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Level-3 Sex Offender Housing in SODO

In 2005, Washington State's Department of Social and Health Services opened the Secure Community Transition Facility in SODO.

The "SCTF" houses qualified, court-approved, civilly committed, level-3 sex offenders.

Level-3 sex offenders are violent sexual predators, considered most likely to re-offend.

They earn their way into the SCTF through treatment and court process. As of January, 2007, the SCTF had two residents. The facility is equipped for six.

Remodeling the converted warehouse began in January, 2005, and was completed in July, 2005, by Western Ventures of Mountlake Terrace. SODO business Guardian Security Services installed and helps monitor state-of-the-art security systems. Overlapping measures cover every spot of the facility. The SCTF is well-equipped and staffed around the clock by dedicated professionals.

Only a judge can place someone here, after the offender completes a prison term and a rigorous treatment program at MacNeil Island's Special Commitment Center.

Most of those who qualify for the facility are men in their mid-to-late 40s or older, out of shape from years of incarceration.

Residents continue treatment and learn how to integrate into society. At the SCTF, there are weekly individual and group therapy sessions to reinforce positive behaviors and counter negative ones. Residents are required to keep journals and share them with treatment providers.

Any trip outside the facility is approved by a Community Corrections Officer, and destination locations are investigated to ensure safety.

Those with histories of alcohol and drug abuse may attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, but as with every journey outside of the SCTF, under tight supervision.  Besides being escorted, residents are required to wear GPS bracelets.

For placing the facility in SODO - the second in the state, the first on MacNeil Island - Washington State DSHS offered the following mitigation at a cost of $600,000:

• Coordination

• Police training

• Victim counseling

• Lights under the nearby West Seattle Bridge

• A 6-month project to provide police presence

King County's SCTF in SODO
132 South Spokane Street, Seattle, Washington

Common area of SCTF; on either side are three rooms for residents, with a bathroom/shower to the left at the end, plus storage to the right.

A TV is in the common area - all programming is monitored for appropriate content. Residents have computer access, but not Internet.

A control booth overlooks the facility. The SCTF has 25 remote cameras inside and out.

Exterior doors are electronically locked, and withstand a force of 1800 pounds; no two doors can open at once.

Resident room doors have windows for observation.

A phone is available so residents can arrange job interviews and make other monitored calls.

A meeting room for family, employers, attorneys, other approved visitors is across from the control booth.

The Alternative:

Most "homeless" sex offenders do not live in greenbelts.

Some live with friends, in "safe" houses with other offenders, in cars and RVs parked one place for a night or a week, and then somewhere else.

The SCTF gives level-3 offenders who complete a behavior modification program and prison sentence the chance to re-integrate into society and be monitored.

Relevant Media and Public Documents

5 sex offenders live under Miami bridge, John Pain, AP, Seattle P-I, April 7, 2007; includes link to related video

Judge: WA sex predator center no longer needs court oversight, Greg Johnson, AP Legal Affairs Writer,
Seattle P-I, March 26, 2007

Convicted rapist earns release to halfway house in SODO,
Scott Gutierrez, Seattle P-I, Sept. 21, 2006;
story describes Mitchell Gaff

First resident arrived yesterday at DSHS sex offender transition facility in Seattle, DSHS press release, Feb. 7, 2006

Serial rapist is lone resident of new home for sex offenders,
Claudia Rowe, Seattle P-I, Feb. 6, 2006:
story describes Joseph Aqui

Inside the Secure Community Transition Facility,
Craig Thompson; edited version appeared in
Beacon Hill News/South District Journal, Oct. 23, 2005;
this version has been vetted by Dr. Allen Ziegler,
DSHS Administrator for the Less Restricted Alternative
(LRA)/SCTF program

Costly facility for 1 high-risk sex offender,
Jonathan Martin, Seattle Times, Sept. 1, 2005

DSHS sex offender transition facility opens for business in Seattle on Sept. 7, DSHS press release, Aug. 31, 2005

Secure Community Transition Facility (SCTF) in King County,
Washington State brochure on King County SCTF, 2005

Sky-high bill likely for halfway house,
Jonathan Martin, Seattle Times, Nov. 15, 2004

Warehouse leased for sex-offender housing,
Seattle P-I Staff and News Services, Nov. 7, 2003

Just who would qualify for sex offender housing, 
Susan Paynter, Seattle P-I, Sept. 15, 2003

Beyond SODO: The invisible threat,
Robert Jamieson, Seattle P-I, Sept. 12, 2003

DSHS Special Commitment Center Home Page,
discusses programs at State facility offenders
must complete before being considered for
transfer to the SCTF in SODO; 
note Description of Sex Offender Specific Treatment,  discussion of the LRA Treatement Plan,
and informational References and Links

DSHS Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration Home Page,
describes JRA programs and institutions in
Chehalis, Centralia, Snoqualmie, Connell,
and the rural Naselle Youth Camp
in SW Washington;
the JRA is included here to demonstrate
distribution of facilities throughout state;
note discussion of the
Integrated Treatment Model