Sex Offender Management Bureau (SOMB)

On April 13, 2007, the Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act (SOMTA) went into effect to enhance public safety by providing for the civil management of recidivistic sex offenders upon the expiration of their criminal sentence. SOMTA provides for management of these offenders in a secure treatment facility in the custody of the Commissioner of the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) for the most dangerous offenders; or through a regimen of strict and intensive supervision and treatment (SIST), for those offenders the courts have found appropriate to be managed in the community, under close supervision by the New York State Division of Parole. As part of SOMTA, Article 10 was added to the New York Mental Hygiene Law (MHL), which establishes the procedural provisions for the civil management of sex offenders.

The Sex Offender Management Bureau (SOMB) was created by the Attorney General to represent the state of New York in all Article 10 litigation. SOMB works in concert with the Article 10 partners, the Office of Sex Offender Management within the Division of Criminal Justice Services, NYS Department of Community and Correctional Services, NYS Office of Mental Health, and the NYS Office of People with Developmental Disabilities to develop state wide protocols to further the goals of Article 10 in ensuring public safety.