Legislature(2005 - 2006)CAPITOL 120
02/13/2006 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Select Committee on Legislative Ethics | |
| HB353 | |
| HB400 | |
| HB384 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 353 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 400 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 384 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 353 - SENTENCING FOR SEXUAL OFFENSES 1:46:24 PM CHAIR McGUIRE announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 353, "An Act relating to sentences for sexual offenses." [Before the committee was the proposed committee substitute (CS) for HB 353, Version 24-LS1449\G, Luckhaupt, 2/2/06, which had been adopted as the work draft on 2/8/06.] 1:46:45 PM PORTIA PARKER, Deputy Commissioner, Office of the Commissioner - Juneau, Department of Corrections (DOC), referred to the PowerPoint presentation entitled, "Sex Offender Containment" included in committee packets. She highlighted that 45 percent of state prisoners participating in the 1991 Bureau of Justice Statistics Survey committed a [sexual assault] while on probation or parole. REPRESENTATIVE GARA inquired as to whether there is any information regarding how Alaska fares with its probation system [for sex offenders]. MS. PARKER informed the committee that such data for Alaska isn't collected in a central location. However, she offered to provide the committee with data regarding how many times Alaska's prisoners or even just Alaska's sex offenders have been booked, convicted, or issued a Petition to Revoke Probation (PTRP). MS. PARKER continued with her presentation by relaying that the goal of the containment model is to [provide] information and ensure public safety. She then informed the committee that Alaska has twice the national average of rape per capita. In response to Representative Coghill, Ms. Parker specified that the aforementioned data relates to forcible rape. 1:50:51 PM REPRESENTATIVE GARA inquired as to the percentage of rapes that are uninvestigated at the Anchorage Police Department (APD). MS. PARKER said she didn't have statistics for APD. However, she relayed that both in Alaska and in other jurisdictions, the general rule is that a small percent of rapes are reported, of those a small percent are investigated, and of those an even smaller percent of the perpetrators are convicted. REPRESENTATIVE GARA expressed the need for improvement in that regard. MS. PARKER continued by relaying that reported forcible rapes in Alaska increased 21.7 percent from 2000 to 2003. Reiterating that forcible rapes are greatly underreported, she noted that there were 521 forcible rapes and 54 attempted rapes reported in 2003. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL asked whether something happened in Alaska to cause that increase. CHAIR McGUIRE asked whether more people are beginning to report rape. MS. PARKER said that there are several possibilities. She opined that education and advocacy group interventions are probably leading to an increase in reporting. Furthermore, the increase may be due to increased law enforcement efforts in an area. REPRESENTATIVE GARA opined that a large part of the solution has to be more law enforcement officers and prosecutorial resources in this area, both of which cost money. He further opined that if the number of cases being investigated [doesn't increase], then "we're missing the boat." REPRESENTATIVE ANDERSON concurred, recalling discussions with his father who believes that since his retirement from the Alaska State Troopers in 1983, the number of troopers has decreased by half. 1:54:26 PM REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL noted that although there was an appropriation last year for trooper positions, it could not be filled this year. MS. PARKER interjected that use of polygraphs, treatment, and supervision in the [community] would really help. Furthermore, sharing information regarding the number of crimes committed, the relapse patterns, and the number of victims with law enforcement agencies will help prevent assaults. This sharing of information in Oregon has prevented a number of assaults and assisted law enforcement in its efforts to address the assaults that have occurred. MS. PARKER informed the committee that more than half of the victims of sexual assault have been raped more than once. Furthermore, the victims are six times more likely to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), three times more likely to develop major depression, and thirteen times more likely to attempt suicide. She noted that the aforementioned doesn't address the drug and alcohol abuse [that can result as well]. Alaska's cost of victimization, in relation to the known 521 victims, totals about $45 million a year. She noted that the "Making Sense of Rape in America: Where Do the Numbers Come From and What Do They Mean?" report indicated that only 16 percent of victims reported being raped. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL surmised that rape victims are probably a large portion of the suicide population. He asked whether Ms. Parker has worked with [the groups studying suicide and rape] in compiling statistics. MS. PARKER replied no, adding that most of the studies [she has referenced] are national, but they produce similar findings to those in Alaska. In further response to Representative Coghill, Ms. Parker said that the groups studying suicide and rape nationally haven't spoken with her directly. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL suggested, then, that the nexus [between those groups and Alaskan groups] should be made. MS. PARKER clarified that although those groups don't work with her directly, they do work with the providers in DOC and others who provide health services for victims as well as offenders. Ms. Parker then turned to the question of who reports, and relayed that victims of a younger age and who know the perpetrator delay reporting the crime. However, those victims who have their life threatened, receive physical injury, and the perpetrator is a stranger are more likely to report the crime. She then informed the committee that of the 16 percent of reported sexual crimes, only 27 percent of those result in an arrest. The aforementioned is one of the reasons why the sex offender recidivism rate is so low; it is actually artificially low. In fact, with regard to sexual abuse of a minor, a minor victim is less likely to report again when the perpetrator is from a position of trust, such as a relative. [Chair McGuire turned the gavel over to Representative Anderson.] 