Local Law Enforcements Duty to Register a Sex Offender in California

In People v. Davis (2002) 102 Cal.App.4th 377, the court considered whether a separate offense was committed under former Penal Code section 290, subdivision (a)(1)(A) each time the defendant entered the same jurisdiction and failed to register within five days. The Davis court concluded: "Given the purpose of section 290, to allow local law enforcement agencies to keep known sex offenders under surveillance, the duty to register arises when the sex offender enters a jurisdiction and ends when he leaves the jurisdiction." (Davis, supra, at p. 382.) The Court noted: "The following examples illustrate when a sex offender's registration duties begin and end. A sex offender who enters the City of Los Angeles in January and remains there for five consecutive working days must register with the LAPD no later than the fifth consecutive working day. If the offender drives to the City of Riverside in February, stays overnight, and returns to Los Angeles the following day he is still under his original duty to register in Los Angeles; no duty arose to register in Riverside. If, however, the sex offender drives to Riverside and remains there for five consecutive working days, he is under a duty to register with the Riverside police department no later than the fifth consecutive working day. His duty to register in Los Angeles also ends on that day because the LAPD no longer has an interest in surveilling a sex offender residing outside its jurisdiction. Should the offender move back to Los Angeles, a new registration duty arises because the LAPD would once again have an interest in keeping him under surveillance." (Id. at pp. 382-383.)