The SOMC Council
Effectively managing known sex offenders and providing community education to prevent sexual victimization are key components of SOMC's mission. While "stranger danger" is recognized by most families, the reality of child molestation is that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually assaulted by someone known to the child or the child's family. For adult victims, 80% of assaults are committed by known assailants. Because the majority of convicted sex offenders are in the community without supervision (no probation or parole), having appropriate and effective community management is vital to both public safety and offender reintegration. The Council meets monthly and discusses these issues, proactively sharing information and best practices in this rapidly-developing field. Council members' collaboration, however, is on-going with many member agencies working together on an almost daily basis to maintain and constantly evaluate the community safety tools established by the Council in 1999.
In 1999, the leadership in San Diego County made a commitment to improve public safety by looking critically at the manner in which sex offenders were identified, assessed and managed. This examination identified weaknesses and gaps in the system. With the assistance of Federal funds, and technical support from identified "best practices", San Diego County defined a plan to improve the quality and effectiveness of sex offender management with the support of a Comprehensive Approaches to Sex Offender Management Implementation Grant.
This pdf document outlines the strategies defined and implemented by San Diego County to improve and evaluate the effectiveness of sex offender management.
The main text of the 2003 Final Report may be viewed by clicking the title contained here, or the image to the left. The Appendix documents exceed electronic file size transfer limitations, but may be obtained by contacting the SOMC Coordinator.