CA - Sex-offender laws are ineffective and unfair, critics say

Original Article

10/17/2014

By Puck Lo

Frank Lindsay, 62, is a father, small-business owner and avid surfer. He’s also one of 105,000 people in California — and 760,000 nationally — listed as a sex offender. In accordance with federal law, his name, photograph and home address appear in a public, online offender registry. In 1979, Lindsay, then 27, was convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under the age of 14.

“I thought I could do whatever I wanted,” Lindsay says. “Add on some alcohol, and I was a real asshole.”

Today, Lindsay considers himself a reformed man. He says he hasn’t had a drink in 30 years, is a Taoist and advocate for restorative justice — encouraging violent people to make amends for their actions. But, he says, “It seems that I can never be forgiven.”

Few groups are as widely despised as sex offenders. Activities prosecuted as sex offenses vary by state, but can include public urination, consensual sex between teenagers, streaking, prostitution, downloading child pornography and rape. In some states, law-enforcement officials distribute flyers to notify neighbors of registrants’ convictions. Some registrants are prohibited from using the Internet. In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that indefinite detention at psychiatric hospitals — or “civil commitment” — of sex offenders is constitutional.

The first law requiring sex offenders to register publicly and for life was passed in California in 1947 and targeted gay men, according to Andrew Extein, executive director of the Center for Sexual Justice. But many of today’s laws have their origins in the late 1970s, when feminists and social conservatives worked together to publicize high-profile “stranger danger” attacks on children, says Roger Lancaster, anthropology professor at George Mason University and author of “Sex Panic and the Punitive State.”

Beginning in the mid-1990s, several laws went into effect that changed how sex-offense cases were prosecuted. In 1994, states were required to create databases of sex offenders. Two years later, Megan’s Law, named for a 7-year-old in New Jersey who was brutally raped and murdered by a neighbor with two previous sex convictions, allowed states to make those registries public. States passed their own versions of the law; in some cases, they required that neighbors be notified of paroled offenders’ previous convictions. Later laws moved those sex-offender databases online, created a national registry, required lifetime registration of people 14 years old and up and imposed harsh mandatory minimum sentences for crimes involving children.

But almost 20 years after the passage of Megan’s Law, criminologists and judges, along with a burgeoning movement of sex-offender registrants and their families, are challenging not only the constitutionality of the laws but their effectiveness in reducing sexual assault. In January, a California court ruled in favor of a paroled sex offender who had argued that city and county “child-safety zone” ordinances prohibiting people in the registry from using parks, beaches and similar recreation areas were an unconstitutional form of banishment. In April, the state Supreme Court upheld the ruling by declining to review it.

See Also: California Reform Sex Offender Laws

Read the entire article

VT - Sex offender registry under fire again

Original Article

07/18/2014

By Jennifer Reading

MONTPELIER - It's another black mark for the Vermont Sex Offender Registry.

"There are errors. And they should not have been there," said Doug Hoffer, D-Vt. Auditor.

Hoffer says the system needs work. A performance audit by his office found critical errors in 253 offender records. That's 11 percent of the total registry.

"The Legislature has said very clearly that they wanted information to be available to the general public, as is the case in other states," Hoffer said. "And we all have a right for the information to be accurate. Not only for the people in the community, but for the offenders."

The registry is a tool for law enforcement and the public to keep track of sexual predators living in the community. That's something Chelsea Merrill, 21, couldn't do for a while. Her abuser, _____, was convicted of lewd and lascivious conduct. He targeted her for five years while she was a child. Yet his photo wasn't on the public registry until recently. And she worried he'd find more victims.

"That he will offend again," she said. "That he will get close to another child and feel comfortable with them. And this will happen again."
- So are you saying that if his/her photo is online then they won't re-offend?  The problem is, most do not re-offend in the first place!

An audit conducted in 2010 found the system was rife with errors. Hoffer says four years later, the Legislature tasked his office with a follow-up examination.

His team uncovered:

• 11 registration errors where offenders were either incorrectly added, omitted or still online after their deaths.
• 179 errors related to how long an offender should stay on the registry.
• 71 mistakes regarding which offenders' information should be posted online.

Hoffer says these mistakes undermine the credibility of the registry. It's managed by two people within the Department of Public Safety's Vermont Crime Information Center or VCIC. But the auditor says state courts and corrections also play a role.

