Domestic violence.

Existing law prescribes various statutes of limitations for criminal acts, ranging from a requirement that prosecution commence within one year after commission of the offense to provisions authorizing prosecution to be commenced at any time for offenses punishable by death or imprisonment for life in the state prison. Existing law makes the infliction of corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition upon specified victims, including, among others, the offender's spouse or former spouse, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 2, 3, or 4 years, or in a county jail for not more than one year, or a fine of up to $6,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment. This bill would authorize prosecution for that crime to be commenced within 5 years. The bill would apply to crimes that are committed on or after January 1, 2020, and to crimes for which the statute of limitations that was in effect prior to January 1, 2020, has not run as of January 1, 2020. By extending the statute of limitations indefinitely, under certain circumstances, for a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to implement a training course for law enforcement officers in the handling of domestic violence complaints and to develop guidelines for officer response to domestic violence. Existing law requires the course to include instruction on specified procedures and techniques for responding to domestic violence, including techniques for handling incidents of domestic violence that minimize the likelihood of injury to the officer and that promote the safety of the victim, and the assessment of lethality or signs of lethal violence in domestic violence situations. Existing law also requires the course of instruction, the learning and performance objectives, the standards for the training, and the guidelines to be developed by the commission in consultation with appropriate groups and individuals having an interest and expertise in the field of domestic violence, including 2 domestic violence experts. This bill would require those techniques for handling domestic violence to include methods for ensuring victim interviews occur in a venue separate from the alleged perpetrator, deescalation techniques, and specified questions for victims. The bill would require the course of training to include the signs of domestic violence and current and historical context on communities of color impacted by incarceration and violence. The bill would authorize the training experts to include victims of domestic violence and people who have committed domestic violence and have been or are in the process of being rehabilitated. The bill would also expand the groups and individuals with whom the commission is required to consult to include one representative of an organization working to advance criminal justice reform and one representative of an organization working to advance racial justice. The bill would include a statement of legislative findings and declarations. The bill would also delete obsolete provisions and make other technical changes. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.