Recently, the Legislature and governor came together to create a civil commitment law in New York (Ch. 7 of 2007). This new law will help keep the most dangerous sexual predators off our streets even after they finish their prison terms, and establish new, tougher sentences for persons convicted of sex crimes. The highlights of the law include:

• empowering the attorney general to seek civil commitment of sex offenders determined to suffer from a mental abnormality
• requiring treatment for all sex offenders to reduce instances of recidivism
• reviewing civil confinement status annually by the courts
• intensive supervision for offenders not civilly confined

The law also toughens penalties for convicted sex offenders by:

• eliminating the option of parole for felony sex offenses
• providing long-term, post-release supervision for those convicted of sex felonies
• moving five existing crimes into the "violent crime" category, including second-degree rape and fourth-degree aggravated sexual abuse
• creating the crime of "Sexually Motivated Felony" in cases where certain other crimes, like burglary or robbery, are committed for the sexual gratification of the perpetrator

Last year, the Assembly enacted strong laws to fix inadequate penalties for heinous sex crimes. Among these are laws that:

• eliminate the criminal statute of limitations on Class B felony sex crimes - allowing criminal charges for these crimes to be brought years, or even decades later (Ch. 3 of 2006)
• create the crime of predatory sexual assault - which elevates the penalties for Class B felony sex crimes, such as rape, to a maximum of life in prison under certain conditions (Ch. 107 of 2006), and
• expand the criminal DNA database to encompass all persons convicted of felonies and 18 key misdemeanors, including petit larceny and those that involve violence, threats of violence, menacing or stalking behavior (Ch. 2 of 2006) - helping police and prosecutors take criminals off our streets and better protect our communities