"They have not worked together as well as they could," Hoffer said.

"The program is still a work in progress," said Jeffrey Wallin who heads the VCIC.

Wallin says since the audit's conclusion in mid-May, almost all the mistakes have been fixed.

Many of them were a result of human error from manual data entry, a problem the center has been working to streamline. Last February, VCIC unveiled new software called OffenderWatch to help automate data entry. Despite a few technology glitches, Wallin says it's improved the accuracy of the registry.
- It doesn't matter how expensive or nice the program is, as long as you have humans entering data, then there is always potential for human errors.

"Right now the public can be fairly confident in the registry," Wallin said. "We are always looking to improve. Provide better information, better service and better response to the community, but also to the individuals listed."

Moving forward Hoffer has recommended the courts, corrections and VCIC reconvene a working group to hash out their communication breakdown. It's a suggestion the auditor's office also made after the 2010 audit.

"And they did. And then they kind of let it go," Hoffer said. "So they certainly need more coordination between them."

And victims like Merrill say fixing these mistakes should remain a top priority.

"If it was one of their kids, would they want to know if their neighbor was a sex offender or had done such a crime with a child? Would they want their kid walking to school past their neighbor's house every day knowing that they live there?" Merrill said.
- So why don't you walk to the bus stop with your child?  You know, be a parent!

In 2009, Vermont lawmakers approved a measure to post sex offenders' addresses to the online registry. The move was contingent on a favorable audit. Problems discovered in 2010 prevented that from happening. This audit was a second chance. But more errors likely mean the addresses of sexual predators will remain under wraps.

Audit Reports:

• Click here to read the 2014 audit
• Click here to read the 2010 audit

NEW ZEALAND - Fresh calls for a public registry of sex offenders

Derryn Hinch

Original Article (Video available)

07/11/2014

An advocate for a public registry of sex offenders is in New Zealand to campaign for changing the country's name suppression laws.

New Zealand-born Australian broadcaster Derryn Hinch (2011 Video) will speak to the Sensible Sentencing Trust this weekend with the aim of getting a public registry of convicted sex offenders in New Zealand.

Speaking to TVNZ's Breakfast programme this morning, Mr Hinch says he believes it's "common sense" to have a registry for sex offenders and that the public has a right to know who and where sex offenders are.

"You should know that someone's out there in the community," he told the programme. "You have a right to know as a parent."
- So where is the online shaming hit-list for all other ex-criminals?

Mr Hinch is an outspoken advocate for a sex offender registry in Australia and New Zealand and has been convicted and imprisoned multiple times for contempt of court for breaching suppression orders by revealing details of offenders.

He believes naming sex offenders won't necessarily identify the victims of abuse and says in some cases the victims want to be named so their attackers can be convicted.

"I'd do anything to protect a victim's identity. They've been through hell so they should be protected," he says.

The media personality says the current system of suppressing sex offenders names is not working and is letting the public down.

Mr Hinch says nearly 150,000 people have signed a petition calling for changes.

OH - New search allows check for sex offender email, phone numbers

Original Article

07/04/2014

By Jessie Balmert



Concerned your child is chatting with a sex offender? There’s a new tool to help you check.

A new function on the Electronic Sex Offender Registration and Notification (eSORN) Database will allow parents to input phone numbers, email addresses, social media screen names and video game handles to check if they are linked to a registered sex offender, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced at a news conference Thursday.

If the information is linked to a registered sex offender, a screen will advise parents to contact the local sheriff’s office or the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, DeWine said. Specific information about the sex offender will not be listed, according to a news release from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

From there, deputies can investigate whether sex offenders have violated the law by contacting children, DeWine said.

Sheriffs in Ohio’s 88 counties already collect detailed information about registered sex offenders, but now it will be available for the public to check.

“Our communication capabilities are better than ever before. We can talk on our smart phones, we can email people, we can post pictures and share our experiences through social media. But it’s that kind of access that can open the door for predators to have access to our children,” DeWine said.

Ohio joins seven other states that allow residents to investigate whether sex offenders are contacting their children electronically. The eSORN database contains nearly 18,000 people required to register as sex offenders after convictions for offenses from soliciting sex to rape.

Playlist Link

MD - Are Sex Offender Registries Effective?

Original Article

07/03/2014

By Jemie Lee

MARYLAND - It gives a sense of security for many parents – having access to the state's sex offender registry.

