NC- Keeping track of sex offenders

Hummm, like registrants -those not on parole or probation- have nothing to do all day but sit home waiting for a STUPID registered letter from a paranoid police agency. Some folks could be visiting on vacation or away for other reasons normal to life, then wind up in prison because they didn't return a STUPID letter within 3 days. Obviously they have made arrangements for the sick and disabled and those in nursing homes, all folks who have no way to respond to the STUPID letter?

6-7-2009 North Carolina:

An arduous - but crucial - step in protecting the community

If you're a registered sex offender in Lenoir County, expect a registered letter from the sheriff's office every three months asking you to confirm your residence.

You, along with the other 100 or so offenders in the county, have three days to respond.

But lawmen say there are tricks to get around this mail-driven confirmation put in place for public safety - offenders can have another person fill out and return the letter on their behalf, for instance - and old-fashioned police work is key to sniffing them out.

That's where Lenoir County Sheriff's Deputy Troy Moye enters the picture. For the past year, the 10-year sheriff's office veteran and his supervisor have played a major role in keeping tabs on a growing list of sex offenders in Lenoir County, focusing particularly on where the offenders live.

"We take this very seriously," Moye said. "We are doing something with the sex offender registry every single day."

State law places severe restrictions on where registered sex offenders can live and even where they can visit.

"Even if there's a person whose ... son plays basketball and they want to go to a sporting event at the school," Moye said, "they have to check in with the school administration first to see if they will allow them to come and visit the school for that recreation activity for their son or their daughter - they just can't show up.

"Why? Because there are a lot of teenagers and underage kids at that school and they're a registered sex offender."

Neither can sex offenders live within 300 feet of a daycare or school - a restriction tightened during December, when the law stated they had to live more than 1,000 feet away.

Moye said the majority of his residence checks are done Fridays, when he tries to verify 10 to 12 addresses, depending on how long each stop takes. The checks are done alphabetically and spontaneously - the nature of the crime makes no difference to Moye's duty, although the offender's criminal history and photograph are among the documents he's sure to check beforehand.

If the offender's home, Moye asks them a fill out a form and provide identification and he's on his way.

"Some of them will be like, ‘Why are you here? I sent my letter in,' " Moye said. "I still need to make a physical check to make sure that is where (they're) living.

"In three days, they could move. We won't know unless we come out and make these periodic, physical checks."

If the offender is not there, Moye launches an investigation, which begins with his noted observations from the residence.

Chatting with neighbors, stopping by the offender's work or taking statements from anyone at the residence are methods Moye uses to help him get his man or woman; it's also not uncommon for Moye to pull over a car he sees at the residence several days later in hopes of gaining information on the offender's whereabouts.

Lawmen rely heavily on fear of the felony charges that can come from helping a sex offender hide.

"Most people don't have a problem with (writing a statement)," Moye said. "They don't want to be tied up in the situation themselves."

This documentation, Moye said, is often used in court and can even aid unrelated investigations in which the offender is a person of interest.

It's the law

A person who is required to register is guilty of a Class F felony if they:

Fail to register

Fail to notify the last registering sheriff of a change of address

Fail to return a verification notice

Forge or submit under false pretenses the information or verification notices required

..Source.. by Justin Schoenberger, Staff Writer