(a) The board of supervisors of each county, with the concurrence of the county sheriff before implementation, and the city council of each city, with the concurrence of the chief of police before implementation, may establish a notification procedure to provide notice of the release of any person incarcerated at, or arrested and released on bail from, a local detention facility under its jurisdiction to victims of crime who have requested to be so notified. A county or city and two or more counties or cities jointly may contract with a private entity to implement this procedure.

(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the sheriff, chief of police, or other official in charge of a local detention facility shall make available to any private entity under contract pursuant to subdivision (a) all information necessary to implement the notification procedure in a timely manner. The private entity under contract shall be responsible for retrieving the information and notifying the requester through computer or telephonic means and, if unable to notify the person requesting the information by these means, shall send written notification by mail.

(c) The sheriff, chief of police, or other official in charge of a local detention facility shall work cooperatively with law enforcement agencies within the county or city and local victim centers established under Section 13835 to implement the program.

(d) As used in this section, “local detention facility” means a facility specified in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 6031.4.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no public or private officer, employee, or entity may be held liable for any action or duty undertaken pursuant to this section.

(Added by Stats. 1996, Ch. 1060, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1997.)