1:59:59 PM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG asked whether anyone has ever asked what can be done to make it more comfortable for [underage rape victims] to report an incident. MS. PARKER opined that [underage rape victims not reporting a repeated sexual abuse] is related more to concerns regarding what society as a whole and the their family will think. She said she wasn't sure how that could be remedied. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG relayed his belief that generally, with regard to crime, things are made tougher by increasing sentences or creating new crimes. However, it seems that less often encouragement is given to people to do the right thing and report the crime. MS. PARKER, in response to a question, said that the DOC doesn't specifically work with victims, save obtaining information and helping them through the process. [Representative Anderson returned the gavel to Chair McGuire.] 2:04:01 PM CHRIS ASHENBRENNER, Training, Policy and Research Project Coordinator, Alaska Network on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault (ANDVSA), began by informing the committee that the ANDVSA is a nonprofit organization that consists of 20 member programs that address domestic violence and sexual assault. Therefore, the ANDVSA works directly with many victims. In response to an earlier question, Ms. Ashenbrenner offered to provide information to the committee when the bill is heard next. MS. PARKER continued with the PowerPoint presentation and returned to the matter of delayed disclosure with regard to victims who are children. She informed the committee that often 50-70 percent of the victims are children 17 years of the age or younger. With regard to adult victims, 71 percent are concerned about the family knowing, 68 percent about others knowing, and 69 percent about being blamed by others. Therefore, the goal of the containment approach is to obtain and share information. She highlighted the slide that detailed the policies of the containment approach, which are modeled after the containment programs of Oregon and Colorado. The most important part of ensuring that things "stay in check" are the consequences provide by the criminal justice system. Therefore, the consequences for a failed polygraph must be immediate, linked to the risk, include increased surveillance, involve obtaining corroborative information, [and include informing others of the polygraph results]. She assured the committee that [the DOC] won't revoke [probation] based solely on a deceptive polygraph. Currently, the treatment provider, the probation officers, and the polygraph examiner all work together to ensure that the information is accurate, and so the question of whether to revoke [probation] is addressed as a team decision. 2:09:17 PM REPRESENTATIVE GARA asked whether the results of a polygraph would be used in a probation revocation hearing. MS. PARKER stated that it wouldn't be cited as the reason for revocation. She explained that [the DOC] obtains independent verification or evidence that something occurred, although "we may have been tipped off to it." She confirmed that at the [probation revocation] hearing, the polygraph isn't used and would remain so under the terms of HB 353. MS. PARKER pointed out that the next few slides of the PowerPoint presentation, specifically the one entitled, "Secrets Revealed", relate shocking information with regard to the information discovered through treatment and the polygraph versus what is available in criminal justice records. She relayed that the polygraph is used [with sexual offenders] in 38 other jurisdictions. She emphasized that the DOC is only proposing use of the polygraph with sex offenders because it has been the most valuable tool with such offenders. Through the use of the polygraph in other jurisdictions, it has been learned that the traditional rapist doesn't really exist and perpetrators are very willing to cross over into various populations of victims. The most startling finding for treatment providers is that according to court records, only 7 percent of [sex offenders] have both adult and child victims, whereas according to polygraph reports, 70 percent [of sex offenders] have both adult and child victims. The aforementioned information is of particular importance to the criminal justice system, especially in relation to probation and parole [of a sex offender] and reuniting the offender with his/her family, including children, when one doesn't know whether the offender has assaulted children. 2:12:57 PM MS. PARKER relayed that although the crime of incest supposedly has the lowest recidivism rate, children who are victims of incest are most likely to say they would never report it again. She then turned attention to the PowerPoint slide that specifies that 35 percent [of the sex offenders in Texas, Wisconsin, and Oregon] assaulted strangers; while 57 percent assaulted from a position of trust and 36 percent also assaulted adults. She then relayed that the average age at which a sex offender begins to [sexually offend] is between 12 and 16 years of age. The lag time in detection, from the first sexual offense to the time the offender is caught, is fairly high. CHAIR McGUIRE asked whether the question of why people commit sexual offenses is being addressed at all. MS. PARKER opined that the risk assessment and treatment processes provide much of the background data on offenders. However, there is a broad range of offenders. CHAIR McGUIRE relayed her understanding