"It's a way for us to be safe as parents for our children. I use an app to find out if there's any in the neighborhood. That's what my sister and I did before, and we actually found some. So we would know to keep an eye out, especially for my daughter that I'm worried about," Christie Sarminto said.

But a controversial ruling by the Maryland Court of Appeals could immediately remove about a third of those currently on Maryland's sex offender database. It's cause for concern, but experts say the registry itself isn't a good tool to keep our children safe.

"There are cases where someone is pleading to a lesser offense, which doesn't require registration on the sex offender registry," executive director of the Life Crisis Center in Salisbury, Md. Michele Hughes said.

Hughes was also on the governor's sex offender advisory board. She says she's seen cases where the judge won't order the offender to register, and many cases, especially those involving children, either never go to trial or end in a not guilty verdict.

"The child can't articulate clearly what happened to them, even though the child may have been offended against. Those people show up nowhere and those are the people you have to worry about, because no one is looking at them," she said.

So, what's the best way to keep our kids safe?

Hughes points to good parole and probation departments that have programs in which sex offenders go to therapy, take lie detector tests periodically, and are heavily monitored.

"There are a lot of studies that say that this works much better than sort of public shaming on the sex offender registry. So perhaps we need to look more at things like that and be less dependent on public lists," she said.

The problem is, these programs are extremely expensive, and funds are already limited. So until we can find a way to change the system, Michele says, for now, the responsibility lies on the parents.

"Parents should not get a level of comfort knowing that no one in their neighborhood for instance is on the sex offender registry, because it is not a panacea. You still need to be vigilant with your children. You need to make certain that your children are not left alone with adults, one on one," she said.

Hughes also says that often times parents focus solely on stranger danger, when in fact most children are not abused by strangers. They're abused by people they know and trust. So it's important to understand that the sex offender registry, and teaching our kids to run away from strangers, isn't enough to keep them safe.

See Also:

• Ruling could scrub quarter of sex offender registry

CA - California looking at purging sex offender list

Video Description:
The state of California is looking to remove some sex offenders from it's official list. The state says it will save millions of dollars by thinning the sheet of names to just the worst of the worst.

See Also:

• Sex Offender Board Calls For Registry Overhaul

NH - State's sex-offender registry overreaches

Original Article

05/20/2014

The N.H. Supreme Court is pondering the fate of a man convicted, several decades ago, of sexually assaulting his teenage stepdaughter. The man has served out his prison sentence, undergone years of counseling and been deemed “rehabilitated” by the court. Now in his 60s, he is disabled.

None of which would be fodder for the state’s highest court, except that since he was released from prison in 1990, the state has repeatedly enacted laws calling for those convicted of sexual assault against children to register with the police, so a legal — and public — eye can be kept on them. And yes, such laws include those who were sentenced long before the new laws were enacted.

The man now before the Supreme Court seeking relief from these laws has been dubbed John Doe to protect his anonymity. It’s ironic that Mr. Doe can hide his identity from the public in court, because the reason he’s there is that he can’t hide it anywhere else. Thanks to these laws — both state and federal — John Doe and others must allow not only the police to know where they are, they must let everyone know, by keeping their current address in a database accessible to anyone online.

And in many cases, they must do so for life. There is no mechanism for getting off the list, and failure to keep the information updated carries harsh penalties in itself.

If all this seems over the line of reasonable punishment, in many cases we agree. However, the state has argued inclusion on this public online registry is not a punishment, but a regulatory matter.

We think that reasoning is absurd. Clearly, it is a punishment, tantamount to those on the list being forced to wear a large letter “P” pinned to their chests in public.

And while belling the cat may be a good idea for those whose crimes indicate they will continue to pose a threat, there are some crimes designated as sexual in nature that may not, such as public urination.

This is not to ignore the real danger posed by sick minds — the hardcore predators who will never be rehabilitated. Given the recidivism rates involved in sexual assault cases, especially those victimizing children, there’s a lot to be said for keeping the public informed of legitimate threats. There does need to be some way for the public to be informed.
- What recidivism rate?  You mean that sex offenders have one of the lowest recidivism rates of any other ex-felon?

Hearing the arguments of the John Doe case earlier this month, the justices seemed taken aback by the logic of the laws. One argued a paraplegic on the registry who now poses no threat to anyone could himself become a victim of vigilantes who look up his address online. If that seems far-fetched, consider the case of Stephen Marshall, who in 2006 killed two men whose names and addresses he’d looked up on Maine’s sex-offender registry.

