Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger directed the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to provide public notices whenever a paroled sex offender removes his or her GPS unit and absconds from parole.
“Paroled sex offenders that take action to remove their GPS pose a threat to public safety, and the department must take every necessary step to eliminate that threat, including making sure the public is aware of these individuals,” said Schwarzenegger.
“My greatest priority is to protect the safety of all Californians, and a better informed public will help make our communities safer from sex offenders trying to run from parole supervision,” he added.
CDCR currently notifies local law enforcement immediately when a parolee removes their GPS and absconds from parole through the parole Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS), a Web-based system that provides local law enforcement with photos and information about parolees, the governor's office reported.
“CDCR’s top priority is public safety,” said CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate. “We will immediately begin the development of a system that notifies the media and the public when a sex offender attempts to abscond from parole supervision.”
The need for a broader notification of the public came to light from recent incidents involving sex offenders removing their GPS units, according to Schwarzenegger's office.
In just such a case, a parolee from Lake County recently was arrested out of county after removing his GPS device.
Curtis Dewayne Dodge, a convicted sex offender with an extensive violent criminal background, was arrested in Redding in June, as Lake County News has reported.
Dodge had been on the run for months after he had removed his GPS monitoring anklet, which officials reported was a condition of his parole.
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