Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 1, 2000
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Locke directs DSHS to examine siting criteria for sex offender housing

OLYMPIA - Gov. Gary Locke has directed the state Department of Social and Health Services to examine the siting criteria for least restrictive alternatives, or LRA, for placement of sex offenders released by the court from the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island.

"I am also directing that the criteria be expanded through a process that heightens community awareness and allows for community input about the placement of these sex offenders," Locke said. But Locke said any examination must consider the efficient placement of offenders without undue delay as required by law.

"We have to follow the law and federal and state court orders in administering the Community Protection Act," the governor said. "That means some of these offenders, who have completed their sentences and a treatment program, will be placed in communities as required by law. They will continue with supervised treatment in the months and years to come.

"No community will welcome new neighbors like those, but every community deserves to be consulted before such placements occur," he said. "And the decisions about placements must reflect clear, predefined criteria that put public safety first and foremost."

DSHS last week dropped plans to locate up to two released sex offenders in a house in the Johnson Point area of Thurston County, after a local resident bought the property and refused to honor the state's lease. The agency is looking for alternative placements that can be available before mid-September when one offender may be released by court order.

The Community Protection Act of 1990 allows the courts to civilly commit some sex offenders for treatment after completing their prison sentences, and requires their release when state courts find that they are no longer likely to commit similar crimes. Federal District Judge William Dwyer has ordered the state to develop and implement these "less restrictive alternative" placements for offenders ready for release.

"The department's top priority is to protect the community and find a suitable location for those offenders who have been judged by the court to be ready for transitional supervision and treatment," said Dennis Braddock, secretary of the Department of Social and Health Services. "I am committed to improving this process in any way we can."

The governor asked DSHS to provide him with a report by Sept. 1, rather than the legislatively required date of Nov. 15, and to include the siting criteria and an additional consultation process. Acknowledging that some placement decisions will have to be made before those dates, he said he expected them to be made with particular attention to the public safety and community consultation criteria.

» Return to this month's News Releases

» View News Release Archive