California’s New Sex-Offender Registry

 news out of California last week.

Beginning in 2021, the state will replace its current sex-offender registry, which requires everyone to register for life, with a three-tiered system that distinguishes among low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk offenders.

People in the first tier will be able to petition to end their registration after ten years. You’re in this tier if you were convicted of a misdemeanor or a non-violent, non-serious felony.

Those in the second tier will be able to petition after twenty years. This applies if you were convicted of a serious or violent offense but do not pose a high risk of reoffending.

Those in the third tier will continue to have to register for life. This applies to high-risk offenders, repeat offenders, and sexually-violent offenders.

For juveniles, there are two tiers. Those in the first tier can petition for removal after five years. Those in the second tier can do so after ten years.

In all cases, the district attorney can oppose your petition, and the court can deny it. If it’s denied, you can petition again, but you’ll have to wait at least one year and as many as five.

Almost everyone supported the new law, including law enforcement, which argued the current registry was so large that cops couldn’t focus effectively on the high-risk offenders.

For local and national press coverage, see here, here, and here.

For the text of the new law, see here.