary and relevant information regarding sex offenders and registerable kidnapping offenders to law enforcement and outside agencies.

12. How Does Notification Occur?
Law Enforcement is responsible for community notification.The extent of community notification is determined by the offender’s risk level.
Offenders are released at the risk level determined by the End of Sentence Review Committee; however, law enforcement has the ability to mitigate or aggravate the risk level. If this occurs, law enforcement is required to complete a letter of departure justifying the reasons for the change in the risk level. Law enforcement determines the final notification level for all registerable sex offenders in the community.

13. Offender’s Release to the Community
If the offender is required to register as a sex/kidnapper, he/she will undergo a registration process at the institution prior to release. Once released, the offender has 24 hours to report and register with the sheriff’s office in his/her county of residence.

14. Notification Level Classification
Between 1990 and 1997, there was not a consistent method used by state agencies and law enforcement to determine notification levels for registerable sex offenders.
During this time, the Department of Corrections issued either a Teletype, a Law Enforcement Alert or a Special Bulletin to notify law enforcement of a registerable offender’s release from confinement.
During 1997 a consistent method to determine sex offender notification levels was developed.

15. Risk Level Classification
Level I: Those offenders whose risk assessment indicates a low risk of sexual reoffense within the community at large. Information is shared with law enforcement agencies. Upon request, law enforcement may disclose the relevant and necessary information to community members.

16. Risk Level Classification
Level II: Those offenders whose risk assessment indicates a moderate risk of sexual reoffense within the community at large. Information is shared with law enforcement agencies. Law Enforcement discloses the relevant and necessary information to schools, businesses and organizations that serve primarily children, women, or vulnerable adults, and neighbors/community groups near the offender’s residence.

17. Risk Level Classification
Level III: Those offenders whose risk assessment indicates a high risk of sexual reoffense within the community at large. For offenders classified as a risk Level III, in addition to the disclosures as a Level II, law enforcement may also disclose relevant and necessary information to the public at large.

18. Sex Offender Civil Commitment
Sexually violent offense per RCW
Mental abnormality or personality disorder that predisposes that person to commit acts of sexual violence
More likely than not to re-offend in predatory sexually violent manner if not confined in a secure facility
Predatory means acts directed towards
strangers or individuals with whom a
relationship has been established or promoted
for the primary purpose of victimization or
persons of casual acquaintance with whom no
substantial relationship exists.

19. If the End of Sentence Review Sexually Violent Predator Subcommittee determines that an offender appears to meet the criteria for civil commitment, a forensic psychological evaluation will be requested. If the evaluation supports the sexually violent predator criteria, the case will be referred by the agency with jurisdiction over the releasing offender to the appropriate prosecuting authority.
The prosecutor reviews the referral and supporting file material and determines whether or not to file the petition for civil commitment.
If the prosecutor declines to file, the offender will release to the community.
If the prosecutor elects to file the petition, the offender is transported to the appropriate county jail pending a probable cause hearing, which is typically held within 72 hours of the filing date.

20. For both the probable cause hearing, as well as any subsequent civil commitment trial, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the offender is more likely than not to sexually reoffend in a violent, predatory manner if not confined to a secure facility.
This will include investigations regarding the offenders past sexual behaviors and may involve contacting past victims.
This will include subsequent forensic psychological evaluation(s).
The process to civilly commit offenders can take years due to legal delays.

21. Recent Overt Acts
The civil commitment law was amended in 1995 to include those offenders who have previously been convicted of a sexually violent offense, since been released from total confinement, and subsequently committed a recent overt act.
Recent overt act means any act that has
either caused harm of a sexually violent
nature or creates a reasonable
apprehension of such harm in the mind of
an objective person who knows of the
history and mental condition of the person
engaging in the act.

22. Joint Forensic Unit
The Joint Forensic Unit (JFU) was created in and is comprised of a pre-selected group of nationwide expert forensic psychologists who are uniquely qualified to conduct sexually violent predator and/or sex offense risk evaluations.
The JFU primarily enables centralization of records processing and a fair method of assigning forensic psychological evaluations on behalf of the various agencies (including the Department of Corrections, Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration, Indeterminate Sentence Review Board, and Eastern/Western State Hospitals) that refer sex offenders for consideration of civil commitment.

23. Cases Reviewed July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005
Total=1319 (1076 adult and 243 juvenile)
Primary ESRC=419
CPS Subcommittee=403
Special=254
JRA Subcommittee=243
Total reviewed by SVP Subcommittee=44 (less than 1%)
Total Identified for Forensic Psychological Evaluation=35 (80%)

24. Civil Commitment Referrals July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005
Total referred=40
35 DOC
3 ISRB
1 JRA
1 WSH

25. DOC Sex Offender Releases July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005
Total number of releases: 771
Level I: 382 (50%)
27 residence
164 approved plans
55 transient
73 homeless
63 custody
Level II: 234 (30%)
19 residence
111 approved plans
38 transient
46 homeless
21 custody
Level III: 155 (20%)
10 residence
44 approved plans
33 transient
48 homeless
19 custody

26. DOC Risk Level Departures July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005
25 DOC Departures
7 JRA Departures
Note: This only includes received Departure Notices.