§ 3455 PC – Post Release Community Supervision in California

California Penal Code § 3455 PC instructs courts on how to treat ex-prisoners who violate the terms of their Post Release Community Supervision (PRCS). When this happens, courts are permitted to modify or revoke PRCS or refer the person to reentry court.

man on ground subdued by a police officer; it is a crime to use force to resist an executive officer

Electronic monitoring is commonly required for Post Release Community Supervision.

Here are five key takeaways about this code section:

  1. PRCS is an alternate form of parole whereby the county rather than the state manages lower-level felons after their release from prison.
  2. Supervision under the program is no longer than three years.
  3. All felons leaving prison are subject to PRCS, unless they committed certain serious or violent offenses.
  4. PRCS was created in 2011 by Assembly Bill 109 – commonly referred to as realignment.
  5. Parole is still used for felons convicted of serious or violent felonies or certain sex offenses (such as murder, rape, or mayhem).
Penal Code 3455 PC -- Violation of Post Release Community Supervision in California

1. What is Post Release Community Supervision?

Once you finish your California State Prison sentence for a felony conviction, you will be placed under PRCS unless you were convicted of:

PRCS lasts up to three years. While under supervision, you are required to abide by various terms. In our experience, this typically includes:

You are eligible for discharge from supervision after six months. If you have not violated any conditions of supervision, you can end supervision after 12 months. 4

2. What if I violate my PRCS?

If the police have probable cause to believe you violated the terms of your community supervision, PC 3455 permits them to arrest you without a warrant. The county may then:

If the county chooses to petition the court to revoke your community supervision, the county must include in its petition a written report. 6 This consists of:

2.1. Types of violations

There are two types of PRCS violations:

  1. Technical violations, which are when you fail to abide by a specific term of your supervision such as failing to check in with your supervisor.
  2. New law violations, which are when you allegedly commit an entirely new crime.

In our experience, judges are harder on people accused of new law violations rather than just technical violations.

2.2. Revocation hearings

3455 PC requires the court to hold a revocation hearing, or a court hearing, within a “reasonable time” after the revocation petition. 8 You may remain in custody pending the hearing if the court finds by a “preponderance of the evidence” that:

We fight for our clients at revocation hearings similarly as we do in criminal trials: We conduct aggressive cross-examination, produce all the available evidence in your favor, and call witnesses who will testify you committed no violation.

If the revocation hearing officer finds that you violated PRCS, we will argue that you deserve to remain in PRCS anyway. Some judges will agree to this, perhaps with additional conditions (that may include some incarceration). Otherwise, the court may:

  1. Revoke the PRCS and remand you to county jail for up to 180 days, or
  2. Refer you to a reentry court. Reentry court is a rehabilitative program combining case management and court oversight aimed at reducing your chances of re-offending. It also aims to help you become a productive member of society through education, job training, mental health counseling, and drug treatment. 10

You also have the option to waive your right to a PRCS hearing, admit your violation, and accept any punishments the county seeks in the petition. 11

Note that the trial court, and not the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), has the authority to determine who is subject to PRCS. 12

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PC 3455 does not shorten your prison term. It places you under supervision by a supervising county agency.

3. Is PRCS the same as probation?

No. PRCS refers to a supervisory period where a county agency is responsible for monitoring you after your release from prison. Felony probation, or formal probation, is part of your sentencing and provides an alternative to incarceration. 13

4. Is community supervision the same as parole?

PRCS is similar to parole in that they both involve the supervision of ex-prisoners. Though while PRCS involves community supervision, felons on parole are supervised on the state level.

Before the 2011 passage of Assembly Bill 109 (AB 109) – known as “realignment” – all felons released from prison were placed on parole. Now, those who have committed non-serious, nonviolent felonies are subject to PRCS and are supervised within their community. 14

Parole is still used, but it is reserved for those who:

Once “paroled,” an inmate agrees to abide by certain terms and conditions. 16

Additional resources

For more information on individual PRCS programs and how they work, refer to the following:

Legal References:

