CRIMS SB384 Workflow Automation

Start/Launch Date of the Program: September 2021
Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Department: Information Technology Department (Police Departments, Sheriff CIB, DA, Courts, CSAR)

Abstract of the Program

California Senate Bill 384 (SB384) replaced mandatory lifetime registration for all sex offenses with 3 tiers, based on the offense. The law went into effect in 2021. Registrants can petition to have themselves removed from the sex offender list and the “Megan’s Law website”.

This program requires communication between Police departments, Sheriff Central Identification Bureau, District Attorney’s office, Courts and CSAR (California Sex and Arson Registry).

The purpose of the project was to automate and streamline the SB384 workflow within the web based CRIMS application which is the common platform for all Law enforcement users in the county.

All documents related to SB384 are now available in one platform for all Criminal Justice entities to review.

The Problem or Need Addressed by the Program

Effective January 1, 2021, SB384 transitioned California’s lifetime sex offender registration schema to a tier-based schema. SB384 established three tiers of registration for adult registrants for periods of 10 years, 20 years, and life. SB384 allows the registrant to petition the superior court for termination of their sex offender registration requirement on or after their next birthday after July 1, 2021, following the expiration of their mandated minimum registration period. Based on criteria listed in SB384, the court will either grant or deny the petition.

This requires communication between various Law Enforcement entities which is addressed by an automated workflow implemented within the CRIMS system.

Description of the Program

Objective
The effects of being a registered sex offender are hugely stigmatizing. The registry can be checked online by the public, including employers, real estate agents, schools, landlords and community organizations reviewing a potential coach, scout leader or volunteer. Willful failure to register is a felony or a misdemeanor, depending on the underlying offense. SB384 allows offenders in Tier 1 or Tier 2 to file petitions to be removed from the registry. Such offenders must have been released from prison for at least ten years or twenty years, respectively, before filing such a petition. Those who are in Tier 3 cannot seek relief from the order to register for life. The petition will be reviewed by a judge, with input by the local prosecutor, who can then grant or deny the petition. Such petitioners may be those convicted of low-level, non-violent sex offenses.

The objective of the CRIMS SB384 module is communication between the various Law enforcement partners that are involved in the SB384 petitioning process. A workflow has been created involving multiple law enforcement partners for exchanging the various SB384 related forms such as CJIS-8050, CR-415, CR-416, CR-417, CR-418.

CRIMS SB384 module implemented the above workflow in the following manner:

  1. Low level sex offender fills out and submits the petition to the court to have their registration requirement terminated
  2. A case is created in the court which is linked to CRIMS through the real-time interface between courts and ITD
  3. Law enforcement PC290 administrator enters the Petition # and Date petition received from CSAR into This begins the 60-day countdown for the registering LE to upload the PDF of the completed CSAR checklist
  4. LE creates a checklist in CSAR and exports It is then uploaded to CRIMS. This triggers an email to DA and the 60 day DA countdown starts.
  5. District Attorney’s Office files response (CR-417) to the petition and uploads it to CRIMS
  6. CR-417 is sent to court real-time by CRIMS
  7. The court reports its decision to CAL-DOJ, which then updates CSAR
  8. The LE PC290 administrator then notifies the Central Identification Bureau to de-activate the registrant link in CRIMS
  9. All documents related to the SB384 petitioning process are now available for all the law enforcement partners to view.

Time Frame
The law went into effect July 1st 2021. Planning started March 2021, System development lasted from May through July. Testing and Quality assurance completed July-August, implemented in Sep 2021. This project was completed in record time to meet the state mandated start dates.

Clientele
The primary beneficiary of the SB384 program is the low-level sex offender whose petition can be expedited by the automated workflow. Other involved entities are Multiple police departments, Sheriff CIB, DA’s office, Courts and CSAR

ITD Role
CRIMS is a web-based application that is used by all law enforcement partners within Alameda County, hence was chosen to host the SB384 workflow module. The CRIMS application has 2 components, a front-end web-based portal for entering and storing law-enforcement related data and a backend component for continuous integration with the various law enforcement partners within Alameda County and outside. For the SB384 module, front-end screens were developed to enter SB384 data and upload the various forms. Backend components were developed to continuously exchange data with the courts.

Partners
This project is an exemplary example of multiple law enforcement agencies coming together to solve a problem in which each one has a role to play and benefits everyone. Regular meetings were conducted during the design phase involving Police agencies, DA, CIB, Courts, CSAR and ITD to finalize the optimum workflow.

The Results/Success of the Program

The SB384 module was implemented September of 2021. So far 146 sex offenders have petitioned and 129 have been granted to be taken off registry and Megan’s law website. All these cases have been processed successfully through the newly developed CRIMS SB384 module. This program has been very beneficial to all those involved in PC 290 administration. The module has been running error-free for over a year.

Worthiness of Award

  • Sex offenders are able to get a 2nd chance.
  • Automation expedites and streamlines the workflow
  • Eliminates all paper forms
  • Continuous real-time interfaces with various law-enforcement partners
  • All documents available in one portal for all to access
  • Email alerts to concerned parties
  • Countdown timer helps law-enforcement with urgency of task
  • Integrates with existing PC290 module for sex-offender registration
  • CRIMS SB384 design, development, and QA completed in record time to meet the state mandated start dates even though there were several pieces to be completed
  • Has been running flawlessly for more than one year