Sacramento, CA-On Monday California became the first state in the nation to adopt comprehensive legislation requiring convicted sex offenders to register with campus police when they enroll in or become employed on the campus of a college or university.

AB 4 supporters (l-r) Denise Smart, Jessica Higgins, Daniel Carter, Det. Sally Miller, Assemblymember Patricia Bates, and Chief Terry Stewart after an Assembly hearing last April

The requirement will take effect next October. Offenders at institutions without campus police will register with either the local police or sheriff’s department.

“Giving law enforcement agencies this critical information about sexual predators on campuses, is a significant step in making safety within college and university communities a priority in California” said Detective Sally Miller of the Sonoma County Junior College District Police Department and a leading proponent of the measure.

The legislation signed by Governor Gray Davis (D) on Monday, AB 4, was sponsored by Assembly Member Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Nigel) and supported by a diverse coalition of law enforcement and victims’ rights organizations including the California College and University Police Chiefs Association and Security On Campus, Inc.

“We know that parents worry a great deal about the safety of their children when they are away at college,” said Bates. “AB 4 will help campus police defend students and school staff from sexual predators.”

Current law requires that sex-offender information be provided only to the local law-enforcement agency where the offender lives. Because the college may not be in the same jurisdiction as the offender’s residence, the college’s law enforcement personnel and community may have no idea that a convicted sex offender is on their campus.

“This is first of its kind, landmark legislation” said S. Daniel Carter, the Senior Vice President of Security On Campus, Inc. a non-profit campus security advocacy organization. Carter worked with campus police officials to develop this legislation, and corresponding federal legislation signed into law last year by President Clinton as part of a national anti-crime package. “California is the first state to adopt the legislation needed to comply with this new federal standard” added Carter.