FL- Local man helps Port St. Lucie police keep track of sex offenders

Notice the address verification statistics at the end of this article. Necessary or harassment?

6-3-2008 Florida:

PORT ST. LUCIE — If you want to know who is out there protecting children from sex offenders, the name Vinnie Byrne stands out.

Byrne is a special investigator with the Port St. Lucie Police Sex Offender Program. His job, assisted by seven other officers, is to keep track of the sex offenders who live within the city.

"This unit, which has over 150 years of police experience, is a huge asset to the community because these eight passionate good guys are dedicated to watching the bad guys, and that keeps our children safe," said police spokesman Officer Robert Vega.

Byrne, who is a 24-year veteran in law enforcement, said that making sure sex offenders stay within the law is not always easy.

"To get the job done right means synchronizing our efforts with the probation and parole offices of the state Department of Corrections and the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office," said Byrne.

Byrne indicated that the team generally works from a list of offenders registered with the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office and the web site of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, but a lot of information comes from the street.

Eight to 10 times a month he and his unit drive out to make random visits of sex offender residences to confirm that they are still living at their listed addresses. The unit also checks on curfew violations and advises probation officers of their findings.

"We do these checks to make sure sex offenders are not committing any crimes, and we derive great satisfaction in doing something good for our community," said Byrne.

Once a New York City police officer and former U.S. Marine, Byrne has been a special investigator for the Port St. Lucie Police Sex Offender program for seven years.

Honor for the law runs in the family. His wife, Judy, is a member of the Victims Assistance unit for the Port St. Lucie police. Together they strive for proactive law enforcement.

Byrne reported that some of the offenders they check on have been convicted of computer-related sex crimes. They have advised parents to become active participants in their children's lives and to take precautions to assure that their kids do not become victims.

Vega believes the numbers show the success of the unit.

"In the 10 years the program has been in effect we have had only one reoffend," said Vega.


• Last year the unit made 1,600 house checks

• In the first four months of this year, the unit has made 700 house checks.

• There are 135 registered sex offenders living in Port St. Lucie

• Half are on probation; 133 are men and two are women.

..News Source.. by Larry Bailey

Address Verification Stats 2007 -v- 2008:
2007 approximately 1 visit per month per RSO.
2008 approximaetly 1.5 visits per month per RSO.

Necessary or harassment?
eAdvocate