California spent $93 million over two decades to release 56 high-risk sex offenders, according to a state audit. However, it found that inmates in the pricey program re-offended at lower rates than others released unconditionally.
The report, by the California State Auditor last week, reviewed a state program to release and supervise sexually violent predators. These are people convicted of violent sexual crimes, who have mental disorders that make them likely to commit new ones.
State Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, R-San Diego, called for the audit to review a program to place high risk offenders in areas including rural San Diego communities, and the state’s agreement with Liberty Healthcare, the private contractor that manages it.
“This is a very expensive program, with limited success, with one vendor that has been able to operate for 20 years without accountability or oversight,” Jones told me.
There are 19 sexually violent predators in the state program now. Seven of them live in backcountry neighborhoods in Borrego Springs, Jacumba Hot Springs and Campo, and two more are waiting for housing. This week a judge ordered one of them, Merle Wakefield, to be released without a specific address, after authorities failed to find housing for him.
Families and community leaders have protested the placements, calling them unsafe for nearby children and seniors.
For Jones, reforming that system has been something of a crusade. He has made three unsuccessful attempts to pass bills tightening conditions for their release, including one that died in committee in August. He told me he’ll keep trying, using the audit to guide his next bill.
The audit found mixed results, including soaring costs for the program. Payments to Liberty Healthcare rose from $5.3 million in 2018-19 to $9.4 million in 2022-23, as more offenders were released, while rental prices and other expenses climbed.
But the audit also concluded that participating in the program’s treatment and monitoring appeared to reduce the chance of new offenses. Two of the 56 people released under supervision committed subsequent felonies. One was convicted of possessing child pornography and another didn’t register as a sex offender, the audit reported.
By contrast, 24 out of 125 sexually violent predators who were released unconditionally committed new offenses, including seven sexual offenses and 13 failures to register as sex offenders. That’s a 4 percent recidivism rate for program participants compared to 19 percent for inmates released on their own.
“The Audit report highlights the success and effectiveness of the (program) in protecting public safety,” by reducing re-offenses, the Department of State Hospitals said in a statement to Voice of San Diego.
Is that because the treatment and services steer former inmates toward rehabilitation? Not entirely. Instead, regular check-ins and supervision can flag problems early.
“Another likely reason for why the program has reduced re-offense rates is that the courts can revoke individuals’ participation if they begin demonstrating potentially negative behaviors,” the audit stated.
In other words, healthcare and law enforcement officials may get advance warning before new offenses occur. Eighteen of the total 56 participants returned to the state hospital after officials determined they were at risk of re-offending.
Jones said that shows the program is failing to rehabilitate offenders and argued that any new offenses are too many.
“The failure rate is actually a lot higher than just the recidivism rate, and as taxpayers and citizens of California, we should be looking at the whole number,” he said. “If your children or neighbors are negatively affected, do you want to be part of that 4 percent?”
The audit concluded that the Department of State Hospitals doesn’t effectively monitor Liberty Healthcare’s compliance with state guidelines and recommended creating a system to track that. And it advised the state to break up the contract into multiple parts to increase competition, noting that separate contracts for housing and mental health services could encourage more vendors to submit bids.
It also recommended adding transitional housing as an interim step between the state hospital and community placement, saying that could reduce wait time for releasing inmates. State hospitals rejected that recommendation, saying it would not make placement easier or cheaper.
They Mysterious Case of Carl DeMaio’s Residence
A neighborhood dispute became a case of political intrigue when our editor Scott Lewis reported that a neighbor of Assembly candidate Carl DeMaio sought a restraining order against him, claiming that his family faced harassment from DeMaio at his Rancho Bernardo home.
The neighbor didn’t get the restraining order, but it got Lewis thinking. Rancho Bernardo isn’t in the 75th Assembly District where DeMaio is seeking office, so where does he really live?
Jen Jacobs, a spokesperson for DeMaio, said he has a property in Fallbrook, which is within the 75th Assembly District. Then KPBS dug into DeMaio’s property and voter registration records and found that he rented an apartment in Escondido, also within district boundaries, days before pulling nomination papers for the Assembly seat.
So on paper, he’s good to go. Except candidates can’t just rent a place in the district where they’re running for office. They have to actually live there.
Former Escondido Union School Board Member Jose Fragozo found that out the hard way. He resigned from office and pleaded guilty to felony voter fraud in 2016. Prosecutors proved Fragozo didn’t live at the central Escondido apartment he was renting, but at a home in a suburban area outside the district he represented.
I checked with Steve Walker of the District Attorney’s Office to see if they were looking into DeMaio’s home base. He said they can’t comment on potential investigations.
Superfund Shakeup
For the past year local officials have begged Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Joe Biden to declare a state of emergency over sewage pollution in the Tijuana River Valley. On Thursday San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer sent a letter to EPA Region 9 Administrator Martha Guzman asking her to investigate the region for a new Superfund site.
Earlier this month the Board of Supervisors stalled the request, our MacKenzie Elmer wrote. So Lawson-Remer drummed up signatures from 500 residents instead. Also, on Wednesday, the supervisors agreed to pursue litigation against corporations polluting the river.
The Sacramento Report runs every Friday and is part of a partnership with CalMatters. Do you have tips, ideas or questions? Send them to me at deborah@voiceofsandiego.org