Sexually violent predator laws

Some jurisdictions may commit certain types of dangerous sex offenders to state-run detention facilities following the completion of their sentence if that person has a "mental abnormality" or personality disorder that makes the person likely to engage in sexual offenses if not confined in a secure facility.[1][2] In the United States, twenty states, the federal government, and the District of Columbia have a version of these commitment laws, which are referred to as "Sexually Violent Predator" (SVP) or "Sexually Dangerous Persons" laws.[2]

Generally speaking, SVP laws have three elements:[3] that the person has been convicted of a sexually violent offense (a term that is defined applicable statutes), that the person suffers from a mental abnormality and/or personality disorder, which causes their serious difficulty controlling their sexually violent behavior, and that this mental abnormality and/or personality disorder makes the person likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined in a secure facility.

A "mental abnormality" is a legal term that is not identical to a mental disorder, though experts generally refer to diagnoses contained in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as evidence of a mental abnormality.[4]

In most cases, commitment as an SVP is indefinite; however, once a person is committed, the confining agency is constitutionally required to conduct periodic reviews of that person's mental condition.[citation needed] If the committed person's condition changes so they no longer meets commitment criteria, they must be released. In some circumstances, committed persons can be released to court-monitored conditional releases to less restrictive alternative placements (LRAs).[5]

  1. ^ "RCW 71.09.020: Definitions". Apps.leg.wa.gov. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Civil Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators - ATSA". Atsa.com. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  3. ^ "View Document - Washington Civil Jury Instructions". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
  4. ^ Inc., US Legal. "Mental Abnormality Law and Legal Definition - USLegal, Inc". Definitions.uslegal.com. Retrieved 20 October 2017. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ RCW 71.09.090