CO- Residents worry about missing sex offenders

7-22-2008 Colorado:

Globeville residents are up in arms after discovering that nearly 100 registered sex offenders are listing a nearby homeless shelter as their address.

The large concentration of men with myriad sex crimes on their records is only half of their worry.

Another 62 men the registry identifies as "whereabouts unknown" also listed the Salvation Army Crossroads Shelter as their home.

The city's online registry is driving some of the fear.

Police said the number of unaccounted registered sex offenders from the shelter just north of downtown is cumulative and that about 15 are currently missing.

But the damage is done.

"We're concerned about where everybody is located," said Paulette Hirsh, president of the Globeville Civic Association No. 1.

"We have a whole bunch that are supposed to be registered there," but their whereabouts are unknown, she said.

Salvation Army Maj. Neal Hogan is also disputing the number of registered sex offenders who the city's registry identifies as currently living at the shelter, at 1901 29th St., although police insist that number is accurate.

"Every time we have reviewed our numbers, we only have at any one time between 30 and 40," Hogan said. "Currently, we only have 30 registered sex offenders."

Police Lt. Ron Saunier said the city is working closely with the shelter to monitor registered sex offenders living there.

A portion of a $217,000 grant the city received to monitor sex offenders will be used for technology to help track them at the shelter, he said.

"We've got a professor from one of the universities who's looking at what's the best way, if it's voice recognition, fingerprint or some of that, so that we will have a better idea of what's going on," he said.

"We share the same concerns that the public has down there," Saunier added.

Councilwoman Judy Montero, whose district includes the shelter, said new partnerships have been forged to help alleviate the concerns.

"Everybody is at the table," she said. "No one is turning their head on this. We're working on it."

Hogan said housing sex offenders is an emotional subject, but it's better to have them in a safe and supervised location than out on the streets.

"We have said and we still say that we are not a sex offender program," he said.

"We are a homeless services program. And because of our unique status, generally we're about the only place that sex offenders can go." ..News Source.. by Daniel J. Chacon, Rocky Mountain News