Governor Newsom Signs New Law Strengthening California's Mentally Disordered Offender Laws

RIVERSIDE – Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 1897 (AB 1897), legislation supported by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office that strengthens California’s laws governing mentally disordered offenders (MDOs) and assessment standards utilized to establish whether an individual poses a substantial danger of physical harm to others.

Under existing law, the assessment of an MDO’s dangerousness does not expressly require consideration of several factors that can be relevant to determining the risk an individual poses to others. This can make it difficult to ensure dangerousness assessments consistently account for the circumstances of each individual.

AB 1897 requires the psychiatrist or psychologist conducting the evaluation to consider specified factors when determining whether an MDO represents a substantial danger of physical harm to others. These include the individual's history of violence related to their mental health disorder, current mental status, recent behavior and treatment response, as well as age and physical ability to inflict harm.

"California MDO laws play an important role in protecting the public, but our experience has shown that the current laws pose gaps that can make it difficult to adequately assess the danger posed by some offenders," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Ivy Fitzpatrick, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office legislative representative.

The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office thanks Assemblymember Matt Haney for his leadership in advancing AB 1897 and Governor Newsom for signing this legislation into law.