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Notification of juvenile offenders' moves out of county sought
By Philip Riley
The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA), July 24, 2009
San Bernardino County officials were livid last summer when five juvenile criminals escaped from a Yucaipa group home after San Francisco authorities sent them there without notifying local authorities.
A bill headed to the governor's desk is meant to prevent that from happening again by requiring closer communication among probation officers.
The bill fixes weak areas in the code, said Michelle Scray, chief probation officer for San Bernardino County. The Chief Probation Officers of California, a statewide organization promoting quality supervision of offenders, supports the bill, she said.
The bill, SB 352, would require probation officers in the juvenile's home county to provide information about the juveniles and the transfer to officers in the receiving county at least a day before the move occurs. The bill passed the Legislature unanimously.
The bill's author, state Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, said he wrote the bill after learning about the escape incident.
'It's a pretty common-sense piece of legislation,' Dutton said. 'Why would you object to a county letting another county know if (they are) turning loose some questionable people into your jurisdiction?'
Adding to officials' frustration, the five Honduran natives were believed to be in the country illegally. San Francisco is a safe-harbor city for illegal immigrants and the city did not report the juveniles to federal immigration authorities after their arrest.
Four of the juveniles were rearrested. San Francisco, at San Bernardino County's request, quickly released a tally of how many juvenile offenders had been sent to the county since 2006.
San Francisco also ended its policy of not turning juvenile offenders over to federal immigration authorities.
Dutton's bill requires a juvenile offender's home county to give the receiving county information about the juvenile's immigration status, prior offenses, incidents of sexual abuse and any gang affiliations.
'(The bill) allows us to have more information to make these decisions,' Scray said.
Out of the 8,200 California youth placed under the supervision of county probation officers, 43 percent are placed in other counties, according to the California Department of Social Services. Transfers can occur because of lack of space, attempts to find a better rehabilitation environment for the juvenile and other reasons, said Scray.
'It's absolutely tailored to the kid,' she said.
Dutton's bill received bipartisan support and has no recognized opposition. The Schwarzenegger administration has not yet taken a position on the bill.
By Philip Riley
The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA), July 24, 2009
San Bernardino County officials were livid last summer when five juvenile criminals escaped from a Yucaipa group home after San Francisco authorities sent them there without notifying local authorities.
A bill headed to the governor's desk is meant to prevent that from happening again by requiring closer communication among probation officers.
The bill fixes weak areas in the code, said Michelle Scray, chief probation officer for San Bernardino County. The Chief Probation Officers of California, a statewide organization promoting quality supervision of offenders, supports the bill, she said.
The bill, SB 352, would require probation officers in the juvenile's home county to provide information about the juveniles and the transfer to officers in the receiving county at least a day before the move occurs. The bill passed the Legislature unanimously.
The bill's author, state Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, said he wrote the bill after learning about the escape incident.
'It's a pretty common-sense piece of legislation,' Dutton said. 'Why would you object to a county letting another county know if (they are) turning loose some questionable people into your jurisdiction?'
Adding to officials' frustration, the five Honduran natives were believed to be in the country illegally. San Francisco is a safe-harbor city for illegal immigrants and the city did not report the juveniles to federal immigration authorities after their arrest.
Four of the juveniles were rearrested. San Francisco, at San Bernardino County's request, quickly released a tally of how many juvenile offenders had been sent to the county since 2006.
San Francisco also ended its policy of not turning juvenile offenders over to federal immigration authorities.
Dutton's bill requires a juvenile offender's home county to give the receiving county information about the juvenile's immigration status, prior offenses, incidents of sexual abuse and any gang affiliations.
'(The bill) allows us to have more information to make these decisions,' Scray said.
Out of the 8,200 California youth placed under the supervision of county probation officers, 43 percent are placed in other counties, according to the California Department of Social Services. Transfers can occur because of lack of space, attempts to find a better rehabilitation environment for the juvenile and other reasons, said Scray.
'It's absolutely tailored to the kid,' she said.
Dutton's bill received bipartisan support and has no recognized opposition. The Schwarzenegger administration has not yet taken a position on the bill.