We, too, worry that inclusion on a public registry could make a target of people who have otherwise served their sentence for crimes committed. We hope the court’s review will result in a close look at the state’s sex-offender registry, including how long someone who has been deemed rehabilitated by the courts should be on it and whether the list of crimes for which one qualifies needs to be culled.
- It also puts the lives of family members (innocent people) in danger as well, not just the ex-offenders!

NY - Registry won't make us all safer

Placebo

Original Article

05/15/2014

The problem with feel-good public safety initiatives like the proposed Violent Offenders Registry is that they lull us into a false sense that we're doing something legitimate to protect ourselves from harm.

The state Legislature, once again borrowing from a tragedy involving a child, has proposed setting up a list of people who've served time for violent crimes. The bill, dubbed "Brittany's Law," is similar in design and purpose to the sex offender registries that became popular two decades ago.

Like the state’s 18-year-old sex offender registry, this bill would require violent felons to register with the state. Those subject to registration would be anyone convicted under the "violent offender" section of state Penal Law -- which covers such crimes as murders, assaults, kidnappings, terrorism and gang violence.

The information available to the public from the registry could include the person's name, address, photo and information about the crime he or she committed. How much information that would be available on each subject would be determined by ranking, again similar to sex offender registries, based on a subjective determination of the felon's propensity to commit more violent crimes, with Level 1 being the lowest and Level 3 the highest.

The crime upon which this bill is based is the 2009 murder of 12 year-old Brittany Passalacqua and her mother, Helen Buchel. Their killer, John Edward Brown, was on early release from prison after serving most of a 3-year sentence for violently assaulting his infant daughter.

Supporters of the registry claim Brittany's Law could have prevented their deaths by alerting the victims to the presence of a killer living among them.

It's true, it would be nice to know when a violent felon, like a sex offender, is living in the neighborhood. But in reality, how many of us regularly check the lists to find out? The new registry wouldn’t take into consideration the fact that many violent crimes are committed by people under duress, or influenced by alcohol and other circumstances that might be precipitated by a single incident. In other words, a lot of violent people in your neighborhood, just like people with a propensity to abuse children or commit sexual assaults, wouldn't necessarily appear on this list unless they’d been caught and convicted. The registry also doesn't take into consideration the fact that most victims of sexual or domestic violence already know their assailants. So how extra-safe would this list really make the rest of us?

Several studies conducted over the years have questioned the effectiveness of such registries in preventing sex crimes, while other studies have challenged the validity of the recidivism rankings in assessing individuals’ propensity to repeat their crimes. Some studies have found that registries compel offenders to get treatment and behave themselves, while others have shown being on the list stresses out some offenders, drives them into hiding, discourages them from getting treatment and/or compels them to commit more crimes.

The registries do often allow police to keep better tabs on individuals with criminal backgrounds, which could lead to quicker identification of suspects in new crimes. But knowing someone's address doesn't mean their whereabouts is known 24 hours a day, to police or potential victims.

There's also the question of whether a person should be subject to registration after they've served their sentence. Even when a person is off the list, either by timing out or having their conviction overturned, the Internet would make their listing a permanent one.

For police and certain victims of violence, having a registry of violent offenders could provide a useful tool. So it's probably not a bad thing for the Legislature to set up.

But for most of us, it might make us feel like we're a little safer. But actually, we're all still just as safe ... and all still just as vulnerable.

OK - Thousands come off sex offender list months after new law

Original Article

05/13/2014

By La'Tasha Givens

A new law took thousands off the sex offender registry.

Exposing yourself near a playground, urinating in public or peeping in a bathroom stall are just some of the actions that have landed thousands of people on the sex offender registry.

Now many of those names are disappearing from the list.

“If you were to slap a woman on the behind, that would be sexual battery and you would have to register for 15 years and that has nothing to do with children on the playground,” said attorney David Slane. “People who urinated in public or fall under what we call the Romeo and Juliet situation, where the young man may have been just a little bit older than the girl or vice versa. They’re the ones typically being removed.”

Slane said he’s taken on over 400 sex offender cases, more than anyone else in the state.

In many situations the offenders were on the list way past their punishment because the laws kept changing.

