An Invisible Epidemic

Crime against people with disabilities has been called an "invisible epidemic," comparable to domestic violence before society awakened to the horror and widespread extent of that terrible problem.

Children and elders with disabilities, homeless people with disabilities, and people with disabilities in care, incarceration, and treatment facilities are among those most vulnerable and most often victimized. Women and men with disabilities also are at high risk of sexual assault and domestic violence.  Perpetrators are often caregivers.  It is unlikely that society would tolerate this level of violent crime against most other victims without demanding much more effective action.

Summary

The Crime Victims with Disabilities Act of 2010 takes a variety of steps to prevent and investigate these crimes and to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators.

Specifics

The bill includes these major provisions:

·         Requires the Department of Justice to notify law-enforcement agencies and district attorneys of the extent of the invisible epidemic, the relevant laws, and law enforcement tools and training opportunities.

·         Requires state law enforcement agencies to train their officers using an existing telecourse on crimes against victims with disabilities. Encourages local law enforcement agencies also to train their officers with the telecourse.

·         Expands the authority of any Elder Death Review Team or Child Death Review Team that a county chooses to establish to include investigating suspicious death of adults or children with disabilities

·         Requires the Department of Developmental Services to report crimes in developmental centers and other crimes against people with developmental disabilities to the local police.

·         Expands sexual assault training available to district attorneys to include the special problems of investigating and prosecuting sexual assault of people with disabilities.

·         Assures that the state Sexual Assault Advisory Committee and Domestic Violence Advisory Council include representation of people with disabilities.

·         Provides for data collection on deaths of domestic violence victims with disabilities in the existing domestic violence data collection system.

No New Costs or Programs

The bill has been amended to eliminate any state or local government costs. By repealing an existing training requirement on all state law enforcement agencies and replacing it with a narrower and more focused training requirement, it results in a net savings. It does not create any new state programs.

Sponsor

The Arc of California, the state's largest organization advocating for Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, is the sponsor of SB 110.

Do you have questions?  Comments?

Would you like to support SB110?

Please Contact:

Robert Oakes, Legislative Director

Senator Carol Liu, 21^st District

(916) 651-4021

Robert.Oakes@sen.ca.gov