Committees

The Sex Offender Policy Board has created several committees to take a detailed look at emerging issues.

Benchmarks

This committee was created in August 2008. The members of the Board recognize that effective response to sex offenses requires careful thought about the functioning and the integration of numerous system components, and policy decisions based on research and good data.

The Board has committed to a deliberate, research-based and highly collaborative information-gathering and analysis process which will enable them to develop and report on benchmarks that measure performance across the state’s sex offender response system and the work of the Board.

Sex Offenders in the Community

The Board created the Sex Offenders in the Community committee in effort to respond to Governor Gregoire’s request to investigate sex offender housing issues. The Governor pointed out that research shows that sex offenders are less likely to re-offend if they have stable housing. The Governor asked the Board to review current research and best practices being employed in other states.

The Committee will also be focused on public education and the furtherance of interagency communication to “normalize” sex offender reentry as a public safety and education strategy.

Registration and Community Notification

This committee was created September 2008. The purpose of the committee is outlined in Second Substitute House Bill (SSHB) 2714, to make recommendations for changes to the statutory requirements relating to sex and kidnapping offender registration and notification. This multidisciplinary team outlined several components of the registration and community notification laws and related processes to review in detail.