States Failing to Comply with Sex Offender Registry

Title is misleading in that states are not "failing" but instead "unable" to comply mostly due to the guidelines and constitutional issues. Further, in today's hearing it was brought out that, while the actual AWA law permits "substantial compliance" when the SMART Office wrote the guidelines, they are written so as to require "complete compliance." That division of sorts, interpretation of AWA, causes confusion in the states.

3-11-2009 National:

Are plans for a national sex offender registry dead?

States are required to comply with the Adam Walsh Act by July 27 or lose a portion of their federal funding for state and local law enforcement agencies. But three years after the bill's enactment, not one state has made any real progress on implementation, a House Judiciary chairman said Tuesday.

Lack of funds and legal challenges are the most often cited reason for failure to comply with the law, which requires states to establish a tiered system for sex offender registration and share that data nationally.

States that fail to do so could lose 10 percent of their Byrne grant funding, which helps law enforcement agencies. The amount of money received via Byrne grants, however, is often much less than the cost of implementation.

In Virginia, for example, it would cost $12 million to comply with the Adam Walsh Act, but the state would only lose $400,000 if it did not comply, said Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, chairman of the House Judiciary subcommittee on crime, terrorism, and homeland security.

California, meanwhile, would have to shell out $37 million for the project but would only lose about $2 million in Byrne grant funding if it failed to do so.

The constitutionality of the bill has also been challenged across the nation, preventing states from proceeding until the suits are settled.

The bill, named in memory of the son of "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh, would establish a tiered system of registration. Tier one includes non-violent offenders, who would have to remain registered for 15 years. Tier two, or those who committed more severe crimes, would be on the list for 25 years, while violent tier three offenders would be listed for life.

Tier one convicts would have to update their information every year, tier two offenders would update every six months, and tier three individuals would have to check in every three months.

Rep. Scott questioned whether Congress should extend the July 27 deadline to give states more time to comply with the law.

Emma Devillier, a Louisiana assistant attorney general, said she supports an extension, and the creation of a task force "to examine the practical effects of the Act on public safety and possible reform to address the concerns raised here and those recommended by the task force."

Among the changes that might help, Devillier said, is a mechanism for the electronic transfer of state data to the federal registry.

"No provisions in the act address this essential element," she said. "Louisiana has addressed this by imposing a fee on all felony probationers which is paid into a technology fund to support the implementation of a Web-based program for the collection, storage and transfer of this data to our central registry at no cost to the tax payer."

Det. Robert Shilling with the Seattle Police Department's sex and kidnapping offender detail, also pushed for a task force. "There are also some things that really need some re-working," he said.

Shilling recommended "a panel of experts to help you fix this so that it is workable, so we can protect our children the best way possible."

Rep. Scott questioned whether an expensive registry would help reduce crime.

"I don't think there'd be much question in the minds of the states [about implementation] if they were convinced that it would have a significant impact on crime," he said.

"I do think it will help reduce crime," said Ernie Allen, president and CEO for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "The system in place today in most states … just doesn't work, and there needs to be a commitment, whether it's with federal dollars or state dollars, to do a meaningful follow up. Right now it's not being done." ..News Source.. by PC Mag