State audit: CONREP participants reoffend less often but placement delays and oversight gaps persist

Grant Parks, the California State Auditor, told the Joint Legislative Audit Committee that his office’s October 2024 audit found CONREP participants convicted of new crimes far less frequently than similarly situated people unconditionally released by the courts.

The audit, Parks said, reviewed CONREP placements from the program’s start in 2003 through April 2024. “Two of the 56 SVPs that were placed in the community under CONREP were convicted of a new offense,” Parks said. “None of the remaining 54 participating SVPs were convicted of new offenses during their time in CONREP.”

Why it matters: The audit presented a mixed picture for public safety. Parks and committee members emphasized that lower conviction rates do not eliminate concerns about program failures, revocations and long delays that keep patients in state hospitals after a court has ordered community placement.

Key audit findings

- Placement and waits: The audit found the state took, on average, about 17 months between a court’s order that an individual participate in CONREP and the court’s approval of the actual housing…