“They’ve had a number of changes or revisions of sex offender registration act over the last ten or 15 years and the court said those later laws could not apply retroactively,” said Jerry Massey spokesperson for the Department of Corrections (DOC).

Out of the 2,400 now off the list, Slane said most are level one or level two offenders which does not include those who committed violent and heinous sex crimes.

He also said under the new law a judge is able to decide a punishment on a case by case basis and not paint all offenders with a wide brush.

Slane said, “The more serious cases are the one we should spend our resources on, not someone who urinated in public.”

DOC officials say they still have another 2,700 cases to review to see if there are more offenders who are eligible to come off the list based on the new law.

AUSTRALIA - Fears the sex offender register is not the solution to keeping kids safe

Original Article

05/09/2014

By Sally Whyte and Elizabeth McKenzie

Community fears have been heightened with reports a known sex offender has been seen loitering near children in Melbourne.

In a separate incident, police are investigating reports that a man approached a boy at a Daylesford school on Thursday afternoon. The boy notified a teacher, who passed the information to police.

Former head of Victoria Police's child protection squad Chris O'Connor, said the community is understandably alarmed at such cases.

Mr O'Connor said he is comforted that in 2014 the community is positively responsive to this kind of activity.

Mr O'Conner said there are thousands of people on the sex offender registry, and 24 hour police surveillance would be impossible.

'There are thousands of people on the registry we clearly and very quickly come to the realisation that we would never have enough police to be able to satisfy totally the community as to their level of protection against these people.'

Mr O'Connor says parents have a responsibility to protect children, but warns against the public taking the law into their own hands.

'Vigilantism is often the result of a couple of things, victimisation or ignorance or a total lack of understanding of the circumstance. It is irrational behaviour.'

Mr O'Connor said children should be educated about how to respond in the unlikely event they come into contact with sex offenders.

'Teach them basic crime prevention, be aware of who is around, remove yourself or call out to somebody. If somebody approaches you, you yell the living daylights out.'

NV - Lawsuit opposes expansion of sex offender registry

Original Article

Just remember, they need to heighten the fear factor so they can scare the public into trampling on their constitutional rights, and to gain support for money, etc.

02/07/2014

By Elizabeth Donatelli

LAS VEGAS (KSNV MyNews3.com) - In 2007, Nevada legislators voted to change who is required to register as a sex offender online, but eight years later, none of those changes have been implemented.

The Nevada Supreme Court temporarily blocked a tough sex offender registration and public notification law. In an order issued Jan. 30, three justices granted a stay of the law to take effect Feb. 1.

The bill would dramatically increase the number of people on Nevada's Sex Offender Registry. Currently it is Tier 2 and 3 offenders — Tier 3 is the highest risk — calculated by several factors including conviction, age of victim, and length of abuse.

The new law wouldn't take these factors into account, only looking at the conviction.

Attorney Maggie McLetchie is suing on behalf of 24 offenders, saying that they have already served their court-ordered time and the law shouldn't apply retroactively for child offenses. The suit argues the law would have detrimental effect on people who have lived without incident for decades.

Nevada justices ordered legal briefs in the case. A ruling is expected within a month.

AFRICA - Bid to keep child sex offenders off register

Original Article

02/04/2014

By ZELDA VENTER

Pretoria - The automatic inclusion of child offenders on the sex offender register is an unjustifiable violation of their rights, says the Centre for Child Law, which is arguing that proper assessment and treatment will yield better results.

This is part of the argument which will be advanced on Thursday to the Constitutional Court by the head of the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Child Law, Professor Ann Skelton.

She will act on behalf of Childline South Africa, the Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children and the National Institute for Crime Prevention in a challenge brought by a young rapist in his bid to stay off the sex offender register.

The three organisations will enter the fray as friends of the court.

The boy was 14 when he raped three boys. In August 2012 the youngster pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years at a youth care facility in the Western Cape.

He spent a further three years in the youth facility, but received a suspended sentence for assault.

In terms of the Sexual Offences Act, the trial court ordered that his name be entered in the national register for sexual offenders, which means he may never work with children or have access to places where children are present, adopt or foster children or be a caregiver.

On review, two Western Cape judges declared the provisions of Section 50(2) of the act inconsistent with the constitution, as it was broad and did not afford the teenager the opportunity to state his case.

