California's new tiered system for sex offender registration

As of January 1, 2021, sex offender registration will be based on a tier system. People who commit certain crimes listed under any of these tiers must register as a sex offender for a designated amount of time. The system will be made up of three tiers. Tier one is for the less serious offenses, while tiers two and three are for the more serious cases. Tier one crimes carry a punishment of registration for ten years as a sex offender. Tier two crimes result in twenty years on the sex offender registration, and tier three crimes result in permanent registration.

Under the new system Tier 1 offenses include:

• Child pornography (PC 311.1/311.11)
• Indecent exposure (PC 314)
• Sodomy-misdemeanor (PC 286)
• Sexual battery - misdemeanor (PC 243.4)
• Arranging a meeting with a minor for lewd purposes (PC 288)

Tier 2 offenses include:

• Lewd acts with a minor under 14 (PC 288)
• Incest (PC 285)
• Sodomy with a mentally or physically disabled victim (PC 286)
• Penetration with a foreign object of a mentally or physically disabled victim (PC 289)
• Rape with a mentally or physically disabled victim (PC 261)

Tier 3 offenses included:

• Rape (PC 261)
• Forced spousal rape (PC 262)
• Sodomy by force (PC 286)
• Continuous sexual assault of a child (PC 288.5)
• Sex acts against a child ten years or younger (PC 288.7)

This is not a complete list of the offenses, but a few of the more common ones. A complete list can be found here.

Changes to Sex Offender Registration

Prior to 2017, California required sex offenders to register for life, regardless of the offense. Governor Brown signed a bill (SB 384) into law that modified this into a new three-tiered system. The new system, does not take effect on January 1, 2021. The tiers get progressively harsher in punishment. The law was passed because there were too many sex offenders, and it was difficult to decipher who the more dangerous offenders were. Going forward, the government will be able to devote more resources to monitor the most dangerous sex offenders.

Reasons for this change:

California's sex offender registry list is massive, 1 in 400 people are on it. The size of the list makes it almost useless to law enforcement officials who can barely monitor the actions so many people.

California is one of only four states that still requires all sex offenders to register for life. This means that people who had sex in public are on the same list as people who violently pray on children. The new system would make a clear distinction.

The registry also punishes LGBT people who engaged in same sex conduct decades ago when it was illegal. The new law will remove these people from the sex offender list.

Nancy E. O'Malley, the District Attorney of Alameda County, described the current system as "an antiquated, ineffective 70 year old system.” The new system under SB 384 will make monitoring dangerous sex offenders easier and keep people safer. In addition, it will take people off the list who have been on for decades for minor offenses.

All information pertaining to which tier crimes are on comes from SB 384