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"...a Secure Community Transition Facility is for offenders who have completed their criminal sentence but are still not ready for re-entry into an open society. These people cannot be held in the criminal justice system. They must be given less restrictive alternatives. The federal court ordered the state to develop these transition facilities outside of McNeil Island to house these offenders who are done with their sentences but not ready for full release. The state faces massive fines for every day a transition facility away from McNeil Island is not operational. It is the responsibility of the state to site and operate this facility. To achieve this goal, legislation passed in 2001 gave all jurisdictions in King County the opportunity to identify areas, or zones appropriate for the siting of a transition facility or face pre-emption of their laws and policies by the state. King County had just two options: provide zoning for a facility or risk preemption. The state did not give the jurisdictions the opportunity to just say ``no thanks.'' I do not believe that these facilities belong in residential zones or within a fifteen-minute walk of a residential community. So last summer, I chose Option 1 and sent legislation to the King County Council identifying the forest production district as the appropriate area in unincorporated King County. Many cities chose to comply with the law by identifying industrial areas. But, there are relatively small pockets of commercial or industrial land remaining in unincorporated King County and these are all in close proximity to, or mixed in with, residential neighborhoods. In addition, the rural area is a residential zone with minimal concentrations of commercial development. This leaves the forest zone as the remaining logical place in unincorporated King County. However, the King County Council chose to declare that a transitional facility does not belong in any unincorporated area of the county. You know the result. The state chose three sites, two of which continue to be viable alternatives, all within residential areas of unincorporated King County. Many members of the King County Council have joined me to help the state find land in the forest production district that is suitable for a transition facility. This is not an easy task because while we want the site to be remote, the state needs the site to be accessible to treatment providers and other necessary services. After careful examination of the state's criteria, we have asked them to analyze land adjacent to the state Fire District Training Academy, located off of I-90 about six miles east of North Bend. The training academy is not near population centers, schools, or daycares, yet it is easily within an hour of all necessary services. I assured the state Department of Social and Health Services that I would work cooperatively with them to do what we could to make this site meet their needs, including a commitment to locate police services at the site. While we have a long way to go, I believe that we're moving in the right direction. We're doing this cooperatively and within the confines of state law. It is important the public know we are working to ensure the facility is located appropriately and the public safety is protected." |
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The Department of Social and Health Services' role:
The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) is responsible for siting and operating the Secure Community Transition Facility to be located in King County.
Sex offender housing — background information:
Community Protection Act established In 1990 the Community Protection Act, also known as the Sex Predator Law, was established in Washington State. The law allows the state to hold sexual predators for an indefinite period of time after their sentences have been completed if they are judged by civil court to be a continued danger to society. Sexual predator law reviewed by federal court judge In 1994 a federal court judge, the late William Dwyer, ruled on a 1991 civil-rights lawsuit alleging that the constitutional rights of sex offenders who had served their criminal sentences and then were civilly committed under the Community Protection Act to the state's McNeil Island treatment center were being violated. The state was held in contempt for being slow to carry out the judge's order to provide sex offenders with adequate mental-health care and the opportunity to move to less-restrictive transitional housing, and the judge began fining the state $50 per day per resident at the treatment center. Currently that fine tallies over $6 million and is still growing. First halfway house sited In response to the court's order the state established the first transitional site on McNeil Island in 2001. Pierce County residents voiced strong objections to the halfway house. Lawmakers authorized the site over residents' objections and passed the "Fair Share" law that requires each county to house the same number of sex offenders it produces. King County is the next county required by the "Fair Share" law to receive a sex predator facility. Sites currently being considered Two sites currently being considered by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) for a sex predator facility in King County are a 1.2-acre lot at 4515 S. 200th St., in an unincorporated pocket of King County near SeaTac and a site in the 5300 block of 336th Street in Peasley Canyon, between Federal Way and Auburn. Sex offenders not requiring civil commitment: Sex offenders who complete their criminal sentences and are not civilly committed are released to the community and must register with local law enforcement agencies. The King County Sheriff maintains a database of registered sex offenders residing in King County which you can access from the Sheriff's Web site. King County news:
Executive's news | Executive's schedule E-mail the Executive | Executive's site map By visiting this and other King County web pages, you expressly agree to be bound by terms and conditions of the site. The details. |
