Suggestions for Submitting an SVP Opposition Letter – Transient Release

Suggestions for submitting an SVP opposition letter – transient release  

Welfare and Institutions Code section 6609.1 requires the Department of State Hospitals to give communities a formal 30-day notice regarding the potential placement of a state designated “Sexually Violent Predator”.  

Once this formal notice is provided, the community is invited to submit letters of opposition. By law, the court is legally obligated to consider the release of an SVP as they have already served their sentence and are being civilly committed into a state-run program. With this in mind, community feedback is very impactful when the court is considering next steps.

The following information is provided to assist in drafting letters to be considered by a judge:  

• Transient release has only a 50% success rate which is not safe for the community 
• Until the judge can ensure the safety of the community, release should not be granted 
• Due to the high failure rate of transient releases, the judge cannot ensure the safety of the community 
• The Department of State Hospitals’ contract provider, Liberty Healthcare, has failed to find secure housing after an 18-month search process 
• Liberty Healthcare is paid with tax-payer dollars to find secure housing and SVP release should be conditioned on finding secure housing 
• Neither the Department of State Hospitals, nor their contract provider, Liberty Healthcare, have provided any locations for the court to consider placement, as required by law. The court should not consider release until a plan has been presented for the community to consider.