What is the current state of our Sex Offender Registries?

 

How are they making communities and neighborhoods safer?

 

More importantly, how are they making our children safer?

 

Alternatively, are they doing anything, except giving parents a false sense of security while helping politicians appear tough on crime and garner undeserved votes?

 

To answer these questions, we must look at their history and look at their added value or complete lack of meaningful benefit.

 

  

Sex Offender Registry History:

 

The Jacob Wetterling Act of 1994 mandated by Federal Law the Sex Offender Registry. Taking a look at the Act, we find (in U.S. Code TITLE 42 > CHAPTER 136 > SUBCHAPTER VI > § 14071 the following

• Required states to register persons convicted of sexually violent or offences against children

• Law enforcement must verify the address of registrants for at least ten years

• Separate offenders from SVP (sexually violent predators), SVP register for life

• Amended the act in 1996 with Megan’s Law requiring law enforcement to disseminate information to the public and with the Pam Lyncher Act (1996) to establish a national database of sex offenders.

 

The Important parts of the legislation are:

 

• Determination of sexually violent predator status (Section a-2-A)  A determination of whether a person is a sexually violent predator for purposes of this section shall be made by a court after considering the recommendation of a board composed of experts in the behavior and treatment of sex offenders, victims’ rights advocates, and representatives of law enforcement agencies

•  (Section a-3- C-E)  Definitions For purposes of this section: (C) The term “sexually violent predator” means a person who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense and who suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder that makes the person likely to engage in predatory sexually violent offenses.

• (D) The term “mental abnormality” means a congenital or acquired condition of a person that affects the emotional or volitional capacity of the person in a manner that predisposes that person to the commission of criminal sexual acts to a degree that makes the person a menace to the health and safety of other persons.

• (E) The term “predatory” means an act directed at a stranger, or a person with whom a relationship has been established or promoted for the primary purpose of victimization.

 

 

Many states, Georgia for example, have failed to determine risk levels for offenders or former offenders already on their Registry; we believe this is a violation of the procedural and substantive components of the 14th Amendment guarantees to due process. Additionally, they are in violation of other rights, guaranteed by the Constitution.

 

 

Our current registries are not working:

 

• They are diluted with non-violent, victimless offenses (i.e., public urination, etc.) and juvenile offenders

• Law enforcement spend precious resources on tracking low and no risk people, allowing absconders and higher risk to “fly under the radar”

• Some states do have a three tier system, many do not, without a plan to improve them

• Some states, like Georgia, are classifying only new registrants, leaving existing ones in a high-risk classification

 

Most states have a “one size fits all” paradigm, which results in unnecessary listing of low risk, offenders able to abscond with impunity, incorrect and duplicate data, and a loss of effectiveness to everyone.

 

The Adam Walsh Act of 2007 provides for a National Database or Sex Offender Registry. Unfortunately, there were no provisions, or appropriations in the legislation to assess the risk of all existing registrants. This results in the same problems found at the state level, making it just another politician feel good measure without the ability to protect one child.

 

There are workable, common sense solutions that are cost effective:

• A five-tiered risk level system allows offenders to earn the right to return to society

• It separates risk level in an understandable fashion

• Making enforcement highly efficient and community notification more understandable

• It allows jurist to consider the merits of each individual case and rule appropriately

• Additionally, parents (notice the onus is on the parents not the government) will know how safe their neighborhood is and are better able to educate their children who to avoid

 

The map below shows the current level of State Registries.

 

 

 

Note: this map is not entirely accurate. For example, in Georgia, while they do have a law on the books that requires the assessment of Risk Level, ONLY new offenders being released from the system into community supervision, are being assessed, and, only a small percentage of them. Moreover, they show ALL offenders, not just the “repeat or dangerous” offenders.

 

 

If the Sex Offender Registries are working, why do we see a NATIONAL AVERAGE of a 147% increase in the number of offenders placed on the state registries from 1998 to 2001 when the population of the country grew at only about 13%? Why did the State of Washington with just a 20% increase in population, show a 993% increase in their Sex Offender Registry? Why did Alabama, with just around a 10% population increase, show a 659% increase in its Sex Offender Registry, or, Rhode Island with barely a 5% population increase show a 422% increase in its Sex Offender Registry, and Georgia with a 26% increase in population, show a 280% increase in its Sex Offender Registry?

 

It is due to federal funding to local law enforcement (counties and cities) of the Byrne Grant and the LEBG (Law Enforcement Block Grants) Program’s which mandates states increase their registries or lose around 20% of their funding.

 

We now have local governments highly motivated to add victimless crimes to their registries. Ask yourself this question, how does public urination or shooting the moon make someone a threat to children? How does charging a 17 year old teen boy as a child molester for having sex with his 15 year old girlfriend (regardless of how “wrong” we want to believe it is) beneficial for society?

 

You can visit ETAY (Ethical Treatment for All Youth) to find out more on this trend in our society.

 

What We Need to Do:

 

We can and must do better, every citizen needs to call or write his or her elected officials and demand a National Sex Offender Policy Forum. You need to demand they fix this mess and fix it right away, before another child gets killed.

 

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