It was, however, ruled that their order was not retrospective and its effect was suspended for 18 months to give Parliament time to amend that section of the act. As it is a constitutional issue, the highest court has to have a second look at the judges’ order.

Part of the case to the Concourt is that sexual penetration and sexual violence are defined in broad terms, and could include anything from hugging and kissing to masturbation and sexual intercourse in cases where there is no consent.

The primary aim of the register is to protect children and people with mental disabilities from predatory adults by limiting such adults’ employment opportunities to job categories which do not involve access to children.

Ann Skelton

Skelton, in her heads of argument to the Concourt, said they were opposed to the automatic inclusion of a child sex offender’s name on the register without an assessment of that child by a professional.

She said the offender’s lawyer should place reasons before a court as to why the child’s name should not be included.

Skelton said child offenders’ names should not be included unless the State proved there were substantial circumstances to do so. She said the best interests of children always came first, and automatically adding their names to the register contradicted the principle that they should be treated differently from adult offenders.

It was widely accepted that adolescents were especially vulnerable to stigma, and being placed on the register may place an additional burden on young offenders.

Skelton said there was no evidence to suggest that child sex offenders became adult sex offenders who preyed on children.

She asked the court to declare the provisions unconstitutional and give Parliament a year to place this on the law books. Skelton asked that a moratorium be placed on including a child’s name on the register.

NV - Supreme Court Delays New Sexual Offender Registry Law

Original Article

If there is anybody in Nevada reading this who has a child who has to register as a "sex offender," you may want to contact legislature and speak out on this NOW!

02/03/2014

By Caroline Bleakley

LAS VEGAS - The Nevada Supreme Court has delayed the start of the sexual offender registry law, also known as the Adam Walsh Act.

The new law, which was to go into effect Feb. 1, would make the names of more sex offenders publicly accessible. The law says a sex offender, as young as 14 years old, must now publicly register.

The Nevada Department of Public Safety expressed concerns about the manpower required to implement the law and sought a delay.

See Also:

• Nevada Supreme Court orders delay in enforcement of sex offender registration law
• New Law Puts More Sex Offenders on the Map

DC - Dennis Sobin Wins In Court

Congratulations! For all the related posts about this, click the "IdiotsRegistry" label above, or see this article.

NEW ZEALAND - Renewed call for official register of sex offenders

Original Article

Educating the public about sexual abuse is the key, not an online hit-list.

01/29/2014

There are renewed calls for an official online sex offender register in New Zealand, following the conviction of an 89-year-old man on 42 abuse charges.

The Wellington man pleaded guilty to 42 charges of doing indecencies to girls and boys, attempted rape and unlawful sexual connection from between 1973 to 1991.

On Monday he was sentenced to a year's home detention.

During sentencing Judge John Butler said the man had previous convictions as early as the 1950s, for obscene exposure and attempted indecent assault.

The Sensible Sentencing Trust says a register could have spared some of his victims.

"How many more children must be abused before politicians show some courage and introduce an online sex offender register to protect the public from offenders like this?" says trust spokesman Garth McVicar.

"This predator, hiding in a man's clothing, has been able to prey on innocent children for a period spanning 50 odd years."

The situation proves the need for an official register, he says, adding that the lack of one is the courts protecting predators.

"It appears that our Justice Establishment is hell-bent on protecting sex-offenders rather than protecting our women and children from them."

"The establishment is, in effect, underwriting the actions of pedophiles and creating thousands of victims".

Many countries have official sex offender registers available online.

SWEDEN - Crime records go online in Sweden amid protests

Original Article

01/27/2014

By MALIN RISING

A website that lets Swedes check each other's criminal records has sparked a debate about the privacy of ex-convicts and their right to move on with their lives.

Such databases are available in the United States, but aren't common in Europe, where privacy protection laws are typically stricter.

By searching the Lexbase database, launched Monday by a Swedish company, users can instantly find out whether a person has been convicted of a crime in the past five years. A fee is required to get more information.

Lexbase has a map with dots showing where convicted criminals live and plans to offer a mobile app alerting users when they enter a neighborhood with a high proportion of residents with criminal records.

Though such records are public in Sweden, critics said making them so easily accessible could prompt vigilantism against people who have already served their sentences and make it harder for them to re-enter society.

Thomas Andersson, a spokesman for ECPAT, an organization that fights the sexual exploitation of children, said the service could lead to "increased social alienation" for offenders, increasing the risk of recidivism.