  1. For a list of serious felonies, see California Penal Code 1192.7c PC.
  2. For a list of violent felonies, see California Penal Code 667.5c PC.
  3. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation website, “Post Release Community Supervision.”
  4. See same.
  5. California Penal Code 3455 PC. The language of the statute reads as follows:(a) If the supervising county agency has determined, following application of its assessment processes, that intermediate sanctions as authorized in subdivision (b) of Section 3454 are not appropriate, the supervising county agency shall petition the court pursuant to Section 1203.2 to revoke, modify, or terminate postrelease community supervision. At any point during the process initiated pursuant to this section, a person may waive, in writing, his or her right to counsel, admit the violation of his or her postrelease community supervision, waive a court hearing, and accept the proposed modification of his or her postrelease community supervision. The petition shall include a written report that contains additional information regarding the petition, including the relevant terms and conditions of postrelease community supervision, the circumstances of the alleged underlying violation, the history and background of the violator, and any recommendations. The Judicial Council shall adopt forms and rules of court to establish uniform statewide procedures to implement this subdivision, including the minimum contents of supervision agency reports. Upon a finding that the person has violated the conditions of postrelease community supervision, the revocation hearing officer shall have authority to do all of the following: (1) Return the person to postrelease community supervision with modifications of conditions, if appropriate, including a period of incarceration in a county jail. (2) Revoke and terminate postrelease community supervision and order the person to confinement in a county jail. (3) Refer the person to a reentry court pursuant to Section 3015 or other evidence-based program in the court’s discretion. (b) (1) At any time during the period of postrelease community supervision, if a peace officer has probable cause to believe a person subject to postrelease community supervision is violating any term or condition of his or her release, the officer may, without a warrant or other process, arrest the person and bring him or her before the supervising county agency established by the county board of supervisors pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 3451. Additionally, an officer employed by the supervising county agency may seek a warrant and a court or its designated hearing officer appointed pursuant to Section 71622.5 of the Government Code shall have the authority to issue a warrant for that person’s arrest. (2) The court or its designated hearing officer shall have the authority to issue a warrant for a person who is the subject of a petition filed under this section who has failed to appear for a hearing on the petition or for any reason in the interests of justice, or to remand to custody a person who does appear at a hearing on the petition for any reason in the interests of justice. (3) Unless a person subject to postrelease community supervision is otherwise serving a period of flash incarceration, whenever a person who is subject to this section is arrested, with or without a warrant or the filing of a petition for revocation, the court may order the release of the person under supervision from custody under any terms and conditions the court deems appropriate. (c) The revocation hearing shall be held within a reasonable time after the filing of the revocation petition. Except as provided in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), based upon a showing of a preponderance of the evidence that a person under supervision poses an unreasonable risk to public safety, or that the person may not appear if released from custody, or for any reason in the interests of justice, the supervising county agency shall have the authority to make a determination whether the person should remain in custody pending the first court appearance on a petition to revoke postrelease community supervision, and upon that determination, may order the person confined pending his or her first court appearance. (d) Confinement pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) shall not exceed a period of 180 days in a county jail for each custodial sanction. (e) A person shall not remain under supervision or in custody pursuant to this title on or after three years from the date of the person’s initial entry onto postrelease community supervision, except when his or her supervision is tolled pursuant to Section 1203.2 or subdivision (b) of Section 3456.
  6. California Penal Code 3455a PC.
  7. See same. Note that the Judicial Council is required to adopt certain forms and rules of court to help a county board of supervisors provide this information.
  8. California Penal Code 3455b PC.
  9. See same.
  10. California Penal Code 3455a PC.
  11. See same.
  12. People v. Tubbs (2014) 230 Cal.App.4th 578.
  13. California Rule of Court Rule 4.41. Probation allows convicted felons to serve all or part of their sentence out of custody but under the supervision of a probation officer. Not all defendants qualify for probation. A judge determines eligibility by considering a variety of factors, such as the defendant’s criminal history, and the severity of the crime committed. A probation term lasts between three and five years. During this time, the probationer must adhere to “conditions of probation.” Examples include reporting to a probation officer (P.O.) on a regular basis, and paying victim restitution. If the probationer violates these conditions, then a judge may warn the person and reinstate the same probation terms, modify the terms and include harsher conditions, or revoke it and send the person to county jail or state prison. Felony probation only applies if a person committed a felony. If a person committed a misdemeanor, then a judge may award a defendant with misdemeanor probation.
  14. See Assembly Bill 109. See also People v. Gutierrez (2016) 245 Cal.App.4th 393.
  15. See same.
  16. California Penal Code 3000 PC. Not all inmates are eligible for parole. Eligibility typically depends on the type of sentence the inmate received, and how “good time credit” applies to that sentence. Once an inmate is placed on parole, the length of supervision depends on the crime for which they were convicted. The average parole term is about three years. The CDCR oversees California’s parole system. Members of the department (such as “parole officers”) supervise released felons for the time for which they are on parole. When an inmate is paroled depends on their sentence.