AR - Special Report: Tracking Sex Offenders

Sheriff John Staley

Original Article

11/06/2013

LONOKE - Pedophiles and other convicted sex offenders living in one central Arkansas county are facing stricter enforcement than ever before.
Pedophiles are rare, not the norm like the media loves to portray!

So strict, some of these men and women choose to just move away.

After leaving jail or prison, sex offenders register with the county they live in.

"If they've offended like that, they're probably going to do it again," Sheriff John Staley said. "That's just my opinion."
- Yes that's just your opinion that is not backed up by facts.  The facts are that registrants have a very low recidivism rate for new sexual crimes.

Typically, the offender must go to the sheriff's department to keep their information up-to-date.

But in Lonoke County, Corporal Steve Morgan and Staley also go to them, sometimes catching an offender off guard.

"We're not here to pick on anybody or be mean to folks, but they're going to follow directions," Staley said.

When they make surprise visits to registered sex offender homes, deputies make sure their personal information is correct, everything from the car they drive to the job they hold is checked.
- Registrants need to also realize, when the police come to your door, if you are not on probation / parole, you do not need to let them in or answer any of their questions! All they need is to see that you live there. If they ask other questions like who lives with you, which car is yours, where do you work, etc, tell them to refer to the registration information you provided when you registered.

While some play by the rules, detectives say it's just easier for others to move out of the county as they look for a place where they may be able to slide by with some mistakes.

"I've had three do that just this week," Morgan said.

He credits those offenders moving to a recent sex offender round-up and the department's unannounced visits.

It's extra enforcement some counties or cities may not do.
- It's harassment in our opinion!

"I think sex offenders are starting to notice, and they're starting to want to go to other places where they're not as strict," Morgan said.

It's a goal the sheriff says he's accomplishing by getting tougher on those who pose the biggest threat to children.
- A majority of those on the registry are not a threat to children, many have not even harmed children, yet the police, media and others continue to lump them all into the usual child molesting, predator pedophile who hides behind bushes waiting to pounce on your child, which is totally BS!

"I've got kids," Staley said. "My No. 1 priority is our children, and we've got to keep our kids safe."
- So how does verifying where someone sleeps at night keep children safe?  If an offender wanted to harm a child your Gestapo visits, nor the registry and residency laws would prevent that!

Morgan says once convicted, sex offenders must stay on the registered list for at least 15 years.

Right now, there are more than 100 registered sex offenders in Lonoke County.

OH - Sex offender compliance check in Miami County

People need to learn that if the police don't have a search warrant and the person is not on probation / parole, then the police have no right coming into your home. DO NOT LET THEM IN FOR ANY REASON, even if you have done nothing wrong, it's your right!

All they need to see is your license and possible a rent stub or similar to prove you live there and nothing more, and DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING!

You can ask a lawyer and I am sure they will tell you the same thing, but, I am not a legal expert.

You will also notice they use PINK slips just like the Nazi's did during Hitler's reign.

TX - Compliance checks (User submitted)

The following was posted via the email form and posted with the users permission.

By Anonymous:
I have a question concerning compliance checks. I am a RSO in Texas and every Halloween the local law enforcement shows up at my house to do a compliance check. I am no longer on any kind of court ordered supervision and I understand my rights as far as answering any questions they ask during a compliance check. Basically, I tell them that I am not going to answer any of their questions and that my registration is up to date. I do all of this from inside of my doorway, as I understand that I lose a lot of my rights when I step outside of my doorway.

My question is this: If they are JUST doing a compliance check and they do NOT have either a search warrant or arrest warrant, can they order me to step outside of my house during the compliance check? How should I handle this? Thanks...

NC - Knock and talk should be called stalk and harass!

Original Article

If you are not on probation or parole, then you don't have to answer the door or any of their questions, and we'd recommend you don't either. Just show them your ID, and leave it at that, don't answer any questions.

01/24/2013

By Alicia Banks

SHELBY — A Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office SUV followed close behind an unmarked law enforcement vehicle. Both navigated the tight streets behind Holly Oak Park in Shelby.

Four men emerged from the two vehicles. They walked to the front door of a brick home on Osborne Street. A woman answered the door and spoke briefly to Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman.

“I spoke with the registered sex offender’s mom who told us where her son worked,” Norman said. “That information was consistent with our last visit.”

Sheriff’s office deputies conducted surprise “knock-and-talks knock-and-harass” across the county Wednesday. They visited about 104 homes.

The unannounced checks by the sheriff’s office are an effort to make sure registered sex offenders are staying in compliance with state laws.

“We want to ensure more safety from these individuals,” Norman said.

The county has 236 registered sex offenders. Some are currently detained in the county jail or in N.C. Department of Correction facilities in the state.

Multiple visits each year

The sheriff’s office is required, by law, to check on registered sex offenders at least once a year.
- Yes, once a year, after they register, to check that they are living where they say, but that is it, and anything more is harassment.

Deputies focused on three categories of convicted sex offenders during the two-day operation this week: aggravated, those who engaged in violent or forced sexual acts with someone of any age or younger than 12 years old; recidivists, or repeat offenders; and sexually violent predators, persons convicted of violent sexual offense with a mental abnormality or personality disorder.

“We do it multiple times per year,” Norman said.
- Which is basically harassment!

The department conducted a similar operation on Halloween, when sheriff’s deputies visited about 60 registered sex offenders across the county.

There isn’t a specific time when the knock-and-talks knock-and-harass happen, Norman said.

Protecting children

Deputies from various divisions, including community-oriented policing, school resource and patrol officers, assist with the operations.

“We haven’t had an increase in personnel in more than 10 years,” he said. “We can put these operations together in as short as a day and half’s notice.”

Norman said it’s “absolutely necessary” for his department to routinely check on sex offenders living in Cleveland County. He stressed the importance of protecting children through all means possible.
- Whatever you say!  If you really wanted to "protect" children through "all means possible," then you'd be taking the kids away from their parents, since most sexual abuse happens by those the child knows.

A N.C. General Assembly law bans sex offenders from using social networking sites such as Facebook because children are permitted to use them.
- Which is also unconstitutional!

But the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled Wednesday that an Indiana law banning sex offenders from using social networking sites is unconstitutional, noting it restricted free speech.

“I absolutely don’t agree with it,” Norman said. “Once you commit a crime and are on the registry, you give up your rights and any others that put you in contact with juveniles.”
- As long as you are on probation or parole, we would agree, but after that, you get those rights back, and it's unconstitutional, period, doesn't matter what you think, and just because someone is on the registry and lost some rights, doesn't give you the right to do anything you wish to those people, that is called harassment and corruption!

Twenty registered offenders will likely have follow-up visits in the coming days. Norman said fewer restrictions on offenders could cause them to recommit similar crimes.
- It could, that is a no-brainer, but does it?  Not based on the many studies out there which you all are ignoring!