Lexbase spokesman Pontus Ljunggren said he believes the database will help create a more secure and transparent society.

"We believe the benefits far outweigh the potential damages, which we believe will be very small," he said.

Soren Oman, director of the Stockholm Center for Commercial Law, said the website cannot be held liable under Sweden's data protection laws because it has been granted a publishing license that gives it constitutional protection.

However, he said it could potentially be exposed to defamation lawsuits because vilifying information can be considered defamatory under Swedish law even if it's not untrue.

NV - Nevada’s disappearing sex offender

Original Article

01/25/2014

Big changes for sex offenders in the western US state of Nevada. If implemented on February 1, 2014 as planned, the stealth roll out of the Adam Walsh Act will have a number of unintended consequences. These include: a dramatic increase in the number of citizens required to register as sex offenders including all those as far back as 1956 who were convicted of sex crimes against minors–even when the offender was himself a minor at the time. So a 12-year-old boy who in 1956 who molested (or played doctor with) his 10-year-old sister would now be required to register as an FDR 3. FDR stands for “frequency and duration of registration.” FDR 3 requires former offenders to register their name and address every three months. The number of people who would be required to register quarterly (FDR 3) is estimated to rise in the Reno metro area alone from a few dozen to about 3,000 to 4,000 individuals. The number will rise to some 40,000 individuals across the state.

Read the rest of the article

The Shame of Sex Offender Registries

Original Article

Never let it be said that our own political leaders are above propaganda when it suits their political objectives. A lie can be money in the bank for a special interest as well as for a politician. The most evil, Adolf Hitler understood the power of propaganda when he began his quest to conquer Europe.

One of his famous lies was used to label Jews as sub-human, thus convincing the population that no humiliation or deprivation was too severe for any member of the Jewish community regardless of age. A Label is a powerful tool in the destruction of an individual life when applied effectively by a person of power and authority. Such use of labels to isolate specific citizens is a danger politicians should avoid, however, in the United States as well as in Nazi Germany, Labels are used to humiliate, ostracize and drive those tagged as inferior into poverty and homelessness...or much worse.

Shamefully, our politicians have resorted to lies and misinformation all too often in the name of "justice" or to "protect our citizens". One might think that Congress and state lawmakers would not only have access to reliable information, but to use that information in the formulation of our laws. Sadly this is seldom the case and lawmakers are more likely to decide the fate of our citizens based on emotional rather than factual considerations. If a position looks good on a politician's resume, that appearance becomes more important than any negative consequence for an uniformed population.

So appears to have been the sole basis for the creation and proliferation of our public sex offender registries, numerous restrictions on housing and other devious political contrivances all build on a Label designed to foster and propagate hate and ignorance. Unfortunately many of the so-called policies actually make citizens less safe and at great cost to taxpayers who are getting almost no return for their money.

Here are some actual facts:

Read the rest of the article

AR - Sex Offenders, Experts Question Effectiveness of New Restrictions (Poll)

Original Article

Please click the link above and take the poll as well.

11/06/2013

LITTLE ROCK - After serving their time, some sex offenders can be on another list for the rest of their lives.

Convicted sex offenders are required to register with their local law enforcement office for at least 15 years, often much longer than that.

Now some registered sex offenders and their families are saying this branding is doing more harm than good.

"Sam," a registered sex offender who asked to have his identity concealed, calls every day a battle.

"No sooner did we move and the house was getting egged," he says. "They spray-painted on the porch that I need to move. Why keep attacking me?"

Another registered sex offender we'll refer to as "C," says he sees the same struggles.

"Two kids in the area accused me of fondling them," C says. "You want to crawl into a hole and you're afraid."

The Arkansas House of Representatives passed legislation earlier this year prohibiting level three and four sex offenders, considered the most likely to re-offend, from swimming areas and playgrounds in state parks.

They also can't live within 2,000 feet of any school, day care, public park or youth center.

These men say the restrictions, along with the sex-offender stigma, make it nearly impossible to find a steady job and safe place to live.

"Sir, many of our employees are going to be uncomfortable with your working here, so we're not going to be able to hire you," C recalls hearing from a prospective employer.

Spouses of sex offenders say these restrictions also tear apart their families, frequently hurting the most vulnerable.

