OH- Sex Offender Tracking Consumes Time, Money, Authorities Say

7-18-2009 Ohio:

LANCASTER, Ohio — A law designed to help law enforcement track convicted sex offenders was passed last year, but some authorities said Friday that the law is taking up more time and costing more money.

Fairfield County Sheriff's Deputy John Baumgardt said keeping the paper trail on the county's sex offenders has been a full-time job since Senate Bill 10 went into effect.

"I've had as many as nine, I think, in one day," he said.

The law reclassified tens of thousands of sex offenders, and required many to register more often and for longer periods of time, 10TV's Andy Hirsch reported.

Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen said the changes have increased his office's workload, among other things.

"They want to know where these offenders live, and it's a good tool," Phalen said. "But, like everything else, it is labor intensive and it costs money."

Since passage of the law, the number of times sex offenders walk into the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office for registration purposes have more than doubled, Hirsch reported.

The bill has been the subject of legal disputes throughout the state. Critics claim the law's registration requirements are retroactive punishment on thousands of offenders, Hirsch reported.

The Attorney General's Office has disagreed, saying the law provides a way to keep the public informed.

The Ohio Supreme Court is set to hear the dispute later this year. ..Source.. by WBNS 10TV.com