AB 1897: Mentally disordered offenders: criteria for commitment.

Existing law requires that, as a condition of parole, a prisoner who has a severe mental health disorder be treated by the State Department of State Hospitals if the prisoner meets certain requirements, including, among others, that the person in charge of treating the prisoner and a practicing psychiatrist or psychologist from the State Department of State Hospitals have evaluated the prisoner and that a chief psychiatrist of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation certify to the Board of Parole Hearings that by reason of the prisoners severe mental health disorder, the prisoner represents a substantial danger of physical harm to others. Existing law allows a prisoner to request a hearing before the Board of Parole Hearings for the purpose of proving that the prisoner meets the criteria to be treated by the State Department of State Hospitals. Existing law allows a prisoner who disagrees with the determination of the Board of Parole Hearings to file a petition in court in the county in which the prisoner is incarcerated or is being treated for a hearing on whether they met the criteria.

This bill would instead require that the above-described mental health professional opine that the prisoner represents a substantial danger to the health and safety of others. The bill would require that the prisoner undergo the Historical Clinical Risk Management-20, Version 3 assessment, as specified. The bill would make other conforming changes. specified, and would instead allow a prisoner to file a petition in court in the county of commitment to state prison.