11-5-2007 Michigan
Michigan's sex offender registry isn't a complete list of dangerous predators.
Offenders convicted before 1995 aren't required to register.
Rep. David Law, RCommerce Township, wants to change that.
He said sex crimes against minors left an imprint on him during his time working in the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office.
Law's bill would require some individuals convicted on or before Oct. 1, 1995 to register. It would cover offenders who were age 17 or older when they sexually assaulted a child younger than 13.
"This bill is not about further punishing sex offenders - this is a matter of public safety," Law said. "The recidivism statistics of the most heinous sex offenders pose a significant threat to public safety and our children."
According to the Michigan State Police, the intent of the registry is "to better assist the public in preventing and protecting against the commission of future criminal sexual acts by convicted sex offenders."
Offenders are required to register if they reside, work or live in the state and have been convicted of specific sex crimes. The registry is a public record and includes the individual's name, photo, crime, physical description, last known address and aliases.
But not everyone sees the proposal as an efficient way to make the public and children safer.
Elizabeth Arnovits, executive director of the Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency, said the bill draws attention to an emotional issue but the registry isn't an effective policy. She said that laws such as sex offender reporting may make people feel more secure when, in reality, they accomplish little and make people less vigilant because they're lulled into a false sense of security.
"These laws are not making people safer," Arnovits said. "These things don't protect anybody."
Arnovits predicted the proposal would pass.
"It is an emotional and political issue," she said. "It will pass in a flash."
Patricia Caruso, director of the Department of Corrections, said the recidivism rates for sex offenders are extremely low, but because sexual assault is such an emotional issue, the facts are often ignored.
According to Caruso, laws that require offenders to stay a minimum distance from playgrounds and other areas with children are "meaningless and ineffective" because less than 1 percent of sex crimes against minors are committed by strangers.
She said most offenders are close friends or relatives of the victim.
Law said he's not very concerned about the rights of sex offenders because they "didn't have any regard for the rights of the victim when they molested them."
He also said the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld retroactive use of such registries.
What the US Sup ct held was, that in the case of Alaska's registration statute, it was not a ex post facto violation because the Alaska statute did not impose any punishment. However, at the time, there were no collateral attachments to registration in that state. Today there are various collateral attachments which the court may consider punishment if a case was presented to them today. Michiga's registration scheme has many collateral attachments and David Law now proposes another. eAdvocate
"As access to children gets easier due to emerging technology, we have to fight harder to protect our kids," Law said. ..more.. by GREGORY HERBERT, Of Capital News Service
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