CHAPTER 2.2. Career Criminals [999b. - 999h.]

Cal. Penal Code - PEN 2.2.

in effect

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 999b. Section 999b.

The Legislature hereby finds a substantial and disproportionate amount of serious crime is committed against the people of California by a relatively small number of multiple and repeat felony offenders, commonly known as career criminals. In enacting this chapter, the Legislature intends to support increased efforts by district attorneys’ offices to prosecute career criminals through organizational and operational techniques that have been proven effective in selected counties in this and other states.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 999c. Section 999c.

(a) There is hereby established in the Office of Emergency Services a program of financial and technical assistance for district attorneys’ offices, designated the California Career Criminal Prosecution Program. All funds appropriated to the office for the purposes of this chapter shall be administered and disbursed by the Director of Emergency Services, and shall to the greatest extent feasible be coordinated or consolidated with federal funds that may be made available for these purposes. (b) The Director of Emergency Services is authorized to allocate and award funds to counties in which career criminal prosecution units are established in substantial compliance with the policies and criteria set forth below in Sections 999d, 999e, 999f, and 999g. (c) The allocation and award of funds shall be made upon application executed by the county’s district attorney and approved by its board of supervisors. Funds disbursed under this chapter shall not supplant local funds that would, in the absence of the California Career Criminal Prosecution Program, be made available to support the prosecution of felony cases. Funds available under this program shall not be subject to review as specified in Section 14780 of the Government Code.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 999d. Section 999d.

Career criminal prosecution units receiving funds under this chapter shall concentrate enhanced prosecution efforts and resources upon individuals identified under selection criteria set forth in Section 999e. Enhanced prosecution efforts and resources shall include, but not be limited to: (a) “Vertical” prosecutorial representation, whereby the prosecutor who makes the initial filing or appearance in a career criminal case will perform all subsequent court appearances on that particular case through its conclusion, including the sentencing phase; (b) Assignment of highly qualified investigators and prosecutors to career criminal cases; and (c) Significant reduction of caseloads for investigators and prosecutors assigned to career criminal cases.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 999e. Section 999e.

(a) An individual who is under arrest for the commission or attempted commission of one or more of the felonies listed in paragraph (1) and who is either being prosecuted for three or more separate offenses not arising out of the same transaction involving one or more of those felonies, or has been convicted during the preceding 10 years for any felony listed in paragraph (2) of this subdivision, or at least two convictions during the preceding 10 years for any felony listed in paragraph (3) of this subdivision shall be the subject of career criminal prosecution efforts. (1) Murder, manslaughter, rape, sexual assault, child molestation, robbery, carjacking, burglary, arson, receiving stolen property, grand theft, grand theft auto, lewd and lascivious conduct upon a child, assault with a firearm, discharging a firearm into an inhabited structure or vehicle, owning, possessing, or having custody or control of a firearm, as specified in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 29800, or any unlawful act relating to controlled substances in violation of Section 11351, 11351.5, 11352, or 11378 of the Health and Safety Code. (2) Robbery of the first degree, carjacking, burglary of the first degree, arson as defined in Section 451, unlawfully causing a fire as defined in Section 452, forcible rape, sodomy or oral copulation committed with force, lewd or lascivious conduct committed upon a child, kidnapping as defined in Section 209 or 209.5, murder, or manslaughter. (3) Grand theft, grand theft auto, receiving stolen property, robbery of the second degree, burglary of the second degree, kidnapping as defined in Section 207, assault with a deadly weapon or instrument, or any unlawful act relating to controlled substances in violation of Section 11351 or 11352 of the Health and Safety Code. For purposes of this chapter, the 10-year periods specified in this section shall be exclusive of any time which the arrested person has served in state prison. (b) In applying the career criminal selection criteria set forth above, a district attorney may elect to limit career criminal prosecution efforts to persons arrested for any one or more of the felonies listed in subdivision (a) of this section if crime statistics demonstrate that the incidence of one or more of these felonies presents a particularly serious problem in the county. (c) In exercising the prosecutorial discretion granted by Section 999g, the district attorney shall consider the character, background, and prior criminal background of the defendant, and the number and the seriousness of the offenses currently charged against the defendant.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 999f. Section 999f.

(a) Each district attorney’s office establishing a career criminal prosecution unit and receiving state support under this chapter shall adopt and pursue the following policies for career criminal cases: (1) A plea of guilty or a trial conviction will be sought on all the offenses charged in the accusatory pleading against an individual meeting career criminal selection criteria. (2) All reasonable prosecutorial efforts will be made to resist the pretrial release of a charged defendant meeting career criminal selection criteria. (3) All reasonable prosecutorial efforts will be made to persuade the court to impose the most severe authorized sentence upon a person convicted after prosecution as a career criminal. (4) All reasonable prosecutorial efforts will be made to reduce the time between arrest and disposition of charge against an individual meeting career criminal selection criteria. (b) The prosecution shall not negotiate a plea agreement with a defendant in a career criminal prosecution; and Sections 1192.1 to 1192.5, inclusive, shall not apply, nor shall any plea of guilty or nolo contendere authorized by any such section, or any plea of guilty or nolo contendere as a result of any plea agreement be approved by the court in a career criminal prosecution. (c) For purposes of this section a “plea agreement” means an agreement by the defendant to plead guilty or nolo contendere in exchange for any or all of the following: a dismissal of charges, a reduction in the degree of a charge, a change of a charge to a lesser or different crime, a specific manner or extent of punishment. (d) This section does not prohibit the reduction of the offense charged or dismissal of counts in the interest of justice when a written declaration by the prosecuting attorney stating the specific factual and legal basis for such reduction or dismissal is presented to the court and the court, in writing, acknowledges acceptance of such declaration. A copy of such declaration and acceptance shall be retained in the case file. The only basis upon which charges may be reduced or counts dismissed by the court shall be in cases where the prosecuting attorney decides that there is insufficient evidence to prove the people’s case, the testimony of a material witness cannot be obtained, or a reduction or dismissal would not result in a substantial change in sentence. In any case in which the court or magistrate grants the prosecuting attorney’s motion for a reduction of charges or dismissal of counts because there would be no substantial change in sentence, the court or magistrate shall require the prosecuting attorney to put on the record in open court the following: (1) The charges filed in the complaint or information and the maximum statutory penalty that could be given if the defendant were convicted of all such charges. (2) The charges which would be filed against the defendant if the court or magistrate grants the prosecuting attorney’s motion and the maximum statutory penalty which can be given for these charges. (e) This section does not prohibit a plea agreement when there are codefendants, and the prosecuting attorney determines that the information or testimony of the defendant making the agreement is necessary for the conviction of one or more of the other codefendants. The court shall condition its acceptance of the plea agreement on the defendant giving the information or testimony. Before the court can accept the plea agreement, the prosecuting attorney shall present a written declaration to the court, specifying the legal and factual reasons for the agreement, and the court shall acknowledge in writing its acceptance of that declaration. A copy of the declaration and acceptance shall be retained in the case file.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 999g. Section 999g.

The selection criteria set forth in Section 999e shall be adhered to for each career criminal case unless, in the reasonable exercise of prosecutor’s discretion, extraordinary circumstances require the departure from such policies in order to promote the general purposes and intent of this chapter.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 999h. Section 999h.

The characterization of a defendant as a “career criminal” as defined by this chapter may not be communicated to the trier of fact.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026