that the DOC attempts to look at more than just the punishment of an offender by trying to rehabilitate when possible. She expressed hope that the [polygraph] can be used in Alaska to discover what leads to a 12-year-old committing a sexual offense and what "we" might be able to do better. REPRESENTATIVE GARA offered his recollection that during the first year of the current administration, it ended in-prison sex offender treatment programs. He inquired as to what programs were ended and what programs were put in place for felony convictions. MS. PARKER clarified that only the one program at Hiland Mountain Correctional Center was stopped. The aforementioned was a small program that was only able to take minimum and "low- medium" custody offenders, most of which were motivated and amenable to treatment. The program treated about 10 percent of sex offenders and thus 90 percent of the sex offenders weren't receiving treatment at all. In the four years that that sex offender treatment program was in operation, only 38 offenders completed the program. The overall cost of the program, about $500,000 a year, was being spent on low risk offenders. Therefore, those resources were put into community treatment where there were more providers. Ms. Parker explained that through that change the department was able to provide more treatment in the community as well as better services to more offenders. In response to Representative Gara, Ms. Parker confirmed that [under that program], sex offenders weren't receiving treatment until they were released into the community, and that's the case now as well. 2:19:09 PM MS. PARKER informed the committee that most sex offenders were not sexually assaulted as children, although they may have been beaten, abused, or [otherwise] assaulted during their childhood. Most people who are sexually assaulted do not become sex offenders themselves. CHAIR McGUIRE inquired as to what it would take to anonymously assess and identify patterns of sexual offenders. MS. PARKER relayed that the DOC has started a risk assessment program such that every sex offender receives an in-depth risk assessment prior to release from prison. Currently, two sex offender treatment providers are on contract and travel to the facilities where most sex offenders are housed, and are performing the aforementioned assessments prior to the offender's release. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL offered his belief that much of the behavior of sexual offenders is a result of Internet pornography. MS. PARKER said that the Internet makes it easier for sex offenders to access victims and materials, and engage in behavior toward which they already have a tendency. 2:22:33 PM MS. PARKER, in further response to Representative Coghill, said that the department has statistics regarding whether a sex offender was convicted of a crime involving the Internet. However, what to attribute increased rates of [sexual offenses] is more difficult to ascertain. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL indicated the need for part of the questioning to include what behaviors lead up to the sexual offense. MS. PARKER said that is addressed in the questionnaire that each offender must complete. She explained that the next step is to catalogue all the information for each offender and, as is done in other states, enter the information into the criminal justice database. MS. PARKER relayed that the post-conviction polygraph with sex offenders is one of the most accurate polygraphs because it is controlled, specific, and limited. Furthermore, most of the information is obtained during the pre- and post-interview rather than from the polygraph. She then reviewed the various types of exams, which include the sex history exam, the specific issue exam, and the maintenance exam. She then reviewed the purpose of maintenance polygraph. She relayed that in Colorado, 69 percent of those sex offenders under supervision with the polygraph were in compliance with probation. However, only 26 percent of those sex offenders who had supervision without the polygraph were compliant with probation conditions. MS. PARKER reminded the committee that [HB 353] proposes to adopt standards similar to those of Colorado such that the examiner would have graduated from an Alaska Psychological Association (APA) accredited polygraph school, had a minimum of 150 criminal issue exams and a minimum of 50 clinical exams in a 12-month period, and 40 hours of specialized training every three years. The department is in the process of developing procedures; in fact, most of the treatment providers are excited about the prospect of using the polygraph as a tool in treatment. She informed the committee that all [polygraph] exams will be videotaped in order to ensure that all procedures are followed. She then relayed that polygraph testing should never be used in isolation, and that multiple methods should always be used. She also relayed that the use of the polygraph and treatment provides more information than use of the polygraph or treatment alone. MS. PARKER concluded by emphasizing that the goal of combining treatment with the use of the polygraph is to provide more information such that offenders become more successful in completing probation and parole as well as not re-offending for the rest of their lives. The ultimate goal, she stated, is public safety. She then reviewed the PowerPoint slide entitled, "The Containment Approach: Quality Control", and said that after the program has been in place, the DOC will report back its findings to the legislature. 2:29:11 PM REPRESENTATIVE MARK NEUMAN, Alaska State Legislature, one of the prime sponsors of HB 353, offered to obtain answers to any questions the committee may have. Representative Neuman relayed his belief that there is a thought process [on behalf of the sex offender] that he/she can get away with these assaults, and so he wanted to send a strong message that "Alaska will not put up with this." [HB 353, Version G, was held over.]
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