Sex Offender Monitoring and the Law
What is SVP community treatment (CONREP)?
- What is SVP community treatment (CONREP)?
- How is the housing placement decided?
- Who supervises SVPs in phase V community-based treatment?
- How is supervision accomplished?
- What happens if an SVP violates his terms and conditions of release?
1. What is SVP community treatment (CONREP)? [TOP]
The Conditional Release Program (CONREP) is under the authority of the California
Department of State Hospitals and provides community-based supervision to
patients in Phase V of the Sex Offender Commitment Program. Phases I-IV
treatment is conducted in the state hospital. After a court hearing to
determine if a patient can be safely supervised and treated in the community,
a patient is ordered into Phase V of the Sex Offender Treatment Program by a Judge
CONREP SVP Terms and Conditions 6/22/2023
2. How is the housing placement decided? [TOP]
State law dictates the process by which community housing placement is determined
under Welfare & Institutions Code section 6609.1. In brief, the Department of
State Hospitals reviews all possible housing locations within the county and
recommends a specific placement to the court. Most placements recommended will
be more than 2000 feet from schools or parks due to the restriction set out in Jessica's Law. When
the recommendation is announced, the public is permitted to make comments about
that proposed placement. Following another court hearing and considering the
public comment, a Judge rules the placement will or will not be accepted. If
accepted, the patient is moved to the housing site and community supervision begins.
3.
Who supervises SVPs in phase V community-based
treatment?
[TOP]
Since 2003, Liberty Healthcare Corporation has been the CONREP supervision
program for SVPs in California. Over the years, SVP patients who had been placed in the
San Diego community were revoked and returned to the hospital at the request of Liberty
following concerns about community safety because of risk behaviors observed
during supervision. Of those, several have been granted a second
opportunity to participate in outpatient treatment.
4. How is supervision accomplished? [TOP]
Liberty establishes a Community Safety Team for each Phase V SVP patient. That
team includes a regional coordinator, treatment providers, polygraph specialists,
victim advocates and law enforcement. Individual and group therapy is provided
weekly. The regional coordinator is in daily contact with the SVP. Polygraph
exams occur every 90 days. The Community Safety Team works together on a
regular basis to insure that the individual's supervision and treatment plan
is providing the level of community safety required. SVPs are on a GPS (Global
Positioning System) bracelet. During the initial phase of community placement, they are not permitted to drive and their movement
in the community is severely limited. Some supervision tools include unannounced
visits, covert surveillance, random searches of the home and daily approval for
all activities in which the patient plans to participate. All SVPs under community
supervision sign Terms and Conditions for release which must be approved by the court. Any violation of those terms
can be a basis for revocation.
5. What happens if an SVP violates his terms and conditions of release? [TOP]
During the entire community supervision program, Liberty provides quarterly
progress reports to the Court, District Attorney and the SVP's attorney. The
Community Safety Team meets formally once a month to discuss issues related
to the SVPs progress in the community. At any time, Liberty or the District
Attorney's Office may request that an outpatient SVP be revoked and returned
to the hospital if high risk behaviors are observed. A patient can petition to be
re-released into outpatient treatment after he has been revoked.