"I can't tell you how many times my daughter has come home crying because children told her she shouldn't be allowed to live with her dad because he's a rapist," says Carrie Moore, who is married to a registered sex offender.

"It's been really hard. We live in a mobile home," Lynn Gilmore says. "We will never have the American Dream."

Lora Morgan, Director of Arkansas Time After Time, works with legislators to change sex-offender laws, saying current laws can force an offender to commit other crimes just to stay on their feet.

"So a sex offender, they might have done 5, 10, 15 years in prison, then once they got out, the day they're released, that's when their 15 years starts on the public registry," Morgan says.
- We are not sure, but we believe the 15 years starts once the person is off probation / parole, not once they get out of prison.

University of Arkansas-Little Rock professor Dr. Tusty ten-Besel says there are some misconceptions about sex offenders.

"Previous research has shown us that less than 10 percent will actually commit another sex crime," she says.
- Recidivism studies.

Dr. ten-Bensel is interviewing registered sex offenders to also find out if current law and rehabilitation programs are working effectively.

"If these laws are helping, 'Wonderful,' that's what we'll say. If it's not, then maybe we need to go back and revisit these laws to make it more effective," she says.

It may be years before all the information for her research is gathered, but the offenders we talked to say whatever it shows, life on the list will likely never change.

"We are the low-hanging fruit on the trees," C says.
- Sex offenders are today's scapegoat!  No other ex-felon has to register for life and told where they can and cannot live.

Are sex offender laws prohibiting convicted men and women from becoming a productive part of society?
- Take the poll at the link at the top of this article.  Our opinion, YES!

CANADA - Trouble with registries

Original Article

11/01/2013

By Emile Therien

On Sept. 16, Prime Minister Harper promised Canadians a national, online database accessible to the public listing the names of high-risk child sex-offenders to replace a patchwork of existing databases. Another proposed change announced by him would have such offenders planning to travel outside the country alert Canadian authorities before they leave, and who, in turn, may warn destination countries.

The prime minister said this registry will come into effect in this session of Parliament.

The problem with sex registries! Not only are these registries notoriously incomplete but they are also misguided and misdirected laws that cast far too wide a net, in the process preventing authorities from dealing with the really big problem at hand, that is, sexual abuse against children. Concerns have also been expressed that these laws focus on a relatively small number of high-risk offenders, in the process excluding the many "medium-risk" offenders who also pose a significant risk to children.

These laws are not evidence based policy, but rather reactions to high-profile crimes against children. Underlying these laws is the belief that notifying the public of the presence of sex offenders in their community allows citizens to take protective measures against potentially dangerous sex offenders who live nearby.

A study published in 2009 sponsored by the U.S. National Institute of Justice, found there has been little detailed monitoring and evaluation to ascertain the effectiveness of these registries.

The study also found that most states have very little evidence of the actual impact of community notification on their jurisdiction. Also, there is little empirical evaluation to support any assumptions that exist about impacts on offender recidivism.

In addition, by focusing on a small number of offenders, these laws may detract attention from more common crimes such as intra-familial abuse, leaving parents and children more vulnerable to abuse from people known to them; there is also evidence that victims of intra-familial abuse may be deterred from reporting crimes because of fears related to community notification. The law of unintended consequences! The study also found there is very little monitoring of vigilantism against offenders, and although there have been few known incidents of harassment, it is likely that these crimes are under-reported and under-recorded.

The question must be asked - are these laws, with all their limitations, worth the costs of their very expensive monitoring and cumbersome enforcement requirements? A disturbing number of crimes that go unreported are sexual crimes against children. More than 95 per cent of sexual crimes against children are by family members (intrafamilial abuse) or at the hands of people they know. A statistically insignificant number of these attacks are ever reported, with the result that the number of charges and subsequent convictions resulting from these crimes, albeit very important, are few and far between.

More often than not, many laws are driven by hype, emotion and political expediency rather than sound empirical evidence. Sex-registry laws which are certainly not evidence-based may very well fit into this category.

They are a classic case of "feel good legislation" which makes people feel safer without delivering tangible safety benefits. Protecting children from all forms of abuse must become a greater societal priority. Child protection laws must be promoted, given adequate resources, both from a financial and human resources point of view, and enforced.

It is scary and unthinkable to consider the consequences of failing to deal with child abuse when this, in the grand scheme of things, continues to be a low national priority. This challenge resides with the prime minister. Is he up to it?