NCJ Number
137899
Journal
Journal of Juvenile Law Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: (1983) Pages: 1-6
Date Published
1983
Length
6 pages
Annotation
In 1981, the California legislature repealed the Mentally Disordered Sex Offender (MDSO) program and enacted mandatory prison sentences for several categories of child molesters. A comparison of 1981 and 1982 statistics from the Ventura County District Attorney's Office Sexual Assault Unit are used to assess the effectiveness of this legislation.
Abstract
The statistics point to the success of the 1981 legislation which is funneling child molesters away from hospitals and into prisons. While the number of convictions in the county increased only 23 percent during the reporting period, the number of commitments jumped by 213 percent and mental hospital commitments dropped by 550 percent. The tripling of prison commitments is a direct result of limitations placed on probation and the unavailability of hospital commitments. The author predicts that prison commitments will continue to rise and probation grants to drop in proportion to convictions as the percentage of cases involving post-1981 offense dates increases. 13 notes